Police shut down extortion call center in Quito; New mercado opens; Cuenca candidates for mayor and city council; Symphonic rock is coming from Loja

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del martes, 25/8) Rock sinfónico llegará desde Loja a Cuenca (Symphonic Rock is coming from Loja to Cuenca) – The Orquesta Sinfónica de Loja will perform 2 concerts of symphonic rock in Spanish los 4 & 5/9 a las 20:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura. The program will include songs from Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes, Hombres G, Caifanes, and Mago de Oz. Tickets available through Ticketmas and in the Rock Style Store. You can get physical tickets at Ticketmas locations on Mariscal Sucre 6-12 and Hermano Miguel. Cost: $20 for Platea Baja and $15 for Platea Alta.

With one exception, candidates for Cuenca mayor and city council have been selected. The election is Sunday, Nov. 29. (El Mercurio)

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 22/8) Los aspirantes a concejalías (Candidates for city council seats) – The nominations for council members are taking form for the interim elections to be held Nov. 29. Although the process of objections is still pending, the political organizations have finished the first phases of the electoral calendar established by the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) since the first names have been announced. 9 political organizations including alliances, movements and parties registered their lists of candidates. The method of picking council members is by the same system that started in 2023 in which council members are picked by the slate headed by the mayoral candidate. Before 2023, voters could pick candidates separately using 2 ballots — one issued for the urban area and the other for the rural areas.

The Consejo Cantonal <similar to the city council in the US and Canada> is the body charged with legislation and audit of the municipal government. It is composed of the mayor who presides and has a vote, and by the popularly elected council members. Council members can participate by voice and vote in the sessions and deliberations of the Concejo Municipal; they can present cantonal ordinances that fall within the purview of the municipal GAD; they participate in the Consejo Cantonal de Planificación and other comisiones, delegations, and as representatives as the Council determines; and they audit the actions of the cantonal Executive according to current laws.

Este abril, the CNE approved redistricting for the election of urban and rural council members in 17 cantons in the country. This applied in the cantons that, for their populations, elect council members by territorial divisions. <Probably like cities in the US that elect city council members by district rather than at-large.> The following are the “listas” <which I think correspond to slates of candidates in the US> and are headed by the mayoral candidate. The names of the organizations, except for Lista 7, were not included in the article (bold names are the mayoral candidates).
Listas 2-12-20 (Yaku Pérez)
Concejal Urbano – Mayra Toledo
Concejal Urbano – Byron Piedra
Concejal Rural – Ruth Pugo
Lista 3 (Juan Pablo Riquetti)
Concejal Urbano – René Cisneros
Concejal Urbano – María Cecilia Carrasco
Concejal Rural – Estefanía Peralta
ADN Lista 7 (Juan Carlos Vega)
Concejal Urbano – Agustina Peñafiel
Concejal Urbano – Pedro Vintimilla
Concejal Rural – Rolando Saquipay
Lista 8 (Leonardo Morales)
Concejal Urbano – Juan Pablo Fajardo Calderón
Concejal Urbano – Mishel Correa
Concejal Rural – Paola Iñigues
Listas 17-63-1 (Juan Critóbal Lloret)
Concejal Urbano – Alfredo Aguilar
Concejal Urbano – Jenny Arízaga
Concejal Rural – Rocío Juca
Lista 18 (in process of replacing mayoral candidate who withdrew due to last minute health issue)
Concejal Urbano – Rumiñahui Duchicela
Concejal Urbano – María Fernando Jimbo
Concejal Rural – Miguel Zhingri
Listas 62-107 (Paúl Carrasco)
Concejal Urbano – Milton José Pérez
Concejal Urbano – María Cristina García
Concejal Rural – Lourdes Astudillo
Listas 81-21 (Marcelo Cabrera)
Concejal Urbano – Vanessa Heredia
Concejal Urbano – Diana Pesántez
Concejal Rural – Carlos García
Lista 100 (Pedro Palacios)
Concejal Urbano – Diana González
Concejal Urbano – Pablo Burbano
Concejal Rural – Eloy Gutama
<Anyone else recognize the name for the Urban Council Member for Lista 18?>

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 22/8) Octava plataforma para el comercio autónomo (Eighth platform for independent vendors) – An 8th platform was officially inaugurated in the area around the Mercado 27 de Febrero to regularize independent vendors in the city. The area is for the sales of clothing and secondhand articles such as electrical items, tools, and more. There will be 34 vendors who were displaced from another property close to the mercado and where the city is building a Centro Infantil Municipal. The stalls will be covered to protect vendors and buyers, especially against the possible effects of El Niño. <But since El Niño is supposed to bring drought to the Andes, maybe they’ll work as sunshades.> This platform will be open on sábados y domingos. The other 7 platforms are in Narancay, Valdiviezo, Miraflores, Totoracocha, Quinta Chica, Las Orquídeas and El Cebollar. In total, there are about 2,000 vendors taking into account that vendors rotate in and out of the spaces.

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 22/8) ‘Hormiguitas’ en expectativa (‘Hormiguitas’ in suspense) – The Empresa Municipal de Aseo de Cuenca (EMAC EP) announced that the process of contracting with a new street cleaning company is advancing. The process is in the proposal phase and the projection is that the proposals will be published in the Portal de Compras Públicas next week. However, there is no guarantee that all the workers will keep their jobs. The names of the workers with experience will be given to the new street cleaning company for its consideration in rehiring.

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 22/8) Hermanamiento chino-ecuatoriano (China-Ecuador sister city relationship) – On his visit to Sichuan, China which is known for its industrial and agricultural development, Pres. Noboa proposed a sister cities project with Santo Domingo in Ecuador. The two cities would establish a direct interchange, cultural as well as of human capital. An example would be student exchanges. The city was selected since Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilos Province is a key in infrastructure and distribution of products to all of Ecuador due to its strategic location. Noboa said he was looking to replicate the successful experience of regions such as Sichuan in Ecuador, especially in the promotion of industry.

The province that contains the desired conditions is Santo Domingo, and the intention is to convert the province into a new center of development in the country. Sichuan, in turn, made an official request for an Ecuadorian consulate in the city which could strengthen the arrival of Ecuadorian products such as bananas, shrimp, cocoa, chocolate, coffee, tropical fruit, and dairy. <I wonder if Sichuan thinks that Ecuador will be a market for Sichuan peppers? Not only are they hot, but they linger on the tongue and palate. Do people in other areas of Ecuador besides Cuenca like spicy food?>

(De El Mercurio del domingo, 23/8) Intervienen un call center por “extorsión” en Quito (Call center raided for “extortion” in Quito) – A call center from which extortionist calls were made was raided by the Policía National in Quito. 10 people were arrested, 9 Ecuadorians and one Chinese. <Geeze, now the drug gangs have call centers – with a Chinese advisor?> 85 people were found at the site along with over 200 electronic devices which are being analyzed. Police initiated the investigation after a citizen complaint. <So did the citizen complain about the noise? All those people over there just yakking away all day and night.>

(De El Mercurio del lunes, 24/8) Bananeras – Agrocalidad strengthened its vigilance against Moko (a bacteria affecting bananas and plantains) in 13 cantons in Los Ríos with inspections, diagnoses, controls and biosecurity measures. It is currently supervising 105,531 hectares and estimates that over 3,500 hectares are affected by the Ralstonia bacteria. <How would you like to have a pernicious bacteria named after you? Better to have a frog or worm in your honor.> The objective is to detect cases in time to avoid propagation to other areas since bananas are an important export.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 25/8) Se alista apertura del paso elevado de intercambiador (Preparations underway for the opening of the interchange overpass) – The opening of the first elevated section of the Monay-IESS interchange to traffic is scheduled for next week, with the exact date to be determined after a meeting with the MInisterio de Infraestructura y Tecnología (MIT <easy to remember for its similarity with the Mass. Inst. of Tech MIT abbreviation>). When traffic is rerouted to the new overpass, work can start on the second overpass which is in the Cuenca-Azogues direction.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 25/8) Asamblea trata a reforma sobre rol de los militares (Assembly debates reform regarding the role of the military) – The reform to Article 158 of the Constitution was approved in a referendum. It allows complementary and subsidiary support by the Armed Forces to the Policía Nacional and is being analyzed in the second and definitive debate by the Asamblea Nacional. The law seeks to establish the conditions under which the military can intervene in work for citizen safety and to fight organized crime without having to resort to a state of emergency. The project establishes that military participation will be exceptional and subject to criteria of proportionality, reasonableness, oversight, and regulation. <But still, is this wise? And who decides when to call in the military?>. Update: The bill passed on Tuesday and awaits Pres. Noboa’s signature.
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Information in this column, including dates, times and locations, is courtesy of the El Mercurio newspaper. Comments between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), are the personal opinions of the author and not part of the news translation.