Poverty levels grow in Ecuador, UNICEF says; Local Covid tests show 44% positive rate; Cuenca holiday events calendar; Weekend mingas repair roads

Lunes, 26/10/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Otras cosas –

Titular – Crecen cifras de pobreza extrema (Extreme poverty figures grow) – By the end of the year in Ecuador, 1.4 million people will pass into extreme poverty, another 1.8 million into poverty, and 1.1 million will fall from the middle class into a vulnerable state. This is all due to COVID-19 according to a UNICEF study. Living in Ecaudor in extreme poverty means living on a monthly income of less than $47.80. <I imagine that some of you spend more than that each week on just alcohol.> Because of the pandemic, people have lost jobs, and child labor has increased along with children leaving school. The poverty line is a monthly income of $85.03. <That’ll pay for the cigarettes.> The effects of poverty on children is long term and Ecuador is behind only Guatemala in chronic childhood malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean with 27% suffering this problem.

UNICEF listed measures the government should take including reactivating the economy, proper fiscal (or tax) administration, debt management, progressive tax reform, and investment in a system of social protection in which 2.4% of the PIB ($2,599,000,000) would help 715,000 families. In the long run, poverty will only be reduced through employment, especially in the private sector.

The number of Covid-19 patients in local hospitals has dropped but the positive testing rate remains high.

Carapaz viste de rojo y pasa a ser el líder en La Vuelta (Carapaz wears red and becomes the leader in La Vuelta) – Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz is doing very well in the Vuelta a España 2020 bike race. <Since this is sports, you and your search engine are on your own if you want more details.>

1,400 días de retraso tuvo obra por errores (1,400 days of delay on project due to errors) – The Contraloría (Comptroller) of Azuay found multiple problems in the contract which was in effect from 13/5/2013 to 31/7/2019 to maintain and improve the vía Descanso-Lumagpamba-Paute-Chicti y Lumagpamba-Gualaceo-Sísgig. <How about that? A contract even more screwed up and delayed than the Tranvía.>

The comptroller’s report was approved last june, but was only announced last week due to complications from Covid. The report said the contractor abandoned the project in 2016, but MTOP didn’t start the process to replace the contractor until mayo, 2019. The contractor indicated that there was little clarity in the application of fines which totalled $891,000 in the first bills which generated temporary liquidity problems causing delays. <Not much clarity in that sentence, either. I’m blaming my inadequate Spanish skills.> The comptroller also found the contactor signed an unjustified complementary contract for $209,000 to transport sand and mix, but that service was included in the original contract. The contractor also moved material given to it by the Comité de Cogestión and Senagua to another location without approval.

Mingas en sectores rurales de la ciudad sobrepasan las 100 (Mingas in rural sectors of the city exceed 100) – This past weekend, the city and the communities of La Playa Alta de Checa, San Judas Tadeo en El Vlle, and Corazón de Jesús in Ricaurte held mingas organized by the city. Most of these were road projects with the city providing machinery to improve the gravel roads, and the community providing manpower to clean drainage ditches. <Are there communities in the US where joint efforts like that can still be done?>

“No hay que bajar brazos ante virus” (“We must not lower our arms (drop our guard) against viruses”) – According to the MSP report, there was an increase in the cases per 100,000 population to 1,180 in Azuay. The total number of cases is 10,402 with 44% positive results for people receiving a PCR test. The number of cases in Cuenca reached 8,300 of whom 5,600 have recovered. Hospitals have a total of 113 Covid patients with 60 in ICU beds. Deaths have reached 350.

Mejora vial integrará 3 provincias (Road improvement will integrate 3 provinces) – The section of the road Río Siete-El Guabo which is part of the Huaquillas-Río Siete-Tengel project, is 30% complete with a goal of the first quarter of 2021 for completion. This section of E-25 which connects El Oro and Guayas was increased from 2 lanes to 4 with a new toll station.

The contract for another project to maintain and widen 40 km of the vía Tenguel-Naranjal to 4 lanes, and build a toll station was signed el 15/10 for $260 million. the road will be a new connection between Guyaquil and Machala. The project should be done in 3 years and followed with a 30 year maintenance contract.

Agenda – Note all in-person events will limit capacity.

jueves – 29/10/2020:

9:00 – Concurso: Tradiciones de antaño. la Cholita de pan más bonita. La colada morada (Contest: Traditions of yesteryear. the most beautiful Cholita bread. The purple laundry. <That’s what Google would have us drinking instead of colada morada.>) – Mercado 9 de Octubre.
10:00 – Elaboración de mural y actividades recreativas (Preparation of mural and recreational activities) – Terminal Terrestre de Cuenca.
15:00 – Casa Patrimonial Itinerante: actividades recreativas (Itinerant Heritage House: recreational activities) – Barrio Corazón de Jesús.
18:00 – Conversatorio: La pandemia y su impacto en la industria y escena musical (Conversation: The pandemic and its impact on the music industry and scene) – Facebook Live @CulturaCUE.
18:00 – Presentación del libro: Música y literatura en Cuenca. El pasillo: performatividad, identidad e historia (Presentation of the book: Music and literature in Cuenca. The corridor <Google doesn’t know it’s a type of music – but you did, I hope.>: performativity, identity and history) – Teatro Sucre, Facebook Live @CulturaCUE.

jueves y viernes – 29 & 30/11:

15:30 – Conversatorio y taller recreativo virtual: Reseña historica de las parroquias: El Valle, Tarqui y Sayausí (Conversation and virtual recreational workshop: Historical overview of the parishes: El Valle, Tarqui & Sayausi) – register at bibvalle@hotmail.com.
17:00 – Meeting Paint virtual: Cuenca a colores (Virtual Meeting Paint: Cuenca in colors) – register at ccarillo@cuenca.gob.ec.

viernes – 30/11 to lunes- 3/11:

9:00 a 18:00 – XVIII Festival Artesanías de América 2020 (XVIII Crafts Festival of América 2020) – Paseo 3 de Noviembre.
9:00 – 18:00 – Proyecto artistico: Cuenca entre letras y colores (Artistic project: Cuenca between letters and colors) – Parque Calderón, Calle Santa Ana, Parque de la Madre, Plaza de la Merced, Plaza de Santo Domingo, Parque San Sebastán e Iglesia de San Alfonso.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper. The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.