Two-men-on-motos ban to take effect; Beware of car sale scams; ‘Love for Cuenca’ expo planned; Avianca adds flights; Cajas Nat’l Park has visitor app

Martes, 12/9/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Expo Feria Amor x Cuenca 2023 (Expo Fair Love for Cuenca 2023) – La Cámara de la Pequeña Industria del Azuay (CAPIA) is holding the Love for Cuenca Expo-Fair from el 2-5/11 from 10:00 – 00:00 at the Av. del Migrante y Av. 25 de Marzo. There will be singers, salsa bands, circus, mechanical games and exhibits.

Presentación de single – The Fragments band will present a new single, “In This Nite” in a concert on el 15/9 a las 19:00 in the Sala Alfonso Carrasco in the Casa de la Cultura (Luis Cordero 7-22, 2nd floor y Pres. Córdova). Also playing will be Grave Jumper and Blind. Cost: $5.00 which includes a download of the single.

The Cajas National Park is offering a new mobile app providing information about routes, trails, biodiversity, weather, rules for visits, cultural resources, and hours.

Titular –

Bachilleres sin cupo en U tienen opciones (High school graduates without space in the U have options) – High School grads who were unable to enter university have the option of studying in institutes of higher learning in technical and technological careers. These courses of study take 2 years rather than 4 or 5 at a university. <Sounds like junior college only private.>

Cuenca –

Aplicación para visitar el Cajas (App to visit the Cajas) – A mobile app, “Parque Nacional Cajas” gets you access to relevant and exact information about routes, trails, biodiversity, weather, rules for visits, cultural resources, and hours. The free app is in English and Spanish, and available for iOS and Android operating systems. The app was launched to commemorate the declaration of the Cajas as a National Park 22 years ago.

Ordenanza de dos en moto para noviembre (Two on a motorcycle ordinance for November) – The ordinance regulating the use of a motorcycle for 2 people is expected to take effect in Noviembre for the Fiestas de Independencia de Cuenca. It was approved at the first debate and the 2nd debate is expected in 2 weeks. Jenny Bermeo, city councilwoman and president of the Security Commission said it is expected be approved with the changes and observations from the 1st debate incorporated. After that the public information process will start. There will be a one month long dialogue with moto users about the consequences of 2 riders. Bermeo added that infractors will be sancioned and the moto could be impounded. The controls will be the responsibility of the Empresa de Movilidad, Tránsito y Transporte (EMOV). <I’d be surprised if prohibiting 2 unrelated males on one motorcycle makes much of a dent in the use of motos to commit crimes.>

Evite caer en estafas al comprar o vender autos (Avoid scams when buying or selling cars) – In the past few days there have been various cases which are being investigated by the Prosecutor. A man bought a car from Luis M. who represented himself as a dealer with his business in Saraguro, Loja. The customer paid $60,000 and signed the contract, but when he took it to a notaría to legalize the documents, he found out the car had been reported as stolen. He reported it to the Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE – National Attorney General’s Office) and found out that Luis M. had also scammed the car’s owner who had been paid with a bad check. These scams also involved notarias in Manabí, Guayas, El Oro and Los Ríos who would make buy/sell contracts without the seller present in person. This could signal a scam.

Marco Abril, a car dealer in Cuenca, made some recommendations to not fall into these types of scams. He said the buyer should look at the line that says “observaciones” on the matrícula of the car and it will include the word “gravamen” if there is any impediment to the sale. He also suggested getting the Certificado Unico Vehicular (CUV) from EMOV at a cost of $7.50 where you can also verify if there are impediments. After that you need to go to a notaría to make a buy/sell contract. At the notaría, you can enter the Judiciary Council, for the recognition of signatures and of the vehicle. Notarías have a link with the Registro Civil to get a digital certificate with the data on the buyer and seller to compare with the physical documents. Last, the recognition and legalization of the contract is done and the data for the new owner is sent to the SRI to pay the transfer of ownership. Xavier Alvarado, an attorney, recommended that whoever delivers a vehicle for sale does not sign blank documents or give powers to anyone you don’t trust completely. < I can’t imagine any gringo naive enough to sign a blank document.> You should keep the money in your hand before signing anything.

Actualidad –

Canasta básica al alza en los últimos meses (Basic basket on the rise in recent months) – In the last 3 months, the basic family basket (of goods and services) has increased by $18.74. In August it was $785.47. The most expensive city was Manta with the canasta básica at $820.76, followed by Quito with $819.26 and Cuenca with $814.27. The foods for which prices are rising most quickly are lemons, avocados, red onion, ripe plátano, and tree tomato, with respective monthly inflation rates of 45.34%, 20.58%, 19.56%, 18.24% and 15.44%. <I wonder what the prices for those items are in the US now?>

Precio de la gasolina Súper incrementa a USD 4.33 el galón – (Súper gas increases to $4.33 per gallon) – Starting at 00:00 today (12/9), the new price for Súper Premium is $4.33/gal. and for Ecoplus 89 it is $3.48/gal. In julio the prices were $3.77 and $2.97. In agosto they were at $4.20 and $3.39. Prices for Extra and Ecopaís are set at $2.40 with diésel at $1.75.

Avianca incrementará 30 vuelos internacionales desde noviembre (Avianca to add 30 international flights as of November) – Avianca will increase its international flight frequencies with 30 new flights starting in noviembre. The Guayaquil-Bogotá route will increase 20 flights a week to 64. Guayaquil-New York, Quito- Medellín, and Quito-New York will each increase by 2 flights per week. Quito-San Salvador will also increase by 2 flights but starting in diciembre. Nationally, the Quito-Cuenca route will add one flight on sábados bringing it to 20 flights a week. From noviembre, there will be daily flights on this route. Avianca en Ecuador moved 1.6 million passengers on domestic and international routes.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne