Section » Social Issues

LGBT Rights in Ecuador

Human Rights Watch – When two same-sex couples went to the civil registry in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador to get married last April, they were refused. The registry argued no Ecuadorian laws would permit their marriage. The couples went to court.

An appeals court is set to rule on these cases in the near future. The waiting and the uncertainty may be agonizing, but there is also real hope.

The registry’s refusal to marry the couples was no surprise. Until now, the government has only allowed same-sex couples to enter into civil unions. These do not grant them all the same rights enjoyed by married couples. Read Full Article

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Academic Calls for Invasion of Venezuela

AMERICANTHINKER.COM Invade Venezuela and get it over with, top Harvard academic says By Monica Showalter Ricardo Hausmann is no typical academic. This past week, he suggested in an article that a foreign invasion may be the only way out for Venezuela’s collapsing socialist regime. The respected Venezuelan economist who is a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy […]

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Ecuador: Drug Trafficking Statistics

IN RECENT TIMES AS MAY AS 10,000 IDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN DETAINED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING OFFENSES / ECUADOR IS A MAJOR CORRIDOR FOR LOGISTICS IN THE DRUG TRADE expreso.ec (machine translated) Drug trafficking in its macro and micro variants has been installed in the country. There is no day when you do not realize the events […]

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Mexico: A unique tour demonstrating the pervasiveness of corruption

Corruption in Mexico runs the gamut from daily annoyances — a police officer shaking you down for a few bucks to avoid a traffic ticket, a city inspector demanding a bribe not to shut down a business — to shocking scandals involving government contracts worth billions of dollars. The Corruptour first launched in 2014 in […]

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Mexico: Crisis in the Justice System

INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THE BOOK Josua Partlow / Washington Post Mexico is completing its first full year of a new accusatory justice system, following the most profound overhaul of its legal structure in a century. The most visible sign of the transformation is public trials instead of a secretive process involving […]

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U.S. Role in support of Criminal Justice Reform In Mexico

Supporting Criminal Justice System Reform in Mexico: The U.S. Role Congressional Research Service Clare Ribando Seelke / Specialist in Latin American Affairs / March 2013 Summary Fostering security, stability, and democracy in neighboring Mexico is seen by analysts to be in the U.S. national security and economic interest. Reforming Mexico’s often corrupt and inefficient criminal […]

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Ecuador: Number of femicide cases up, women demand state of emergency

.Telesurtv.net – Women rights groups say that 2017 has been far more deadly for women than previous years and that an urgent action by the government is needed. Women advocacy organizations in Ecuador are calling on the government to declare a state of emergency to confront acts of violence against women in the country in […]

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Potential Crisis with thousands of Venezuelans fleeing and arriving daily in Ecuador

TELEAMAZONAS.COM (MACHINE TRANSLATED) The exodus of Venezuelans does not end on the Ecuadorian-Colombian border, with at least 2,000 migrants a day in recent weeks. Interprovincial transport increases the number of extra frequencies, to transfer migrants to different destinations in the country. Source: Teleamazonas.com SAFETY, SECURITY, HEALTH IN ECUADOR – READ THIS BOOK

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Despite Progress, Ecuador and Venezuela need to make improvements Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ohchr.org (12 December 2017) – Progress in the social sector in Venezuela and Ecuador, consistent with the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, should be more generally known and recognized, a UN human rights expert has said. In this context, regional integration and cooperation with international organizations should be boosted to ensure that social […]

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Mexico: Failed Housing Program

LATIMES.COM / Richard Marosi Sixteen years ago, Mexico embarked on a monumental campaign to elevate living standards for its working-class masses. The government teamed with private developers to launch the largest residential construction boom in Latin American history. Global investors — the World Bank, big foundations, Wall Street firms — poured billions of dollars into […]

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Venezuela: Report from NGO warns 300,000 children at risk of death due to malnutrition

panampost.com/Orlando Avendaño Around 300,000 children in Venezuela are at risk of death from malnutrition, according to Caritas, a humanitarian organization run by the Catholic Church. It estimated that between five and six children die from malnutrition in Nicolás Maduro’s country each week. INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – THIS BOOK IS AN INDISPENSABLE RESOURCE FOR ANY SPANISH […]

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Ecuador: Report, conflict between Shuar tribe and govt. causing psychological damage

Signs of lasting trauma in people evicted to make way for giant mine in Ecuador theguardian.com / Kimberley Brown reported, battles with the government and army over land and mining rights has caused indigenous Shuar people long-term psychological damage, report says Months after they were evicted from their homes to make way for a mine, […]

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Ecuador: Results of 15 Year Study regarding suicide in Ecuador

ECUADOR RANKS ABOVE REGIONAL AVERAGE FOR INDIVIDUALS COMMITTING SUICIDE Data about suicide is still scarce in Latin America, especially in smaller countries like Ecuador. In the last 20 years just very few reports have partially described this phenomenon in the country The disease burden of suicide in Ecuador, a 15 years’ geodemographic cross-sectional study (2001–2015) […]

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Ecuador: U.N. study reveals high prevalence of physical, sexual, psychological violence against children

UN report on violence against children in Ecuador One study has revealed a high prevalence of physical, sexual and psychological violence in homes, schools and other places redaccionmedica.ec – machine translated – The United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has criticized the high prevalence of sexual, physical and psychological violence […]

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Ecuador: Missing woman found working in brothel, victim of forced prostitution

eltelegrafo.com.ec (machine translated) reported…The National Police of Ecuador, through the Unit Against the Crime of Trafficking in Persons and Trafficking of Migrants (Ucdtptm), carried out the operation “Fortaleza 89” through which four citizens of Ecuadorian nationality, allegedly engaged in the crime of forced prostitution. The operation took place in Guayaquil, on Thursday, starting at 10:00 […]

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Mexico: Another journalist murdered, under government protection

Coatzacoalcos, Mexico (AFP) (Breitbart.com) – A Mexican journalist under government protection was shot dead Tuesday in the violent state of Veracruz, an official said, the 10th journalist murdered in Mexico this year. Candido Rios, a crime reporter for a regional newspaper, was gunned down outside a convenience store in the eastern town of Hueyapan de […]

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Peru: Striking teachers block border crossings to Bolivia and in areas of Cusco

Strikers block border crossings from Peru to Bolivia Lima, Aug 10 (Prensa Latina) (machine translated) Striking teachers blocked road traffic in the southern Andean region of Puno, blocking access to vehicles at the border crossing points to Bolivia, radio stations reported. territory. The report notes that strikers block rocks and logs from various points along […]

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Violent Crimes Up Sharply in Rio de Janeiro

folha.uol.com.br / LUIZA FRANCO/Official data confirms the general feeling of insecurity in a State that today is under reinforcement by police from the National Security Force and troops from the Armed Forces. The number of violent deaths in the first semester of this year (3,457) increased by 15% compared to the same period in 2016. […]

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Brazil: Obesity increasing rapidly among youth

folha.uol.com.br / NATÁLIA CANCIAN The Brazilian people have been starting the fight with the scales earlier. Over ten years, obesity has advanced across all age groups, but has almost doubled among young people aged 18-24 – from 4.4% to 8.5%. And although its prevalence is still higher among people with lower schooling, obesity has also […]

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Venezuela Exodus: Thousands Fleeing Country in Desperation

panampost.com / The Colombian Director of Migration confirms the movement of 26 thousand Venezuelans across the border during the last few hours. While some have speculated that many of them are only crossing into Colombia to stock up on food, others believe most of them crossed into Colombia before arriving to other countries like Ecuador […]

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How to understand the meaning of time in Mexico

IINTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THE BOOK bbc.com/Susannah Rigg – When someone from Mexico says ‘ahorita’, they should almost never be taken literally; its definition changes dramatically with context. As Dr Concepción Company, linguist and emeritus researcher at the Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, told me, “When a Mexican says ‘ahorita’, it could […]

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Mexico: Bloodshed in drug war, homicides spike

latimes.com / Drug war bloodshed in Mexico has spiked to record levels, with more homicides recorded in June than in any month in at least two decades. Prosecutors opened 2,234 homicide investigations last month, according to government statistics released Friday. That’s an increase of 40% over June of last year and 80% over June of […]

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Tungurahua Province Ecuador: So Far in 2017, 28 recorded suicides

elcomercio.com reported that to date in 2017, there have been reported 28 suicides in Tungurahua Province. A recent case involved a man who hung himself in the carpentrey shop where he worked. His wife had left him. The governor of Tungurahua, Juan DeHowitt and the Queen of Ambato, María Custode are restarting a suicide prevention […]

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Quito Ecuador: City wants to relocate sex workers from historic center

Daniel Romero/elcomercio.com (machine translated) – The Municipality has a new plan for the relocation of sex workers working in the Historic Center. The associations that represent them accepted the official proposal, but there is a problem: at least 10 neighborhoods oppose. In the dialogue tables, which since May 2017 coordinates the Ministry of Social Inclusion […]

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Finding the Right Judge in Ecuador: challenges of jurisdiction between indigenous and ordinary adjudicators

Finding the right judge: challenges of jurisdiction between indigenous and ordinary adjudicators in Ecuador Ruiz-Chiriboga, Oswaldo http://journal-dl.com ABSTRACT Ecuador is a country with several normative systems coexisting within the same territory. Having a multiplicity of systems facilitates the clashes of jurisdiction among them. This contribution studies the applicable rules Ecuador has to allocate jurisdiction among […]

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Femicide in Latin America (Special Report)

telesurtv.net Femicide, the murder of a woman based on her gender in particular by a man, continues to plague Latin America. From Mexico to Argentina, femicides have skyrocketed only to be met with impunity at all levels of government. But resistance is growing. The epidemic of gender violence has united women of all races under […]

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Ecuador: Clandestine clinics still prevalent to “cure homosexuality”

paolaparedes.com / Paola Paredes – It was four years ago that I first learned about the private ‘clinics’ that claim to cure homosexuality in Ecuador. My first thought was that it could be me held there and told that, as a gay woman, I needed to change. Two years later, I came out to my […]

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Survey Says: Mexico Second Deadliest Country in the World in 2016

Mexico was second deadliest country in 2016 By Elizabeth Roberts, CNN.com Mexico’s drug wars claimed 23,000 lives during 2016 — second only to Syria, where 50,000 people died as a result of the civil war. “This is all the more surprising, considering that the conflict deaths [in Mexico] are nearly all attributable to small arms,” […]

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United States Southern Command Strategy 2018, LATIN AMERICA

United States Southern Command Strategy 2018 INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK 3 Commander United States Southern Command December 2008 The United States Southern Command ( USSOUTHCOM) Command Strategy for 2018 provides the vision for how we hope to become a mor e interagency oriented organization seeking to work with U.S. and internat […]

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Cuenca Ecuador: Number of violent deaths worries local authorities

elcomercio.com/Lineida Castillo reported the voice of Ricardo Baculima sounds sad and tired when he tells how his father-in-law was murdered. He found Baltazar Tacuri, 79, in a wooded ditch, face down with half his body burned. It was Monday April 3 and the news shocked the residents of the rural parish of San Joaquin, located […]

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Ecuador: Women Domestics make labor inroads

telesurtv.net – On International Women’s Day, a small women workers’ association in Ecuador could inspire other domestic workers to organize for their rights. As women’s organizations around the world are set to march for International Women’s Day Wednesday, a women workers’ association in Ecuador stands as a pioneering example in the global fight for transformational […]

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Ecuador: Seven out of 100,000 Ecuadorians commit suicide

Seven out of 100,000 Ecuadorians commit suicide A study has revealed with figures how is the situation of this social problem in the country in the last 15 years Diego Mosquera. Quito Seven out of every 100,000 inhabitants commit suicide in Ecuador , so has determined a study conducted by a multidisciplinary and inter-institutional team […]

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Colombia: Violence spreading in areas abandoned by guerrillas

The Guardian -guardian.com/ Violence is spreading particularly fast in areas abandoned by guerrillas under the peace deal because the promised state security forces have not arrived. There is little clarity about who is behind the killings, but areas once held by guerrillas are often places where illegal mining or farming of coca – the raw […]

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Haiti Prison, HELL ON EARTH, some waiting up to eight years for trial

dailymail.co.uk reported dozens of emaciated men with sunken cheeks and protruding ribs lie silently in an infirmary at Haiti’s largest prison, most too weak to stand. The corpse of an inmate who died miserably of malnutrition is shrouded beneath a plastic tarp. Elsewhere, prisoners are crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in cellblocks so overcrowded they have to sleep […]

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Afro-Ecuadorean challenges in upcoming Presidential Elections in Ecuador

telesurtv.net reported Afro-Ecuadoreans have achieved unprecedented gains under President Correa but political participation and education are crucial to end structural racism. As Ecuador prepares for its presidential and parliamentary elections, the Afro-Ecuadorean community braces for the challenges ahead while recognizing the gains that have been made by outgoing President Rafael Correa and his Alianza Pais […]

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Colombia: Increase in Birth Rates Among FARC

INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK caracol.com.co/ Rafael Pardo pointed out that this is a reality that must be interpreted as a commitment by the guerrillas to abandon their armed struggle and dedicate themselves as any Colombian to having a family and a job . “This is certainly a good symptom, women who […]

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Monjas Quito Ecuador: Police find arsenal of weapons on domestic violence call

Rifles, pistols and ammunition were found in Monjas Former Military member had no permission for weapons lahora.com.ec Thursday, February 9, 2017 The urban service police went to the Monjas sector to deal with alleged domestic violence and found an arsenal of weapons. The police of urban service went to the sector of Monjas, center of […]

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Iquitos, Peru: Ayahuasca tours boon for economy, double edge sword

theguardian.com reported according to research by Carlos Suárez Álvarez, Amazonian studies expert and author of Ayahuasca, Iquitos and Monster Vorāx, in Iquitos, the largest city in Peru’s Amazon, 10 of the 40 biggest camps reap nearly £5m annually by hosting foreigners for more than £1,000 per stay. This has led to prices of the Banisteriopsis […]

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Ecuador: More than half of violent crimes are acts of gender violence

globalvoices.org /In Ecuador today, more than half of all violent crimes committed nationally are acts of gender violence. According to the government, there were 80 femicides recorded in 2016. In the first four days of 2017, police recorded one femicide every 32 hours. The activists say they want to “break the silence.” According to the […]

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President Correa says Ecuador shining example of how to treat foreigners

euractiv.com/ By José Manuel Sanz Mingote | euroefe.es | Translated By Samuel Morgan The head of state and government explained that “it’s the same story in Ecuador. We host the most refugees of anyone in Latin America, due to the Colombian conflict, and we are an example to the rest of the world”. “While elsewhere […]

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Guayas Province Ecuador: 1 – 8 cases a day reported of missing persons

Most cases of missing individuals are adolescents – eluniverso.com reported…Margarita, André, Josué, Juana, Genesis are names of people who were reported missing last week at the Flagrant Unit of the Guayas Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Albán Borja Mall, located in northern Guayaquil. There are four prosecutors in the Administrative Actions Unit, which is the […]

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Facebook Survey shows citizens in Latin America frustrated with bureaucracy

iadb.org/ Novel Facebook-based survey measures citizen frustration with bureaucracy in Latin America and Caribbean – The IDB has launched two studies on quality and innovation in public services The Inter-American Development Bank launched two studies that show the low regard citizens have for the quality of public services they receive and how innovation can help […]

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Ecuador Culture: Lessons for the expat and Christmas with Indigenous neighbors

“Papa Noel” or “Plata Noel”? Twelve Questions for Expats this Christmas written by Russ Reina /gringotree.com / expat/opinion Let’s talk about the Christmas messages, we the expat community, may be sending to our Indigenous neighbors, and in turn, how some of them may be embracing negative aspects of our North American culture without even realizing […]

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Latin America Lags In Math, Science, and Reading skills

oecd.org reported for science, math and reading skills, Latin American countries remain below average worldwide. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tested 540,000 15-year-old students in 72 countries. The main focus was on science, an increasingly important part of today’s economy and society. Singapore outperforms the rest of the world. The top-performing countries: […]

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Homicide Rates for Latin America and the Caribbean

2015 Homicide Rates for Latin America and the Caribbean *per 100,000 inhabitants El Salvador 103 Venezuela 90 Honduras 57 Jamaica 45 Guatemala 30 Brazil 26 Colombia 25 Dominican Republic 17 Puerto Rico 16 Mexico 13 Costa Rica 11 Panama 11 Argentina 9 Nicaragua 8 Paraguay 8 Uruguay 8 Peru 7 Ecuador 6 Bolivia 5 Chile […]

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Quito Ecuador: Center Historic Area Losing Population

In the Plaza de San Francisco, where the church and convent of the same name stand, fences have blocked off the construction site for the Quito subway for months, as work has been stalled while archaeological finds are assessed. Quito’s historic centre is the biggest in Latin America. QUITO, Nov 30 2016 (IPS) author- Mario […]

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Ecuador: Government claims “begging” has dropped 76.4 percent since 2010

telesurtv.net reported – The government of Rafael Correa has paid special attention to those living in extreme poverty. One of the most notable achievements of the Citizen’s Revolution in Ecuador has been the marked drop in extreme poverty, which has translated in a significant drop in people begging on streets. SPANISH SLANG ECUADOR – READ […]

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More than 150,000 Venezuelans left so far in 2016, many fleeing in boats0

nytimes.com/ NICHOLAS CASEY wrote: Well over 150,000 Venezuelans have fled the country in the last year alone, the highest in more than a decade, according to scholars studying the exodus. “We have seen a great acceleration,” said Tomás Páez, a professor who studies immigration at the Central University of Venezuela. He says that as many […]

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Ecuador: Six out of ten women have experienced violence

lahora.com.ec REPORTED…Moni Pizani, of UN Women, acknowledged that much progress has been made in Ecuadory, but that there is still a way to go in the fight against this phenomenon, in which 6 out of 10 women have experienced some form of violence. He said that the statistical data to date do not reflect growth […]

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Ecuador: A culture of distrust, case study of gated communities

Do Gated Communities Represent a Problem For Society? A study of the impact of Gated Communities in Machala, Ecuador Cristhian Hernández Abstract The effects of Gated Communities (GCs) were analysed. According to the literature, these urban artefacts are negative for society. They are blamed to provoking social segregation, social exclusion and undermining democracy. In a […]

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Ecuador: Transgender couple become parents

newnownext.com reported Fernando Machado and Diane Rodriguez have put trans equality in the spotlight in the South American country. Fernando Machado and Diane Rodriguez are the most famous trans people in the country, which has a complicated relationship with LGBT rights. Ecuador’s constitution bars discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity, but there is also […]

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Venezuela Crisis Rural Hospitals: Carboard Boxes Used for Newborn babies, no cribs

Hannah Dreier ‏@hannahdreier 4h4 hours ago Cutest dimension of Venezuela crisis: Newborn babies placed in cardboard boxes amid shortages at rural hospitals ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK

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How many foreigners have disappeared in Mexico?

How many foreigners have disappeared in Mexico? Written by Editorial Digitallpost / INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY digitallpost.mx (machine translated) reported in Mexico, between 2005 and 2015 a total of 70 foreigners from 17 nations, most of Central America, disappeared in national territory, so that the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), conducts inquiries corresponding. On the […]

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Bogota Colombia: Call for social health emergency due to homeless situation

elpais.com.co reported the Attorney General’s Office, Alejandro Ordóñez, asked the Minister of Health, Alejandro Gaviria, declaring the social and health emergency by the crisis that was generated in Bogota by the situation of homeless people who have nowhere to settle after Bronx called intervention. ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK This was asked Ordóñez […]

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Guayaquil Ecuador: New Movie “Without Deaths there is no Carnival”

‘No dead no carnival’, reflecting cruelty and realism One of the great qualities that covers the film phenomenon in Latin America is to bring the ignorant, without reservation, what happens in territories with a less bitter face in tourist postcards. Thus, rejection of an unknown situation has practically become an ignored event aims cinema print […]

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Ecuador: Despite improvements, adequate housing for many still a challenge

The housing problems in Ecuador calls for new proposals notiamerica.com reported in the Republic of Ecuador, even after significant advances occurred as regards living conditions of the population, the right to access adequate housing prevails as one of the main phenomena which attend. The notion of adequate housing is linked to a large and complex […]

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Could Ecuador Become Another Venezuela?(observations)

ANONYMOUS POST MADE AT STEVEQUAYLE.COM WITH OBSERVATIONS OF ECUADOR WILL REAL WORLD EVENTS HAPPENING IN ECUADOR LEAD TO ANOTHER VENEZUELA? As an aside, things in Ecuador getting bad, the economy is being destroyed by el presidente and his willing legislators………many here, are saying Ecuador will soon follow Venezuela into hell on earth. They have raised […]

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Venezuela Hunger Crisis: Horse at Zoo Butchered for the meat

Venezuelans suffering from hunger and shortages in their struggling country broke into Caracas zoo and pulled a black stallion from its pen, butchering it for the meat. The crime occurred late last month, in the small hours of the morning at Caracas’ Caricuao Zoo. A gang of people sneaked into the state-run park under the […]

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On Being Black in Ecuador and not from Ecuador (Video)

100 POINTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE MOVING OR RETIRING IN ECUADOR

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Denmark Development Relations with Latin America

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK um.dk reported Denmark has had long-standing development cooperation in Latin America with a focus on rural development, environment and access to justice/human rights. In Latin America, Denmark has supported the efforts of the various countries (Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala) to combat inequality and poverty contributing to the […]

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Latin America: Levels of Inequality and Violence

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK theconversation.com reported Latin America has traditionally been the world’s most unequal region, but it has recently shown signs of change. Through the 2000s, high international prices for exports have brought inequality levels down. Governments have made more concerted efforts to tackle poverty, mounting schemes such as conditional cash […]

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So far in 2016, 26,000 unaccompanied children apprehended at US-Mexican border

Central American child refugees continue to pour into the US csmonitor.com reported in the first six months of 2016, UNICEF said almost 26,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended at the US-Mexican border. Thousands of unaccompanied children continue to migrate from dangerous parts of Central America to the US southern border, according to a United Nations report […]

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Chile: Massive Protests atainst privatized pension plan

bbc.com reported hundreds of thousands of people across Chile have taken part in protests against the country’s controversial privatised pension plan. The scheme was launched in 1981, during the military government of General Augusto Pinochet. Protesters say some 10 million people who joined have now been left with very low retirement incomes – less than […]

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Ecuador: New Treaty to help visually impaired with exceptions to copyrighted material

Quito, Aug 22 Prensa Latina reported The Treaty of Marrakech will benefit over 280 thousand visually disabled persons in Ecuador, playing an important role in tyhe promotion of the pact which should become valid next September 30. Together with Brazil, Paraguay and Mexico, Ecuador was one of the original supporters of the agreement, ratified in […]

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Ecuador: Privacy Bill Introduced, to regulate public, private use of personal information

dataguidance.com reported Juan Javier Canessa, Partner at Larrea & Canessa, highlighted, “Based on the fact that up to this date Ecuador does not have a uniform law regarding protection and management of personal databases, we consider positive the intention to issue such a law that gathers and develops non-existing concepts such as ‘sensitive data,’ ‘data […]

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Kidnapping Statistics for Latin America

SOURCE: UNODC/UNITED NATIONS Definitions for kidnapping differ from country to country. No information received from Argentina or Uruguay. Statistics are from 2014 or earlier depending on reporting from each country. GUATEMALA 2014 0.3 PER 100,000 46 KIDNAPPINGS BELIZE 2011 0.9 PER 100,000 3 KIDNAPPINGS HONDURAS 2013 0.9 PER 100,000 51 KIDNAPPINGS EL SALVADOR 2014 0.9 […]

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Iquitos Peru: One of the last Jewish Communities in Amazon Basin may disappear

theguardian.com reported Iquitos – the world’s largest city that cannot be reached by road – is home to one of the last Jewish communities in the Amazon basin, but that may not be true for much longer: a modern exodus to Israel has seen the city’s Jewish population drop by more than 80% in the […]

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Ecuador: co-coordinating ministries, government of the future

huffingtonpost.com / In Ecuador, a long period of ungovernability, with eight presidents in ten years, led to the writing of an entire new constitution in 2008, in which the state tried to wipe the slate clean and design a cutting-edge way of matching the nature of the problems it faced. One aspect of the reform […]

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Ecuador: Petition filed requesting to decriminalize abortion

Many Ecuadorean women have been forced to carry pregnancies that are the product of rape. telesurtv.net reported the Ecuadorian National Assembly received on Thursday a petition asking it to decriminalize abortion in the country. The Bar Association in Quito presented a text in which they ask the assembly to analyze the decriminalization of abortion in […]

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Expert’s view on Iran’s export revolution to Latin America

Sofey Saidi, PhD, on Tehran’s efforts to “export revolution” in Latin America Iran’s increasing involvement in South American and Central American countries has worried some observers who fear that the country may be “exporting” fundamentalist religion in these regions. The 1979 Iranian Revolution was, according to many analysts, the birth of modern Islamic fundamentalism, an […]

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Ecuador: Media Station, Journalist accused of “media lynching”

New York, August 9, 2016 – The Ecuadoran communications regulator should rescind all measures against the broadcaster Teleamazonas and journalist Janet Hinostroza, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Regulators yesterday sanctioned the station and the journalist for “media lynching” in relation to investigative reports into the government’s purchase of medical supplies. According to a […]

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Ecuador: Novelist releases book in English on Gay Conversion Therapy

“Ecuador lives a facade of lies. People from around the world say it is a secular and progressive country, which it absolutely is not. The reality is far from that.” (César L. Baquerizo) Vice.com reported in 2013, César L. Baquerizo’s novel about the horrors of gay reparative therapy in his native Ecuador, Un Lugar Seguro […]

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Mexico fails in managing increased migration flows from Central America

phys.org reported Mexico launched the Comprehensive Plan for the Southern Border (CPSB) in 2014 in an attempt to manage increased migration flows from Central America. But two years after the plan’s implementation, it has yet to accomplish its goals of securing Mexico’s southern border, according to an issue brief from Rice University’s Baker Institute for […]

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Ecuador: racial injustices wrought by neoliberal urban policies

Revanchist Urbanism Heads South: The Regulation of Indigenous Beggars and Street Vendors in Ecuador Kate Swanson Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; kate.swanson@ges.gla.ac.uk ——- Abstract: Much of the discussion surrounding neoliberal urbanism has been empirically grounded in the North. This paper shifts the discussion south to focus on the regulation […]

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Fanesca in Ecuador, a soup like no other

Calvin Trillin/newyorker.com(2005) reported, When I decided last winter to regroup my forces, it occurred to me that Ecuador might be a good place to study Spanish this go-around. I had in mind Cuenca, around Holy Week. From what I’d gathered during a previous trip to Ecuador, Holy Week is the only time of year you […]

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Punctuality in Ecuador

Newyorker.com (2004) YJames Surowiecki..At high noon last October 1st, the citizens of Ecuador did something they’d never dreamed possible: they synchronized their watches. In doing so, they embarked on a Campaña Contra la Impuntualidad, a national crusade against lateness. A group called Participacíon Ciudadana had orchestrated the initiative in order to combat Ecuadorans’ notoriously cavalier […]

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Latin America: Sex Motel Apps helps lovers find an available room

Spanish Vocabulary Intermediate/Advanced Level: A Guide To Enrich Your Spanish Vocabulary fusion.net reported even though sex motels are everywhere, it’s not always easy to find an available room when you’re new to a city, or on a busy weekend night. And when you’re in the mood, the last thing you want to do is drive […]

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Latin America still risky for FCPA violations

insidecounsel.com reported as the world’s attention turns to the South American nation of Brazil this summer as it hosts the Olympics, those who follow the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) have long been watching the region. Spanish Vocabulary Intermediate/Advanced Level: A Guide To Enrich Your Spanish Vocabulary Even the Olympics themselves — […]

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The Culture of Debt in Northern Andes of Ecuador

Owing and being in debt. A contribution from the northern Andes of Ecuador by EMILIA FERRARO This paper discusses the notion of debt in Pesillo, a Quichua community in northern Ecuador, whose socio-economic organisation is based on a system of generalised reciprocity that includes a variety of ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ exchanges, and non- monetary and […]

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39,000 Venezuelans in Ecuador in attempt to escape crisis in Venezuela

ecuavisa.com reported the Interior Ministry indicates that about 17 thousand Venezuelans were left to reside in Ecuador over the past three years. Outsiders looking for better days away from the political and economic crisis facing the ‘Ranger’ country. The company indicates that entered Ecuador in 2014 and left 19,800 Venezuelans 116.88. In 2015 they reached […]

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Suicide Ever Increasing sign of crisis, disaster in Venezuela

PANAMPOST.com / Orlando Avendaño wrote gaining access to suicide rates in Venezuela is difficult. If you go to a morgue such as that of Bello Monte in Caracas, neither family members nor officials will admit there are any cases in which people ended their lives to escape their circumstances. The last time official numbers detailed […]

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Buen Vivir (good life) in Ecuador has problems, what it reveals about the government

theconversation.com/Philipp Horn – Ecuador is known for promoting the ‘Buen Vivir’ development policy agenda. But the state’s response to a recent earthquake brought its commitment into question. So it went after Ecuador’s recent earthquake, which not only represents the largest humanitarian but also the most significant housing crisis for the country since decades. More than […]

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Brazil: Syrian Refugees having difficulties

reuters.com reported Brazil, the region’s largest country, receives more Syrian refugees than any other country in Latin America. Starting in 2013, Brazil issued special visas under simplified procedures to allow survivors of the war in Syria to travel to the country, where they can claim asylum. Last year Brazil signed a deal with the European […]

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Liberalism in Ecuador: Constitutional, Institutional Instability

Liberalism in Ecuador: In Search of a Constitution Johanna E. Andrango, Diego F. Grijalva and Pedro P. Romero Draft May 19, 2016 Abstract: Ecuador is not a society that upholds classical liberal values. Since its inception as a republic in 1830, the country has had twenty constitutions with an average duration of nine years, that […]

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Impact Of Milk Based Micronutrient Supplementation On Zinc, Iron, and Vitamin A Deficiencies In School Children In Quito – Ecuador

Abstract fasebj.org/ Currently, the most common micronutrient deficiencies in Ecuador are: Zn, vitamin A, and Fe deficits in all age groups. These deficiencies have been associated with short stature, immune-defects, sight deficiency, anemia, and diminished cognitive performance. Several micronutrient supplementation programs have been implemented with limited impact. These programs have had poor acceptability by the […]

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Ecuador: Cubans Detained May Be Deported

telesurtv.net reported a group of Cubans want Mexico or Ecuador to pay for their trip to the United States, where they intend to apply for residence. The government of Ecuador confirmed Thursday the detention of 63 Cuban citizens who were occupying a park in the capital of Quito, those arrested could be subject to deportation […]

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How Things Change in Two Years – Rafael Correa’s Speech in 2014 at Harvard

IN 2014 SPEECH AT HARVARD RAFAEL CORREA STATED: April 11, 2014 harvard.edu – “Democracy has been firmly established in Ecuador,” Correa said. “Not only democracy in the formal sense, but real democracy, in terms of people’s access to rights, equal opportunities, and dignified living conditions. This is the so-called ‘Ecuadorian Miracle.’ ” Between 2007 and […]

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Brazil: Dark Side of the Olympics, Sex Workers offer specials to lure foreign clientele

TIMES ARE BAD FOR THE SEX WORKERS IN VILA MIMOSA – MEASURES TAKEN TO ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS yen.com.gh reported … Prostitutes in Brazil are reported to have been disappointed with business during the last 2014 World Cup in Brazil are desperately launching a ‘sex sale’ for boost business in the summer Olympic games to take […]

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Mexico: Migrant Traffickers using tour buses to transport human cargo to U.S. Border

CBSNewYork/AP) Reported — Mexican authorities say migrant traffickers have adopted a new trick to smuggle Central American clients to the U.S. border: renting high-end tour buses. Mexico’s Immigration Institute says it has found 102 migrants on two buses being used to whisk them across the length of the country. Read Article

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Step by step, Venezuela shutting down, slipping into the dark

Meridith Kohut/NYtimes.com reported — The courts? Closed most days. The bureau to start a business? Same thing. The public defender’s office? That’s been converted into a food bank for government employees. Step by step, Venezuela has been shutting down. This country has long been accustomed to painful shortages, even of basic foods. But Venezuela keeps […]

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Ecuador: Earthquake puts 120,000 children out of school

ndtv.com reported – United Nations: More than 280 schools have been damaged by the earthquake that hit Ecuador on April 16, leaving at least 120,000 children temporarily without education, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said. “Education is a lifeline for children going through the trauma of chaos and destruction,” said Grant Leaity, the UNICEF representative […]

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Ecuador: Radio Station Sanctioned for making jokes about Chinese

fundamedios.org reported on March 22, 2016 the Superintendent of Communication and Information (Supercom) sanctioned officially sanctioned Radio Canela with a fine equivalent to 10% of turnover averaged last 3 months, “discriminatory” comments made ​​by speakers Marcos Vera “the Godfather” and Henry Flores, against Chinese citizens. In “The Members Show” aired on November 10, 2015 between […]

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Friendship Park on U.S./Mexico Border where families visit divided by a fence

The guardian.com reported there are 1,954 miles of border separating the US and Mexico but only one tiny stretch, measuring no more than 15 meters wide, where families are sanctioned to touch fingertips through a steel-mesh fence. This spot, where the Pacific ocean joins the sandy shoreline, and where San Diego becomes Tijuana, is where […]

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Colombia announces formal peace process begins with ELN

theguardian.com reported Colombia has opened a new front in its quest to end half a century of war, with the announcement of a formal peace process with the country’s second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN. In an announcement made in Caracas, the Colombian government and leaders of the ELN said that they […]

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Honduras: Increasing Political Violence, slain indigenous activist

Interview with Dana Frank, professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz, conducted by Scott Harris btlonline.org — The Central American nation of Honduras is well known for having one of the highest murder rates in the world that includes violence attributed to narco-trafficking, gang conflicts and street crime. But Honduras is also […]

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Azuay Province Ecuador recognizes gay marriages as symbolic gesture

gaystarnews.com reported Azuay province in southern Ecuador unanimously voted in favour of a ‘symbolic gesture’ for gay marriage on March 4. Various heads of towns and cities in the province came together and agreed on a form of legally-recognized union same-sex couples can register for, but which will not be the same as a marriage. […]

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Zika Virus Reignites Abortion Debate in Brazil

Rondoniadinamica.com reported the effects of Zika virus with regards to Brazil’s rigid anti-abortion laws. Zooming in on the Atlantic coastal city Recife, the hardest hit region in the country, the source examined situations women can expect to face now that the abortion debate has re-surfaced. Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly in newborn babies, […]

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Colombia: Long recovery of woman who was victim of acid attack

bbc.com/Natalio Cosoy reported….At 35, Natalia Ponce de Leon is an expressive woman, with the vivid eyes of a person who once thought that she would lose her sight. Her mother’s home, where Natalia lives, is usually in half-light, because sunlight is not good for burns. She suffered them twice – serious ones. When she was […]

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Escalating homicide rates in Mexico impacts country’s average life expectancy

Escalating homicide rates in Mexico are affecting the country’s average life expectancy. nytimes.com/RACHEL NUWER reported…According to research published in the journal Health Affairs, the life expectancy for Mexican men aged 15 to 50 fell by 0.6 percent from 2005 to 2010. “In most countries, homicides do commonly occur, particularly among young people,” said Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez, […]

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Ecuador: Nomads of the Rainforest -Waorani Indians- NOVA documentary

NOVA visits the Waorani Indians of Eastern Ecuador less than 30 years after their first contact with Western civilization. Left largely undisturbed because of their traditional hostility toward outsiders, a few families remain deep in the rainforest hunting game with blowguns and spears. They also cultivate gardens, make weapons and tools and maintain traditions that […]

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