Posts:
The Catholic church reports that substantial progress has been made restoring the Seminario San Luis following a devastating 2012 fire. The seminary is located adjacent to the Cathedral, fronting Calles Simon Bolivar and Benigno Malo. Investigators say the fire was...
By Joseph Ax A U.S. lawyer on Tuesday appealed a federal judge's ruling that he used fraud to secure a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment against Chevron Corp in Ecuador, a decision that bars him from collecting a $9.5 billion award in the United States. Lawyer...
Latin America experiences something of a tech boom in 2013, and the trend is expected to continue for 2014. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), smartphone sales across Latin America hit 16.6 million during the first quarter of 2013, which is an...
Ecuador’s National Telecommunications Council (Conatel) says it plans a nationwide program to consolidate and bury utility cables. The council said it is also studying ways that cables and transmission lines can be shared by utility companies. In a press release,...
Following two embarrassing policy reversals by his agency, the director of Ecuador’s Institute of Social Security (IESS), Fernando Cordero, has resigned. The former president of the National Assembly and former mayor of Cuenca, Cordero said that it was time for him to...
Latin America’s low-key reaction to Russia’s claim on Crimea following Sunday’s referendum, suggests that opinion-makers are distracted by domestic issues and perceive such far-off developments as having little bearing on the region. Although...
After announcing two weeks ago that all independent professionals must join Ecuador’s Social Security system, the agency has decided that it does not have the authority to make membership mandatory. The first order by the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS)...
In the face of violent protests roiling Venezuela, many of Latin America’s leaders have backed the government of President Nicolás Maduro, some have stayed mum and only a few have complained. In fact, Costa Rica has been one of the most vocal countries speaking out...
By Nick Miroff In Latin America’s current era of big-personality politics, there may be no other leader who embodies as many apparent contradictions as Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s president. Although he proudly identifies as a leftist, Correa is staunchly opposed to...
The organizers of a petition drive to save the Yasuní nature preserve from oil drilling are claiming they are being harassed by the government. The drive is within its last month and is closing in on its goal of obtaining the 580,000 voter signatures necessary to...
Ecuador Attorney General Galo Chiriboga will travel to the United States on Tuesday to press the case for extratiditon of Roberto and William Isaías, former Ecuadorian bankers accused of fraud and embezzlement during the 1999 banking crisis. The brothers fled Ecuador...
Artists chosen for international art bienal Cuenca’s 12th International Art Bienal opens March 28 with 42 artists from Latin America, Asia, Europe and North America. The final selections, announced by the Bienal organizing committee, include six Ecuadorian artists....
By Frances Robles The donations kept pouring in: hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to President Obama and more than a dozen members of Congress, carefully routed through the families of two wealthy brothers in Florida. They had good reason...
On a recent morning, a dozen customers crowded the counter at Maria's Alemania Bakery and Restaurant on the corner of Hermano Miguel and Mariscal Sucre in Cuenca, waiting to place their orders. Among the group, which included Cuencanos, North American expats and two...
Cuenca Mayor-elect Marcelo Cabrera emphasized on Friday that he had no intention of stopping the Tranvia de los Cuatros Rios tram project and does not think the changes his administration might make will affect the construction schedule. Cabrera met with outgoing...
Federal agents from Central Florida have arrested a man who was allegedly coordinating "tours" for Americans to have sex with girls in Ecuador. According to a criminal complaint filed in Orlando on Friday, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agents began...
The campaign to force a national referendum on President Rafael Correa’s plan to drill for oil in the Amazonian Yasuní nature preserve is closing in on its goal of 600,000 signatures. Supporters of the drive say they have more than 480,000 signatures. A total of...
By Joseph Ax An American lawyer used "corrupt means" to secure a multi-billion-dollar pollution judgment against Chevron Corp in Ecuador, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday, a major setback for Ecuadorean villagers hoping to collect on the award. U.S. District Judge Lewis...
Heavy rains have caused more than a dozen major landslides in the Sierra, the largest obstructing traffic south of Quito and in the tourist town of Baños. Closer to Cuenca, highway E35 was closed for several hours near Cumbe with another slide stopping traffic near...
Ecuador’s Ministry of Industry and Productivity reports that import restrictions applied in December have kept $250 million consumer dollars in the country, much of it spent on locally manufactured products. The downside to the restrictions are becoming evident,...
