Water rationing affects Baños and Nero; U.S. troops expand Ecuador operations; New civil aviation law approved; Long-distance routes add more busetas

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del jueves 24/9) Azogues expone arte y artesanía en galería (Azogues exhibits art and crafts at a gallery) – The Galería Manos Azuayas at the Casa de la Cultura Núcleo del Azuay opened the show, “Vitrina Artesanal y Artística – Azogues Pueblo Mágico,” which features crafts, artists, and creative ventures of Azogues. On el jueves, 1/10 from 14:00-17:00, there will be a free interactive pottery workshop <for those of you who yearn for your primary school days when you got to mess around with clay in art class, after which your poor mother had to run an extra load of laundry>. On el viernes, 2/10 from 16:00-18:00, the San Francisco Ballet and Grupo de Danza CCE-Azuay will perform.

More long-distance bus companies are adding busetas to routes with limited demand. (El Mercurio)

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 25/9) Dos días dedicados a Rompenucas Fest (Two days dedicated to Rompenucas Fest) – The 1st Rompenucas Fest will be el 1 & 2/10 in Cuenca with representatives from 7 mercados in the city. The program will start with a caravan that will tour the mercados where a jury will evaluate the preparations of this traditional drink. The awards will be el 2/10 at the mercado 9 de octubre as part of its 94th anniversary. The drink is made with ice, milk, coconut, and vanilla and usually accompanies hornado <which most gringos seem to know as chancho> and is known for its sensation of cold <Sounds like it gives you brain freeze.>.

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del jueves 24/9) En Baños y Nero aplican racionamientos de agua (Water rationing in effect in Baños and Nero) – 2 of the 4 rural community water systems in Cuenca Canton are having problems with low water pressure and service cuts. The Baños and Nero community systems serve about 24,000 users and have implemented cuts due to the low flows in the rivers serving the treatment plants. Last martes, the Agua Potable de Baños started night time cuts from 22:00-04:00 that affect 3,000 of its 10,200 users, mostly in sectors such as Narancay and El Arenal. Carlos Fajardo, the technical director of the Baños system said that the valves are closed at night so the storage tanks can refill, and all sectors can have day time water service. He said that the sectors without service cuts also have low water pressure.

The Baños system has an emergency plan in case conditions worsen in which there will be more sectors affected and longer cuts. For the Proyecto Nero which serves more than 7,000 users, the suspensions of service will be from the end of agosto to the beginning of septiembre. <?The sentence in the paper is using the present tense even though that time period has already passed.> Generally the cuts are between 20:00 and 5:00, but they announce the cuts that are attributed to high consumption and a low level of water in the reserve tanks. The sectors that are experiencing constant cuts include San Antonio de Gapal, San José de la Playa, Castilla Cruz, San Juan Loma, Corazón de Jesús de El Valle, Barrio Unido y El Despacho. <I wonder if they can cut those customers with irresponsibly high water usage.> Both systems are asking users to use water responsibly and not use potable water for crop irrigation or washing cars. <Even if you like to give that Bentley its daily bath.>

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 25/9) En el país ya operan las tropas estadounidenses (US troops already operating in the country) – The presense of US military is becoming more visible. El jueves was the first time when it was made public that 50 members of the Southern Command of the DEA participated in a simultaneous operation in Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos and Manabí Provinces. The operation was not directed at any national criminal group, but was against a branch of the Jalisco Nueva Generación, a Mexican cartel operating in Ecuador. The investigation started early this year, targeting an alleged gang dedicated to sending drugs (7 tons of cocaine) mainly to the US and Europe. One of the things that got attention was that of the 39 people who were arrested, none had a criminal history. Along with 320 members of the Policía Nacional, 50 US soldiers participated in raids that were conducted mostly in Guayas where 2 high-end housing developments in Samborondón were entered. The alleged heads of the gangs were captured. US soldiers were also deployed in 3 other provinces and participated in raids in coordination with the Policía Nacional.

Ministro del Interior, John Reimberg, said the help of the US allowed access to cutting edge technology to locate and detain people who worked directly with the Mexican cartel. The US troops brought drones and other equipment that helped secure the area to allow the arrests. Additionally, he took into account that since most of the drugs trafficked by that gang were destined for the US, some of those arrested could be charged in the US and deported while the majority would be in kept in the Encuentro prison. On el miércoles, Pres. Noboa announced the direct participation of US troops in an operation in El Aromo in the facilities of the failed Refinería del Pacífico. The joint operations with US troops are being carried out from the Taura Air Base near Gauyaquil. <I hope that whoever is running the show, has intelligence that can differentiate between a gang drinking party and a birthday party for a 6-year-old. They probably look similar – a bunch of Ecuadorians having a good time and making a lot of noise.>

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 25/9) Aprobada nueva Ley de Aviación Civil (New Civil Aviation Law approved) – The Asamblea Nacional approved the Ley de Aviación Civil which includes new rules for municipalities that have the authority to manage the airports in their city. These Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados (GAD) need to sign a new agreement for joint management with the Gobierno Nacional to continue managing this service. Of the 22 airports in the country, only 3 are municipally managed: Mariscal Sucre in Quito, José Joaquín Olmedo in Guayaquil, and Mariscal La Mar in Cuenca. The new law combines and reforms the Código Aeronaútico and the Ley de Aviación Civil which has not been changed in more than 20 years. The law also establishes that the administration of air terminals can pass from the Dirección General de Aviación Civil (DGAC) to private hands, but only in the case when the State doesn’t have the resources to assume the management, and when private businesses offer better economic conditions and security.

Also, for the first time, uncrewed aircraft (drones) will need to be registered and get authorizations so they will subsequently be monitored and audited. Restrictions against international airlines operating domestic flights in the country are eliminated. <I hope that the international airlines will be forced to adapt the service levels of local airlines rather than vice versa.> They will not be required to be domiciled in the country nor have 100% Ecuadorian personnel. The new law also requires passengers to be compensated for flight cancellations or delays, unless the airline can demonstrate that it did everything in its power to prevent the problem.

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 26/9) Busetas se abren camino (Busetas are gaining ground) – 2 transport businesses operating out of the Terminal Terrestre are incorporating busetas and mini-buses into their fleets to cover interprovincial routes. Another 3 are applying to the Agencia Nacional de Tránsito (ANT) to offer the same service. The fares will be the same as those for regular buses. The Cuenca Express Cooperative which covers the route between Azuay and El Oro has been using busetas for 5 years. Of its 20 vehicles, 12 are busetas and the rest are buses and mini-buses. They are used according to passenger demand. The Loja cooperative serves the route between Cuenca and Loja and has incorporated the smaller vehicles in the past 9 months. Of its 15 vehicles, 12 are busetas. They run the busetas from Cuenca to Loja at 12:00 and 17:00 with the return trips at 15:30 and 04:30. ANT is currently processing applications from San Luis, Azuay and Viajero to include 15 busetas on the Cuenca-Machala and Cuenca-Loja routes. <So you frequent “flyers” now have a cheaper option than the van services.>

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 26/9) Separación de residuos (Waste separation) – The Empresa Pública Municipal de Aseo (EMAC EP) in conjunction with the Agencia Coreana de Cooperación (KOICA) and the Universidad Católica de Cuenca presented an educational/communicational campaign called Ruta 600. This initiative seeks to strengthen separation of waste at the source and to promote improvements to Cuencanan habits for sorting garbage. Currently barely 20% of the population sorts waste by using the black and blue bags. <For new or clueless gringos, you put recyclable waste (cans, paper, soft bags, disposable containers, but not styrofoam) into blue bags; regular trash (toilet paper – what do you mean, you flush toilet paper? – soiled packaging, noisy plastic bags) into black bags; and compostable waste into green bags which you can take to the EMAC center on 24 de mayo and trade for compost or humus.>

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 26/9) Llega avión militar de EE.UU. (U.S. military plane arrives) – A US Airforce Lockheed -5M Super Galaxy arrived el jueves at the Guayaquil airport. Neither Ecuador nor the US made an official announcement about the mission. The aircraft is one of the US’s largest strategic transport planes with a capacity of carrying 120 tons of cargo including helicopters, armored vehicles, and military equipos (equipment or teams). Its arrival came after a joint operation with US soldiers and the Policía Nacional. The presence of the aircraft increased attention about the military cooperation between both countries. <I hope it didn’t bring stuff so more dairy farms can get bombed – there are lots of dairy farms in Cuenca. Somehow, I doubt that banana plantations are going to be bombed as locations where drugs are packaged and shipped.>
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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.