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Ecuador's National Assembly has passed a controversial national communicaiton law that President Rafael Correa had tried and failed to enact during previous assembly sessions. With the February elections, Correa won an overwhelming assembly majority and the bill...
By Sandy Keenan Most people aren’t willing to drive more than a few hours to get to a second home in the country. But Judy Blankenship and Michael Jenkins leave their house in Portland, Oregon, and travel 4,300 miles — a two-day trip that usually involves...
Most of the employees of Coopera, shut down earlier this week by federal and provincial authorities, were told yesterday that their jobs are secure for the time being. Staff of the office of Economía Popular y Solidaria (SEPS) said that every effort will be...
The decision to close and liquidate Coopera, the Cuenca savings and loan cooperative, was the result of two factors, federal and provincial authorities say. First, there was Monday’s and Tuesday’s “run on the bank” following the arrests of coop...
Coopera, the Cuenca-based financial services cooperative has been ordered closed and its assets liquidated by the office of Economía Popular y Solidaria (SEPS). Customers who showed up to withdraw money Wednesday morning found Coopera offices and markets closed...
A third arrest has been made in the money laundering case against the financial cooperative Coopera, this one of the general manager. Rodrigo Aucay was arrested at the Quito airport when he arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic, where he was reportedly...
Despite the arrest of two of its top financial officials on money laundering charges, it was business as usual on Monday at Coopertiva de Ahorro y Credito, or Coopera as it is commonly known, the popular Cuenca financial cooperative. That's the word anyway from...
Ecuador's attorney general Galo Chiriboga says his office has conclusive evidence that the country maintained a secret police force in the 1980s. The secret police, known as SIC-10, were based in Quito and were probably responsible for the deaths and...
Editor's note: London-based travel writer Gavin Haines takes a ride on Ecuador's revived railway system, chronicling a colorful history and describing future expansion plans to Cuenca. The following article is reposted from the British newspaper, The...
Cuenca’s school children need a little help from expats. The Hearts of Gold Foundation is closing in on its goal of providing 123 Cuenca children from underprivileged homes with shoes and school supplies before the start of the new school year in September....
Much to the displeasure of the United States, several Latin American countries are moving to decriminalize some forms of drug use. Ecuador appears poised to lead the charge. The topic was discussed at this week’s Organization of American States (OAS) meeting in...
Almost everyone agreed. This year’s Corpus Christi celebration at Parque Calderon, with reduced fire power, was not the same as it used to be. The ban on rockets and paper hot air balloons known as globos, was imposed by the fire department as a result of a fire...
By Patricia Rey Mallén Latin America is not only Brazil. The fastest-growing region in the world -- with 3.5 percent GDP growth projected this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, almost three times the rate of the rest of the world -- hides more...
Britain is considering holding talks with Ecuador over the future of Julian Assange, the Foreign Office said on Monday, in the first sign of a possible solution to the year-long diplomatic standoff over the Wikileaks founder. Assange, 41, took refuge in Ecuador's tiny...
Editor's note: In the times of the Spanish Empire, the mines of Zaruma, 80 miles southwest of Cuenca, were one of the crown's major producers of gold and silver. The production, over a 250 year period, came at the cost of an estimated 10,000 lives,...
Calling gay marriage a “novelty,” President Rafael Correa says he is also opposed to the adoption of children by gay couples. Although he says he supports civil unions for gays and lesbians, Correa insists that discussions of legalizing gay marriage is a...
Cuenca´s Museo de las Culturas Aborigenes, or Museum of Aboriginal Culture, is not your typical roadside attraction. Despite the fact that it is relatively small and privately owned, many consider it one of Ecuador's best archeology museums. Operated...
Following two days of discussions that often turned incendiary, Cuenca’s fire chief has agreed to allow some fireworks at the Corpus Christi festivities that begin tonight. The new rules, however, come with strings attached and event organizers and sponors say...
Ecuador’s internal revenue service (SRI) has seized the largest privately held property in Ecuador as part of its effort to collect what it claims to be more than $100 million in back taxes. The property in Guayas Province is owned by banana baron Alvaro Noboa....
This year’s Corpus Christi celebration, set to begin on Thursday, could be the first in hundreds of years without officially sanctioned fireworks. Despite protests from pyrotechnic artists, civic groups and other government officials, Cuenca fire chief Oswaldo...
