Ecuador resources
Explainers
Clear context on how Ecuador works and why it matters.
History & Culture
Amawtay Wasi is Ecuador’s public intercultural university for Indigenous nationalities and peoples. Its full name is Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas Amawtay Wasi. In Kichwa, “Amawtay Wasi” is commonly understood as a “house of wisdom” or a place of knowledge.
1. First: is a “Super El Niño” officially confirmed? Not yet. The phrase “Super El Niño” is not an official technical category. It is usually used by media, forecasters, or commentators to describe a very strong El Niño, similar to the major events of 1982–83, 1997–98, or 2015–16. What is official is that international and Ecuadorian agencies are watching conditions closely. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has said…
Portoviejo holds a prestigious spot in history as one of the oldest Spanish-founded cities in present-day Ecuador. Founded on March 12, 1535, it wasn't just a random settlement—it was a calculated move by the Spanish Empire to secure the coast. Why was Portoviejo Founded? The founding of San Gregorio de Portoviejo by Captain Francisco Pacheco was driven by three main goals: Strategic Control: The Spanish needed a ba…
Once called the "most difficult railway in the world," the Trans-Andean Railroad is more than just a set of tracks; it is the physical story of Ecuador’s struggle for unity. For years, the silence of its locomotives felt like a closing chapter in national history. However, as of January 2026, the steam whistles are finally blowing again. Here is the full journey—from the blood and dynamite of the 1900s to the commun…
If you’ve spent any time wandering through an Ecuadorian market—from the historic stalls of Quito to the humid plazas of Portoviejo—you’ve likely encountered a specific, pungent aroma: a mix of crushed green herbs, floral cologne, and woodsmoke. You’ve stumbled upon the world of the Limpia (the "cleansing"). Far from being a hidden ritual, traditional healing is a visible, daily part of life here. It is a bridge bet…
Series: Short History · Part 1 — A story about money, rules, and everyday friction—how small changes in taxes and trade made big ideas start to feel possible. 1) Introduction Imagine two mornings in the same “Quito world.” In the Sierra, a weaver or market vendor hears rumors that inspectors will be stricter and prices will rise. On the Coast, a port clerk in Guayaquil sees more ships, more paperwork, and more opportunities—plus more officials aski…
Series: Short History · Part 2 — Introduction In August 1809, Quito wasn’t just talking about politics—it was living inside it. News from Europe arrived late and in fragments, and people filled the gaps with rumors: the king is gone, Napoleon is in charge, soldiers are coming, someone has a list of names. Then the city wakes up to something that changes daily life fast: two versions of authority claiming legitimacy—the old royal government and a ne…
Series: Short History · Part 3 — Introduction Think of the Sierra in 1810–1812 as a place where politics stops being “a document” and becomes messy living: you still need bread, candles, and work—but now you also need to know which authority is real today. In Quito, that meant living with a constant sense of double authority (paper legitimacy vs. force), while in Cuenca and Loja it meant watching Quito’s experiments, calculating risk, and protectin…
Series: Short History · Part 4 — Introduction If Quito’s revolution years felt like living inside uncertainty, Guayaquil in October 1820 feels like the opposite: a plan that actually lands. Not because everyone suddenly agreed—but because Guayaquil had three ingredients that matter in real-world revolutions: money (a port economy), organization (networks + timing), and control of the garrison before the city could be locked down. (El Universo) What…
Series: Short History · Part 5 — Part 5 — Guayaquil 1820–1822: Three doors, one city Introduction After 9 October 1820, Guayaquil didn’t just gain a new flag—it gained a new daily question: What are we now? A city that lives by tides, customs stamps, and credit suddenly had to choose a future while still paying soldiers, keeping the port running, and not scaring families into panic. And the hardest part? There wasn’t only one “good” option. There w…
Series: Short History · Part 6 — Introduction Independence-era war in Ecuador isn’t best understood as “armies clash, someone wins.” It’s better understood as: Can you move people, food, animals, and gunpowder across extreme geography without your force collapsing? The Coast is humidity, rivers, and corridors. The Sierra is altitude, cold nights, narrow passes, and trails that can vanish in rain. Whoever learns to survive movement ends up shaping p…
Series: Short History · Part 7 — Introduction If Guayaquil 1820 was the revolution that started a new phase, Pichincha (24 May 1822) is the moment that made the new reality hard to reverse. It wasn’t just “a battle on a volcano.” It was the key move that let the independence coalition take Quito, end the last strong royalist hold in the region, and lock in a new political map—especially the link to Gran Colombia. (Encyclopedia Britannica) What happ…
Series: Short History · Part 8 — Introduction To understand why royalism lasted, it helps to drop the “movie version” where one side is purely heroic and the other is purely villain. For many people in the Audiencia of Quito (and across Spanish America), staying loyal to the Spanish monarchy felt like the safest path to order, jobs, religion, and basic predictability—especially when the alternative looked like uncertainty, civil conflict, or social…
Series: Short History · Part 9 — Introduction After Pichincha (1822), the big question wasn’t only “Spain is leaving.” It was: What replaces the empire? For the Quito highlands, the answer became Gran Colombia—a giant, fast-built republic meant to keep the independence project alive, pay for armies, and prevent the region from fragmenting into weak mini-states. But the same size that gave Gran Colombia power also made it hard to govern—especially f…
What this is A friendly, in-depth guide to why Quito’s protest didn’t stay a one-night riot—it stretched from May 1765 into September 1766, created a period of local control, forced major policy concessions, and left a long political memory that shaped how Quito (and later Ecuador) talked about authority, fairness, and who gets a voice. (OpenEdition Books) The big idea (in plain language) The Crown’s Bourbon-era pus…
What this explainer is A friendly, detailed look at how the Jesuits became education powerhouses in the Audiencia of Quito, what happened when King Charles III expelled them in 1767, and why you can still feel that story in Quito today. The big idea For much of the colonial period, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) ran some of the most influential schools and university-level teaching in Quito—especially in philosophy,…
If you imagine the Spanish Empire as a huge, expensive machine, the Bourbon Reforms were Spain saying: “This thing is leaking money, running on old wiring, and our rivals are catching up. We’re going to redesign it—fast.” Across Spanish America, the reforms aimed to centralize control, raise revenue, and make colonial government more efficient (and more directly loyal to the Crown). (Encyclopedia Britannica) In the…
English When you zoom out from Quito, colonial Ecuador starts to look like a network: highland cities that managed land and labor, connected by roads to a coastal port that moved goods in and out. And in the south, Cuenca and Loja were key “nodes” in that network—smaller than Quito, but strategically placed. A simple clue: the 1563 royal decree that set up the Real Audiencia of Quito explicitly lists Loja, Cuenca, a…
let’s do a time-travel walking tour. Imagine it’s a clear morning and you’re walking Quito when it’s still a Spanish colonial capital: bells, vendors, officials in dark capes, and everyone reading the city’s rules in who stands where. Quito (Colonial Era) — a walking version you can feel Stop 1 — Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia) EN: This is the city’s “front room.” In Spanish Quito, the plaza is where power…
English 1) A city “built on purpose”After the Spanish founded Quito in 1534 (on the ruins of an Inca city), they shaped it as a compact Andean capital—steep streets, big plazas, and church complexes that doubled as spiritual and social anchors. UNESCO notes the old city’s plan as checkerboard-patterned streets with squares, and houses “1 or 2 floors with one or several patios.” (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) Think o…
ENGLISH (friendly explainer) When people talk about Esmeraldas in colonial Ecuador, they’re often talking about a “frontier” zone: thick forests, big rivers, and coastal routes that were important to the empire—but never easy for the empire to fully control. Historians literally frame Esmeraldas as a borderland that was “integrated” only unevenly into the colonial (and later national) space. (ojs.fhce.edu.uy) And th…
Let’s zoom in on the structure (who had power, who answered to whom) and then what that meant for real people’s daily lives: Spaniards, criollos/mestizos, Indigenous communities, and Afro-Ecuadorians. ENGLISH The basic power triangle: Crown / State, Church, Land (hacienda) A helpful way to picture colonial Ecuador is as three overlapping systems: State (the Crown’s administration) = laws, taxes, courts, officials Ch…
Christmas Eve, nativity displays, coast vs. sierra vs. amazon, and parades Ecuador’s Christmas season blends family, faith, and public celebration—and in many places the “main night” is Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) rather than Dec 25. The details vary by region, but you’ll see the same big pillars everywhere: Novena gatherings, pesebres/nacimientos (nativity scenes), and festive processions like the Pase del Niño. (Pr…
When Ecuadorians talk about Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, you’ll often hear two things in the same breath: “a democratic, institutional politician” and “a president who governed in a really hard economic moment.” Both can be true—because the late 1980s and early 1990s were a tough stretch for Ecuador, even by Ecuador standards. Borja served as President of Ecuador from August 10, 1988 to August 10, 1992, as leader of the…
Below is a full historical list of Ecuador’s constitutional presidents (1830–present), with 3–4 short lines each. Note: Ecuador also had many very short “acting/interim” heads of state, juntas, and provisional governments, sometimes lasting days or weeks—too many to describe cleanly in one readable list. 1830s–1800s Juan José Flores (1830–1834; 1839–1845)Founder-era strongman who helped consolidate the new republic…
Today’s Explainer: Piracy on Ecuador’s Coast — From Drake to Guayaquil Night on the Guayas River is the wrong kind of quiet: black water, mangrove shadows, and the sense that the city is there—but hidden inland, beyond bends you can’t see. In 1709, when the English privateer Woodes Rogers finally turned away from Guayaquil, he didn’t slip out like a thief. He left with noise and theatre: “drums beating, trumpets sou…
1) The Pacific wasn’t supposed to have pirates In the late 1500s, Spain’s enemies raided the Caribbean all the time—but the Pacific still felt like a private Spanish lake. One modern summary captures the shock bluntly: privateers were common in the “Spanish Main” but “were unheard of in the Pacific.” (Wikipedia) That assumption is the first reason Drake matters to Ecuador. When Golden Hind slipped through the Strait…
The “Esmeraldas interception”: how Drake actually took the Cacafuego off Cabo San Francisco (1579) When people say “the Esmeraldas interception,” they’re usually talking about the moment Francis Drake’s ship (Golden Hind) finally caught and seized the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción—nicknamed the Cacafuego—near Cape/Cabo San Francisco, on the coast of today’s Esmeraldas Province. Internet Archi…
Pre-Inca peoples of Ecuador: who they were, and what their world was like (friendly explainer) When people say “pre-Inca Ecuador,” they’re talking about thousands of years of different societies—coastal, highland, and Amazonian—many of which were thriving long before the Inca arrived in the late 1400s. Ecuador wasn’t one single civilization back then. It was more like a mosaic of cultures connected by trade, migrati…
Here’s a clear, date-anchored explainer of the Ecuador–Chevron case and where it stands as of today.Dec 11 2025 1. What is “the Chevron case” in Ecuador? It’s a pair of intertwined legal battles: Lago Agrio / UDAPT case (Ecuadorian courts vs. Chevron)– Amazonian communities sued over massive oil contamination from Texaco’s operations (1964–1992).– They won a US$9.5 billion judgment in Ecuadorian courts, which Chevro…
Here’s a fuller, friendlier explainer that leans more into who Noboa is, what correísmo means, and where he sits on hot-button issues like drugs and abortion. 1. Correísmo in a nutshell To understand Daniel Noboa, it helps to see him as governing in the long shadow of Rafael Correa. “Correísmo” is the label for Correa’s political project and his followers. It’s rooted in the “Citizen’s Revolution”, a left-wing progr…
Rafael Correa is one of those figures you have to understand if you want to make sense of Ecuadorian politics today – even though he’s been living in Belgium for years. Below is a factual, big-picture explainer: who he is, what he did in power, his legal problems, and why he still matters. 1. Quick snapshot Full name: Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado Born: April 6, 1963, in Guayaquil Profession: Economist (studied in E…
Vilcabamba, Loja: long lives, long holidays, and long arguments about “the gringos” 🌱 1. Where is Vilcabamba and why do people talk about it so much? Vilcabamba is a small parish in the canton of Loja, southern Ecuador, about 40 km south of the city of Loja, in a valley at roughly 1,500–1,700 meters above sea level. It sits where the Andean foothills start to relax toward the lowlands, with green hills, a mild “eter…
1. How Ecuador ended up dollarized In the late 1990s Ecuador went through a devastating crisis: Banks failed, deposits were frozen, and many people lost part or all of their savings. Inflation shot up and the sucre collapsed in value: it lost around two-thirds of its dollar value in 1999, and then another quarter in just the first week of 2000. Poverty and unemployment surged, with especially harsh impacts in rural…
this article was created by ChatGPT. The Incas in Ecuador: a short, sharp empire on an ancient land 1. Before the Incas: Ecuador was already busy When people think of the Incas, they often picture a giant empire stretching from Colombia to Chile. But by the time the Incas reached what is now Ecuador, the land was already full of powerful peoples and cultures. In the southern highlands (Cañar, Azuay), the Cañari cont…
1. Where is Japotó, exactly? Japotó is an archaeological site located in the community of Santa Teresa, between Charapotó and San Jacinto, in the parish of Charapotó, canton Sucre, northern Manabí. (Revista Mundo Diners) Today it sits inside the Biocorredor Estuario del Río Portoviejo, a conservation area that covers mangroves, estuary and nearby hills and farms along the Portoviejo River. (biocorredor.com) So if yo…
When you stand on the beach at San Jacinto or look across the estuary at La Boca, you’re basically standing in a very old “frontier zone” between sea and river trade routes. Long before the Spanish arrived, this coast was part of the world of the Manteño-Huancavilca peoples, famous sailors and merchants who lived along what is now Manabí and Santa Elena from at least around 700 CE. They farmed the hills, fished the…
The Asamblea Nacional is Ecuador’s single national parliament – it’s unicameral, meaning there’s just one chamber, not two like in some countries. Right now it has 151 members (asambleístas), elected for four years. They come from three kinds of districts: 15 national members (elected by the whole country), 130 provincial/district members (elected in each province and big metro area according to population), 6 repre…
Government & Politics
Amawtay Wasi is Ecuador’s public intercultural university for Indigenous nationalities and peoples. Its full name is Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas Amawtay Wasi. In Kichwa, “Amawtay Wasi” is commonly understood as a “house of wisdom” or a place of knowledge.
Caso Progen is a major Ecuador public-contracting scandal involving emergency electricity contracts signed during the 2024 power crisis.
Palantir Technologies is a U.S. software company that builds platforms for data integration, analysis, AI-assisted decision-making, and operational coordination. Its best-known government platform is Gotham, used in defense, intelligence, policing, and public-sector operations. Its broader enterprise platform, Foundry, is used to connect data across organizations, and its newer AIP — Artificial Intelligence Platform…
The SUCRE was not the old Ecuadorian sucre currency. It was the Sistema Unitario de Compensación Regional de Pagos — a regional payment-clearing system created within the ALBA-TCP bloc to settle trade among member countries without using U.S. dollars directly in every transaction. Ecuador joined during the government of Rafael Correa, when regional integration with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and Nic…
To understand Ecuador's political landscape in 2026, it’s helpful to view it as a battle between established traditional movements and a new, dominant "Noboa-ist" center-right. The following table breaks down the key players currently shaping the National Assembly and the executive branch. Primary Political Forces in Ecuador (2026) Party / MovementKey LeaderPolitical SpectrumPower & PopularityAcción Democrática Naci…
The relationship between Ecuador and Colombia has reached a critical historical low in April 2026. This friction is not just about a single event, but a deep ideological and personal clash between two leaders who represent opposite ends of the political spectrum. 1. The Present Situation: The Breaking Point As of April 8–9, 2026, Ecuador has officially recalled its ambassador, Arturo Félix Wong, from Bogotá. The imm…
As of February 19, 2026, the United States and Ecuador have substantially concluded negotiations for the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART). This bilateral pact marks a transition from unilateral trade preferences to a formalized, two-way market access framework. The following is an informative summary of the agreement's primary provisions and the associated economic trade-offs. 📈 Strategic Pros (Benefits) 1. Tarif…
It’s a intense situation in Guayaquil right now. To help you get a clear picture of what’s happening, here is a breakdown of the recent fires and the national government’s intervention. The "Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why" What happened? A series of major fires has struck Guayaquil, the most devastating being a massive blaze at the Multicomercio building in the city center. The fire was so intense that it caus…
To understand the trade war currently unfolding between Ecuador and Colombia, you have to understand the man on the other side of the border. Gustavo Petro is not just Colombia’s president; he is the most significant ideological shift in Colombian history. Here is an exploration of who Petro is, his "guerrilla to president" history, and why his friction with Daniel Noboa was almost inevitable. 1. The Background: Fro…
ENGLISH What happened The “Las Malvinas” case refers to the forced disappearance of four boys (ages 11–15) from the Las Malvinas neighborhood in southern Guayaquil, during a period when Ecuador intensified military-led security operations. Prosecutors say the boys were detained during an operation and then disappeared; later, authorities confirmed the boys had died. (Reuters) Key timeline Dec 2024: The boys disappea…
When Ecuadorians talk about Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, you’ll often hear two things in the same breath: “a democratic, institutional politician” and “a president who governed in a really hard economic moment.” Both can be true—because the late 1980s and early 1990s were a tough stretch for Ecuador, even by Ecuador standards. Borja served as President of Ecuador from August 10, 1988 to August 10, 1992, as leader of the…
Explainer: Ecuador’s “Triple A” case (ongoing) First, a quick clarification because the name causes constant confusion: the “Caso Triple A” (fuel case) is not the “Plan Triple AAA” drinking-water project in Portoviejo. They’re unrelated topics that happen to share a similar nickname. (Fiscalía General del Estado) ENGLISH What is it? The “Caso Triple A” is a criminal case led by Fiscalía General del Estado investigat…
Series: Ecuador Legal System · Part 1 — Ecuador’s Legal System — an Immigrant-Friendly Explainer (with Canada comparison) Audience: Immigrants/expats who are used to other legal systems (especially Canada).Scope: A practical overview of how Ecuador’s system generally works, with extra clarity on denuncias and the police–prosecutor relationship. 0) The “30-second” big picture Ecuador is a civil-law country: the main rules are found in written laws and code…
Series: Ecuador Legal System · Part 2 — Civil-Law Disputes in Ecuador (Contractors, Car Repairs, Services) — An Immigrant Explainer with Canada Comparison This explainer focuses on everyday civil disputes immigrants often face in Ecuador: a contractor who didn’t finish work, a remodel gone wrong, a mechanic who “fixed” the car but the problem returned, a deposit not returned, or a service you paid for that wasn’t delivered as promised. It also adds a prac…
Series: Ecuador Legal System · Part 3 — Ecuador Family Law for Immigrants Marriage, unión de hecho, divorce, children, and inheritance (including wills) — with Canada comparisons Ecuador is a civil-law country: family rules come mainly from written codes and the Constitution, and procedures/formalities matter a lot. Canada is bijural: most provinces use common law, Quebec uses civil law for private matters, and federal law applies nationwide in areas like…
Here’s a clear, date-anchored explainer of the Ecuador–Chevron case and where it stands as of today.Dec 11 2025 1. What is “the Chevron case” in Ecuador? It’s a pair of intertwined legal battles: Lago Agrio / UDAPT case (Ecuadorian courts vs. Chevron)– Amazonian communities sued over massive oil contamination from Texaco’s operations (1964–1992).– They won a US$9.5 billion judgment in Ecuadorian courts, which Chevro…
Here’s an Explainer on the Sinohydro bribery case in Ecuador — neutral, friendly, and up to date as of 10 December 2025. This is an ongoing case: no one has been convicted in this specific process yet, and all accused are presumed innocent. 1. What is Sinohydro and what is Coca Codo Sinclair? Sinohydro is a large Chinese state-owned construction company, active around the world in hydroelectric dams and other big in…
Here’s a fuller, friendlier explainer that leans more into who Noboa is, what correísmo means, and where he sits on hot-button issues like drugs and abortion. 1. Correísmo in a nutshell To understand Daniel Noboa, it helps to see him as governing in the long shadow of Rafael Correa. “Correísmo” is the label for Correa’s political project and his followers. It’s rooted in the “Citizen’s Revolution”, a left-wing progr…
Rafael Correa is one of those figures you have to understand if you want to make sense of Ecuadorian politics today – even though he’s been living in Belgium for years. Below is a factual, big-picture explainer: who he is, what he did in power, his legal problems, and why he still matters. 1. Quick snapshot Full name: Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado Born: April 6, 1963, in Guayaquil Profession: Economist (studied in E…
The Portoviejo–Manta–Bahía Corridor: One Coastal Region, Three Different Economies (with Crucita, San Clemente, San Jacinto, Canoa, Chone, Calceta, Tosagua, Rocafuerte, Bahía de Caráquez & San Vicente in the background) 1. One corridor, many economies If you look at a map, Portoviejo, Manta and Bahía de Caráquez/San Vicente sit along one logical coastal corridor: farms and small towns in the interior, a capital city…
1. How Ecuador ended up dollarized In the late 1990s Ecuador went through a devastating crisis: Banks failed, deposits were frozen, and many people lost part or all of their savings. Inflation shot up and the sucre collapsed in value: it lost around two-thirds of its dollar value in 1999, and then another quarter in just the first week of 2000. Poverty and unemployment surged, with especially harsh impacts in rural…
Here’s your explainer, with a short bilingual wrap-up at the end.(And as requested on earlier pieces: this article was created by ChatGPT.) Portoviejo’s Urban Lab: how Ecuadorian cities are trying to change for their citizens 1. What is an “Urban Lab”? An urban lab is basically a city-sized workshop: a place where local government, universities, citizens and sometimes NGOs test ideas using real data from the city. I…
Here we go—Ecuador & oil, big-picture explainer. 1. Why oil still matters so much to Ecuador Oil is still one of the pillars of Ecuador’s economy, even if its relative weight is slowly shrinking. In 2023, crude petroleum was Ecuador’s single biggest export, worth about US$13.1 billion. At the same time, Ecuador spent about US$4.2 billion importing refined fuels (gasoline, diesel, etc.), because its refineries cannot…
Explainer / Explicador Manta’s hydrosanitary master plan: how it works, who pays for it, and what it means for the cityEl Plan Maestro Hidrosanitario de Manta: cómo funciona, quién lo financia y qué significa para la ciudad 1. What is Manta’s hydraulic / hydrosanitary plan? 1. ¿Qué es el plan hidráulico / hidrosanitario de Manta? EN:When people in Manta talk about the “Plan Maestro Hidrosanitario” or “Plan Maestro d…
Here’s today’s explainer on Ecuador’s place in the world and how it deals with its main partners. 1. Big picture: a small country in a busy neighborhood Ecuador is a small, dollarized country on the Pacific, squeezed between Colombia and Peru and highly dependent on trade, migration and security cooperation with others. Foreign-policy analysts often describe it as a “small, peripheral and dependent state”, meaning:…
Here’s your explainer on mining in Ecuador, with Dundee / Loma Larga folded in. 1. Big picture: where mining fits in Ecuador’s economy Ecuador has large deposits of copper, gold and silver, similar in potential to Peru and Chile, but it is still a latecomer to large-scale mining. For decades, the extractive sector was basically oil + small-scale gold mining. Now metals are growing: Mining exports were a bit over USD…
Explainer – How the Illegal Drug Trade Is Affecting Ecuador’s Economy Over the last decade, Ecuador has gone from being a quiet neighbor between Colombia and Peru to being described as a key hub of the global cocaine trade. Weak institutions, a dollarized economy, modern ports, and a free-trade link with Europe have made it attractive for foreign cartels and local gangs. (Crisis Group) The economic impact is two-sid…
The Asamblea Nacional is Ecuador’s single national parliament – it’s unicameral, meaning there’s just one chamber, not two like in some countries. Right now it has 151 members (asambleístas), elected for four years. They come from three kinds of districts: 15 national members (elected by the whole country), 130 provincial/district members (elected in each province and big metro area according to population), 6 repre…
EN: The Presupuesto General del Estado (PGE) is basically the country’s yearly money plan. It estimates how much money the government will receive (from taxes, oil sales, fees, etc.) and how much it will spend (on education, health, roads, security and many other areas). The Constitution and the Código Orgánico de Planificación y Finanzas Públicas (COPLAFIP) say that the budget must follow the National Development P…
Why Do Investors See Ecuador as “High Risk”?Written with ChatGPT (GPT-5.1 Thinking) When news sites or banks talk about “sovereign risk”, they’re talking about how risky it is to lend money to a country’s government. Countries like Canada and the United States are usually seen as very safe borrowers. Countries like Ecuador are often classified as high risk. That doesn’t mean Ecuador is a disaster or “doomed” — it ju…
Economy & Business
Caso Progen is a major Ecuador public-contracting scandal involving emergency electricity contracts signed during the 2024 power crisis.
The SUCRE was not the old Ecuadorian sucre currency. It was the Sistema Unitario de Compensación Regional de Pagos — a regional payment-clearing system created within the ALBA-TCP bloc to settle trade among member countries without using U.S. dollars directly in every transaction. Ecuador joined during the government of Rafael Correa, when regional integration with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and Nic…
Think of Country Risk (often called "Sovereign Risk") as a credit score for an entire nation. Just as a bank checks your credit score to decide if they should lend you money for a car—and at what interest rate—global investors use this number to judge how likely a country is to pay back its debts. In Ecuador, you will often hear this number referred to in "points" or "basis points." Here is a breakdown of what that…
The Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric plant, built by the Chinese firm Sinohydro, is Ecuador's largest infrastructure project and arguably its most controversial. As of April 2026, the project has reached a critical legal and technical crossroads. 🏗️ The Infrastructure at a Glance Located between the Napo and Sucumbíos provinces, the dam was designed to generate 1,500 MW, theoretically covering 30% of Ecuador's…
The recent difficulty in using foreign bank cards (US, European, etc.) at Cooperative ATMs (like JEP, Pilahuin Tío, or Alianza del Valle) is not a random technical glitch. It is the result of a significant regulatory overhaul that reached a critical implementation phase on March 1, 2026. 1. The "Tax Wall": SRI Resolution No. NAC-DGERCGC26-00000009 The most immediate cause is a new tax directive from the Internal Rev…
As of February 19, 2026, the United States and Ecuador have substantially concluded negotiations for the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART). This bilateral pact marks a transition from unilateral trade preferences to a formalized, two-way market access framework. The following is an informative summary of the agreement's primary provisions and the associated economic trade-offs. 📈 Strategic Pros (Benefits) 1. Tarif…
If oil is the traditional engine of the Ecuadorian economy, shrimp is its modern heartbeat. As of 2026, Ecuador has solidified its position as the world’s largest shrimp exporter, outperforming massive competitors like India and Vietnam. For the average resident or investor, the shrimp industry isn't just about what's on the dinner plate—it is a $9 billion-a-year juggernaut that dictates everything from national sec…
If you’ve noticed the headlines this week, the relationship between Ecuador and its northern neighbor, Colombia, has suddenly hit a freezing point. What started as a dispute over border security has rapidly escalated into a full-blown "tit-for-tat" trade war involving 30% tariffs, energy blackouts, and oil threats. Here is the deep dive into why this is happening, where the "battle lines" are drawn today, and what t…
People in Ecuador often talk like there are three countries inside one: the Coast (Costa), the Highlands (Sierra), and the Amazon (Oriente/Amazonía). That shorthand is real and useful—because the Andes act like a giant spine that shapes climate, travel, jobs, food, and even political priorities. Britannica describes Ecuador’s mainland as divided into these three main physical regions: Costa, Sierra, Oriente. (Encycl…
Explainer: Ecuador’s “Triple A” case (ongoing) First, a quick clarification because the name causes constant confusion: the “Caso Triple A” (fuel case) is not the “Plan Triple AAA” drinking-water project in Portoviejo. They’re unrelated topics that happen to share a similar nickname. (Fiscalía General del Estado) ENGLISH What is it? The “Caso Triple A” is a criminal case led by Fiscalía General del Estado investigat…
Ecuador’s Sistema Nacional Interconectado (SNI) leans heavily on hydroelectricity—at times covering around 90% of national demand (per CENACE figures cited by Lupa). (LupaMedia) Where the big hydropower plants are (high-level “map”) Think of Ecuador’s hydropower as clusters along major river basins: Amazon/Andes (north-east): Coca Codo Sinclair (the country’s largest) is located between Napo and Sucumbíos and has 1,…
Here’s an Explainer on the Sinohydro bribery case in Ecuador — neutral, friendly, and up to date as of 10 December 2025. This is an ongoing case: no one has been convicted in this specific process yet, and all accused are presumed innocent. 1. What is Sinohydro and what is Coca Codo Sinclair? Sinohydro is a large Chinese state-owned construction company, active around the world in hydroelectric dams and other big in…
1. How Ecuador ended up dollarized In the late 1990s Ecuador went through a devastating crisis: Banks failed, deposits were frozen, and many people lost part or all of their savings. Inflation shot up and the sucre collapsed in value: it lost around two-thirds of its dollar value in 1999, and then another quarter in just the first week of 2000. Poverty and unemployment surged, with especially harsh impacts in rural…
Here we go—Ecuador & oil, big-picture explainer. 1. Why oil still matters so much to Ecuador Oil is still one of the pillars of Ecuador’s economy, even if its relative weight is slowly shrinking. In 2023, crude petroleum was Ecuador’s single biggest export, worth about US$13.1 billion. At the same time, Ecuador spent about US$4.2 billion importing refined fuels (gasoline, diesel, etc.), because its refineries cannot…
[ratemypost] [ratemypost-result] (Article created by ChatGPT / Artículo creado por ChatGPT) 1. What this article does (and doesn’t) do 1. Qué hace (y qué no hace) este artículo EN:Ecuador doesn’t publish a perfect, regularly updated ranking of cities by GDP, so any list has to be approximate. In this explainer, created by ChatGPT from official census data and economic studies, we look at population (2022 census) plu…
Here’s today’s explainer on Ecuador’s place in the world and how it deals with its main partners. 1. Big picture: a small country in a busy neighborhood Ecuador is a small, dollarized country on the Pacific, squeezed between Colombia and Peru and highly dependent on trade, migration and security cooperation with others. Foreign-policy analysts often describe it as a “small, peripheral and dependent state”, meaning:…
Here’s your explainer on mining in Ecuador, with Dundee / Loma Larga folded in. 1. Big picture: where mining fits in Ecuador’s economy Ecuador has large deposits of copper, gold and silver, similar in potential to Peru and Chile, but it is still a latecomer to large-scale mining. For decades, the extractive sector was basically oil + small-scale gold mining. Now metals are growing: Mining exports were a bit over USD…
Ecuador’s Real Economy: Value and Cost of Its Key Sectors When people talk about Ecuador’s economy, they usually mention oil first. That makes sense: oil exports and oil-related revenues still play a big role in public finances. But if you look a bit closer, you see that a lot of the real day-to-day economy is built on five other pillars: Agriculture Aquaculture (especially shrimp) Tourism Expats who live in Ecuador…
Explainer – How the Illegal Drug Trade Is Affecting Ecuador’s Economy Over the last decade, Ecuador has gone from being a quiet neighbor between Colombia and Peru to being described as a key hub of the global cocaine trade. Weak institutions, a dollarized economy, modern ports, and a free-trade link with Europe have made it attractive for foreign cartels and local gangs. (Crisis Group) The economic impact is two-sid…
The Asamblea Nacional is Ecuador’s single national parliament – it’s unicameral, meaning there’s just one chamber, not two like in some countries. Right now it has 151 members (asambleístas), elected for four years. They come from three kinds of districts: 15 national members (elected by the whole country), 130 provincial/district members (elected in each province and big metro area according to population), 6 repre…
Geography & Environment
Understanding "El Niño Costero": An Explainer While the world often speaks of the "Global El Niño," Ecuador and Peru frequently deal with a more localized and often more intense phenomenon known as El Niño Costero (Coastal El Niño). Understanding this distinction is vital for residents of the Litoral and the Galápagos. What is El Niño Costero? Unlike the global version, which involves a massive warming of the centra…
If El Niño is the "marathon" of weather (lasting months or years), the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the "sprint." It is a massive, fast-moving pulse of clouds and rain that circles the globe every 30 to 60 days. For people in Ecuador, the MJO is often the "hidden hand" behind a sudden week of torrential rain or a strangely dry "break" in the middle of the rainy season. 1. What is the MJO? The MJO is an eastwar…
In the tug-of-war for Ecuador’s coastline, the Humboldt Current and El Niño are the lead players. But as we start 2026, a third character—La Niña—is currently holding the rope. Here is the breakdown of why this battle matters for your wallet and your weekend plans, along with the latest forecast for the year ahead. 1. The Science: Cold vs. Warm The Humboldt Current (The Constant): This massive "conveyor belt" flows…
People in Ecuador often talk like there are three countries inside one: the Coast (Costa), the Highlands (Sierra), and the Amazon (Oriente/Amazonía). That shorthand is real and useful—because the Andes act like a giant spine that shapes climate, travel, jobs, food, and even political priorities. Britannica describes Ecuador’s mainland as divided into these three main physical regions: Costa, Sierra, Oriente. (Encycl…
English When you zoom out from Quito, colonial Ecuador starts to look like a network: highland cities that managed land and labor, connected by roads to a coastal port that moved goods in and out. And in the south, Cuenca and Loja were key “nodes” in that network—smaller than Quito, but strategically placed. A simple clue: the 1563 royal decree that set up the Real Audiencia of Quito explicitly lists Loja, Cuenca, a…
let’s do a time-travel walking tour. Imagine it’s a clear morning and you’re walking Quito when it’s still a Spanish colonial capital: bells, vendors, officials in dark capes, and everyone reading the city’s rules in who stands where. Quito (Colonial Era) — a walking version you can feel Stop 1 — Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia) EN: This is the city’s “front room.” In Spanish Quito, the plaza is where power…
First: what people mean by “ceibo” on the Ecuadorian Coast On the Coast, when someone says “that’s a ceibo”, they’re usually talking about Ceiba trichistandra — the classic giant of Ecuador’s tropical dry forest (bosque seco) in the Tumbes region (Ecuador–Peru). (iNaturalist) (Tiny note because it confuses everyone at some point: there are other “ceibas” too — like Ceiba pentandra in wetter tropical areas — but the…
“Ecuador’s coastal weather is strongly influenced by sea surface temperature. Small shifts in ocean warmth change humidity, cloud formation, and the odds of storms—especially during ENSO phases like La Niña.” (CPC) If you live on the Costa (especially places like Manabí, Santa Elena, Guayas, Esmeraldas), you’ve probably noticed this pattern: Some weeks feel sticky and stormy (even if it’s “not supposed to”). Other w…
Vilcabamba, Loja: long lives, long holidays, and long arguments about “the gringos” 🌱 1. Where is Vilcabamba and why do people talk about it so much? Vilcabamba is a small parish in the canton of Loja, southern Ecuador, about 40 km south of the city of Loja, in a valley at roughly 1,500–1,700 meters above sea level. It sits where the Andean foothills start to relax toward the lowlands, with green hills, a mild “eter…
The Portoviejo–Manta–Bahía Corridor: One Coastal Region, Three Different Economies (with Crucita, San Clemente, San Jacinto, Canoa, Chone, Calceta, Tosagua, Rocafuerte, Bahía de Caráquez & San Vicente in the background) 1. One corridor, many economies If you look at a map, Portoviejo, Manta and Bahía de Caráquez/San Vicente sit along one logical coastal corridor: farms and small towns in the interior, a capital city…
Here we go—Ecuador & oil, big-picture explainer. 1. Why oil still matters so much to Ecuador Oil is still one of the pillars of Ecuador’s economy, even if its relative weight is slowly shrinking. In 2023, crude petroleum was Ecuador’s single biggest export, worth about US$13.1 billion. At the same time, Ecuador spent about US$4.2 billion importing refined fuels (gasoline, diesel, etc.), because its refineries cannot…
Here we go — weather-nerd hat on. ☁️🌧️ 1. Why Ecuador’s weather feels “weird” compared to North America Ecuador sits right on the equator, squeezed between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes, with the Amazon basin to the east. That combination produces: Strong influence from ocean currents (Humboldt cold current and warm equatorial currents). A steep mountain wall that rises from sea level to >5,000 m in a short distan…
[ratemypost] [ratemypost-result] (Article created by ChatGPT / Artículo creado por ChatGPT) 1. What this article does (and doesn’t) do 1. Qué hace (y qué no hace) este artículo EN:Ecuador doesn’t publish a perfect, regularly updated ranking of cities by GDP, so any list has to be approximate. In this explainer, created by ChatGPT from official census data and economic studies, we look at population (2022 census) plu…
Uso de piedras grandes (riprap) para controlar la erosión costera Use of large rocks (riprap) to control coastal erosion 1. ¿Qué es el riprap? / What is riprap? ES:El riprap (o escollera) es una capa inclinada de piedras grandes y angulares colocadas en la orilla, frente a un malecón, carretera o edificio. La idea es que las rocas rompan la energía de las olas antes de que golpeen directamente la tierra o el hormigó…
(with examples from San Jacinto & San Clemente) 1. What is coastal erosion? English Coastal erosion is the gradual loss of beach and land caused by waves, tides, currents and storms. Little by little, the shoreline moves inland: the beach gets narrower, dunes disappear, and sometimes roads, houses or seawalls collapse. On Ecuador’s Pacific coast, erosion is not new. Studies show that the central Manabí coastline has…
Here’s today’s explainer on Ecuador’s place in the world and how it deals with its main partners. 1. Big picture: a small country in a busy neighborhood Ecuador is a small, dollarized country on the Pacific, squeezed between Colombia and Peru and highly dependent on trade, migration and security cooperation with others. Foreign-policy analysts often describe it as a “small, peripheral and dependent state”, meaning:…
Here’s your explainer on mining in Ecuador, with Dundee / Loma Larga folded in. 1. Big picture: where mining fits in Ecuador’s economy Ecuador has large deposits of copper, gold and silver, similar in potential to Peru and Chile, but it is still a latecomer to large-scale mining. For decades, the extractive sector was basically oil + small-scale gold mining. Now metals are growing: Mining exports were a bit over USD…
1. Big picture: why Ecuador’s electric system feels “fragile” Ecuador’s electricity is officially a public service run mainly by the State, with a grid that covers almost the whole country. Most power still comes from large hydroelectric dams, backed up by diesel and gas plants, plus a small but growing amount of solar and wind. (Trade.gov) That model worked fairly well in wet years. But in 2023–2024, a combination…
Ecuador’s Real Economy: Value and Cost of Its Key Sectors When people talk about Ecuador’s economy, they usually mention oil first. That makes sense: oil exports and oil-related revenues still play a big role in public finances. But if you look a bit closer, you see that a lot of the real day-to-day economy is built on five other pillars: Agriculture Aquaculture (especially shrimp) Tourism Expats who live in Ecuador…
Infrastructure & Energy
Palantir Technologies is a U.S. software company that builds platforms for data integration, analysis, AI-assisted decision-making, and operational coordination. Its best-known government platform is Gotham, used in defense, intelligence, policing, and public-sector operations. Its broader enterprise platform, Foundry, is used to connect data across organizations, and its newer AIP — Artificial Intelligence Platform…
The Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric plant, built by the Chinese firm Sinohydro, is Ecuador's largest infrastructure project and arguably its most controversial. As of April 2026, the project has reached a critical legal and technical crossroads. 🏗️ The Infrastructure at a Glance Located between the Napo and Sucumbíos provinces, the dam was designed to generate 1,500 MW, theoretically covering 30% of Ecuador's…
Here’s the situation, in a way that matches what you’re seeing on the ground: it wasn’t just “a billing tweak.” Ecuador is basically unwinding a long-running convenience system (garbage fee piggy-backing on the electric bill) and forcing municipalities (GADs) to use separate, legally cleaner collection methods. 1) What the old system was For years, many municipalities collected the garbage/solid-waste fee (often cal…
Ecuador’s Sistema Nacional Interconectado (SNI) leans heavily on hydroelectricity—at times covering around 90% of national demand (per CENACE figures cited by Lupa). (LupaMedia) Where the big hydropower plants are (high-level “map”) Think of Ecuador’s hydropower as clusters along major river basins: Amazon/Andes (north-east): Coca Codo Sinclair (the country’s largest) is located between Napo and Sucumbíos and has 1,…
Ecuador’s health care is best understood as a mixed, segmented system: you have a public network led by the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), a social-security system (IESS) tied to contributions, and a private market (out-of-pocket, insurance, and medicina prepagada). The Constitution frames health as a right guaranteed by the State, and Ecuador organizes much of its public care through the Red Pública Integral de S…
Here’s your explainer, with a short bilingual wrap-up at the end.(And as requested on earlier pieces: this article was created by ChatGPT.) Portoviejo’s Urban Lab: how Ecuadorian cities are trying to change for their citizens 1. What is an “Urban Lab”? An urban lab is basically a city-sized workshop: a place where local government, universities, citizens and sometimes NGOs test ideas using real data from the city. I…
Uso de piedras grandes (riprap) para controlar la erosión costera Use of large rocks (riprap) to control coastal erosion 1. ¿Qué es el riprap? / What is riprap? ES:El riprap (o escollera) es una capa inclinada de piedras grandes y angulares colocadas en la orilla, frente a un malecón, carretera o edificio. La idea es que las rocas rompan la energía de las olas antes de que golpeen directamente la tierra o el hormigó…
(with examples from San Jacinto & San Clemente) 1. What is coastal erosion? English Coastal erosion is the gradual loss of beach and land caused by waves, tides, currents and storms. Little by little, the shoreline moves inland: the beach gets narrower, dunes disappear, and sometimes roads, houses or seawalls collapse. On Ecuador’s Pacific coast, erosion is not new. Studies show that the central Manabí coastline has…
1. Big picture: why Ecuador’s electric system feels “fragile” Ecuador’s electricity is officially a public service run mainly by the State, with a grid that covers almost the whole country. Most power still comes from large hydroelectric dams, backed up by diesel and gas plants, plus a small but growing amount of solar and wind. (Trade.gov) That model worked fairly well in wet years. But in 2023–2024, a combination…
Living in Ecuador
1. First: is a “Super El Niño” officially confirmed? Not yet. The phrase “Super El Niño” is not an official technical category. It is usually used by media, forecasters, or commentators to describe a very strong El Niño, similar to the major events of 1982–83, 1997–98, or 2015–16. What is official is that international and Ecuadorian agencies are watching conditions closely. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has said…
To understand Ecuador's political landscape in 2026, it’s helpful to view it as a battle between established traditional movements and a new, dominant "Noboa-ist" center-right. The following table breaks down the key players currently shaping the National Assembly and the executive branch. Primary Political Forces in Ecuador (2026) Party / MovementKey LeaderPolitical SpectrumPower & PopularityAcción Democrática Naci…
The recent difficulty in using foreign bank cards (US, European, etc.) at Cooperative ATMs (like JEP, Pilahuin Tío, or Alianza del Valle) is not a random technical glitch. It is the result of a significant regulatory overhaul that reached a critical implementation phase on March 1, 2026. 1. The "Tax Wall": SRI Resolution No. NAC-DGERCGC26-00000009 The most immediate cause is a new tax directive from the Internal Rev…
Understanding "El Niño Costero": An Explainer While the world often speaks of the "Global El Niño," Ecuador and Peru frequently deal with a more localized and often more intense phenomenon known as El Niño Costero (Coastal El Niño). Understanding this distinction is vital for residents of the Litoral and the Galápagos. What is El Niño Costero? Unlike the global version, which involves a massive warming of the centra…
Welcome to one of the most vibrant times of the year! If you’re heading into Carnival in Ecuador, you aren't just going to a party; you’re entering a nationwide water fight mixed with deep cultural traditions. The most important thing to know is that in Ecuador, Carnival is a contact sport. Whether you are in a sleek city high-rise or a dusty mountain village, the "playing" (playing with water, foam, and flour) is u…
If El Niño is the "marathon" of weather (lasting months or years), the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the "sprint." It is a massive, fast-moving pulse of clouds and rain that circles the globe every 30 to 60 days. For people in Ecuador, the MJO is often the "hidden hand" behind a sudden week of torrential rain or a strangely dry "break" in the middle of the rainy season. 1. What is the MJO? The MJO is an eastwar…
In the tug-of-war for Ecuador’s coastline, the Humboldt Current and El Niño are the lead players. But as we start 2026, a third character—La Niña—is currently holding the rope. Here is the breakdown of why this battle matters for your wallet and your weekend plans, along with the latest forecast for the year ahead. 1. The Science: Cold vs. Warm The Humboldt Current (The Constant): This massive "conveyor belt" flows…
If you’ve spent any time wandering through an Ecuadorian market—from the historic stalls of Quito to the humid plazas of Portoviejo—you’ve likely encountered a specific, pungent aroma: a mix of crushed green herbs, floral cologne, and woodsmoke. You’ve stumbled upon the world of the Limpia (the "cleansing"). Far from being a hidden ritual, traditional healing is a visible, daily part of life here. It is a bridge bet…
Here’s the situation, in a way that matches what you’re seeing on the ground: it wasn’t just “a billing tweak.” Ecuador is basically unwinding a long-running convenience system (garbage fee piggy-backing on the electric bill) and forcing municipalities (GADs) to use separate, legally cleaner collection methods. 1) What the old system was For years, many municipalities collected the garbage/solid-waste fee (often cal…
People in Ecuador often talk like there are three countries inside one: the Coast (Costa), the Highlands (Sierra), and the Amazon (Oriente/Amazonía). That shorthand is real and useful—because the Andes act like a giant spine that shapes climate, travel, jobs, food, and even political priorities. Britannica describes Ecuador’s mainland as divided into these three main physical regions: Costa, Sierra, Oriente. (Encycl…
Absolutely — here’s an expat-friendly “January admin + tax checklist” expanded from that El Diario roundup, with links to the official references where possible. Disclaimer : We are not tax experts or lawyers. This is a practical checklist based on what we’ve found in reputable Ecuador news and official institutional pages. Rules can vary by municipality and by your tax status. For anything important, verify with SR…
Below is a single 2026 holiday list where each entry is denoted as: [🇪🇨 National] = applies countrywide [🟩 Manabí] = province-wide or key Manabí civic day [🟦 Cuenca] = local holiday for Cantón Cuenca [🟧 Loja] = province-wide or key Loja civic day I’m listing the day off as observed when a date is typically moved by Ecuador’s holiday-transfer rules (Tue→Mon, Wed/Thu→Fri, Sun→Mon; applies to local holidays too). (Asam…
Christmas Eve, nativity displays, coast vs. sierra vs. amazon, and parades Ecuador’s Christmas season blends family, faith, and public celebration—and in many places the “main night” is Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) rather than Dec 25. The details vary by region, but you’ll see the same big pillars everywhere: Novena gatherings, pesebres/nacimientos (nativity scenes), and festive processions like the Pase del Niño. (Pr…
“Ecuador’s coastal weather is strongly influenced by sea surface temperature. Small shifts in ocean warmth change humidity, cloud formation, and the odds of storms—especially during ENSO phases like La Niña.” (CPC) If you live on the Costa (especially places like Manabí, Santa Elena, Guayas, Esmeraldas), you’ve probably noticed this pattern: Some weeks feel sticky and stormy (even if it’s “not supposed to”). Other w…
In Ecuador you’ll often see eggs sitting on the counter at the store (and at home), and it’s not because people are careless—it’s because most eggs here are usually sold unwashed, which changes how they should be stored. Why they’re often not kept in a fridge Eggs naturally have a thin protective coating on the shell called the cuticle (or “bloom”). It helps block bacteria and slows moisture loss. In Ecuador (and ma…
Ecuador’s Sistema Nacional Interconectado (SNI) leans heavily on hydroelectricity—at times covering around 90% of national demand (per CENACE figures cited by Lupa). (LupaMedia) Where the big hydropower plants are (high-level “map”) Think of Ecuador’s hydropower as clusters along major river basins: Amazon/Andes (north-east): Coca Codo Sinclair (the country’s largest) is located between Napo and Sucumbíos and has 1,…
Ecuador’s health care is best understood as a mixed, segmented system: you have a public network led by the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), a social-security system (IESS) tied to contributions, and a private market (out-of-pocket, insurance, and medicina prepagada). The Constitution frames health as a right guaranteed by the State, and Ecuador organizes much of its public care through the Red Pública Integral de S…
1. Big picture: why Ecuador’s electric system feels “fragile” Ecuador’s electricity is officially a public service run mainly by the State, with a grid that covers almost the whole country. Most power still comes from large hydroelectric dams, backed up by diesel and gas plants, plus a small but growing amount of solar and wind. (Trade.gov) That model worked fairly well in wet years. But in 2023–2024, a combination…
Explainer – How the Illegal Drug Trade Is Affecting Ecuador’s Economy Over the last decade, Ecuador has gone from being a quiet neighbor between Colombia and Peru to being described as a key hub of the global cocaine trade. Weak institutions, a dollarized economy, modern ports, and a free-trade link with Europe have made it attractive for foreign cartels and local gangs. (Crisis Group) The economic impact is two-sid…
Manabí
Portoviejo holds a prestigious spot in history as one of the oldest Spanish-founded cities in present-day Ecuador. Founded on March 12, 1535, it wasn't just a random settlement—it was a calculated move by the Spanish Empire to secure the coast. Why was Portoviejo Founded? The founding of San Gregorio de Portoviejo by Captain Francisco Pacheco was driven by three main goals: Strategic Control: The Spanish needed a ba…
First: what people mean by “ceibo” on the Ecuadorian Coast On the Coast, when someone says “that’s a ceibo”, they’re usually talking about Ceiba trichistandra — the classic giant of Ecuador’s tropical dry forest (bosque seco) in the Tumbes region (Ecuador–Peru). (iNaturalist) (Tiny note because it confuses everyone at some point: there are other “ceibas” too — like Ceiba pentandra in wetter tropical areas — but the…
The Portoviejo–Manta–Bahía Corridor: One Coastal Region, Three Different Economies (with Crucita, San Clemente, San Jacinto, Canoa, Chone, Calceta, Tosagua, Rocafuerte, Bahía de Caráquez & San Vicente in the background) 1. One corridor, many economies If you look at a map, Portoviejo, Manta and Bahía de Caráquez/San Vicente sit along one logical coastal corridor: farms and small towns in the interior, a capital city…
Here’s your explainer, with a short bilingual wrap-up at the end.(And as requested on earlier pieces: this article was created by ChatGPT.) Portoviejo’s Urban Lab: how Ecuadorian cities are trying to change for their citizens 1. What is an “Urban Lab”? An urban lab is basically a city-sized workshop: a place where local government, universities, citizens and sometimes NGOs test ideas using real data from the city. I…
Explainer / Explicador Manta’s hydrosanitary master plan: how it works, who pays for it, and what it means for the cityEl Plan Maestro Hidrosanitario de Manta: cómo funciona, quién lo financia y qué significa para la ciudad 1. What is Manta’s hydraulic / hydrosanitary plan? 1. ¿Qué es el plan hidráulico / hidrosanitario de Manta? EN:When people in Manta talk about the “Plan Maestro Hidrosanitario” or “Plan Maestro d…
Uso de piedras grandes (riprap) para controlar la erosión costera Use of large rocks (riprap) to control coastal erosion 1. ¿Qué es el riprap? / What is riprap? ES:El riprap (o escollera) es una capa inclinada de piedras grandes y angulares colocadas en la orilla, frente a un malecón, carretera o edificio. La idea es que las rocas rompan la energía de las olas antes de que golpeen directamente la tierra o el hormigó…
(with examples from San Jacinto & San Clemente) 1. What is coastal erosion? English Coastal erosion is the gradual loss of beach and land caused by waves, tides, currents and storms. Little by little, the shoreline moves inland: the beach gets narrower, dunes disappear, and sometimes roads, houses or seawalls collapse. On Ecuador’s Pacific coast, erosion is not new. Studies show that the central Manabí coastline has…
Other topics
Colombia’s President-Elect: What His Victory Could Mean for Ecuador Colombia’s presidential runoff has produced a very narrow preliminary result. Right-wing candidate Abelardo De la Espriella has claimed victory over leftist candidate Iván Cepeda, with De la Espriella ahead by about 49.66% to 48.70% in the initial count, a margin of roughly 250,000 votes. Colombia’s Registraduría lists the second presidential round…
Local Loja
Vilcabamba, Loja: long lives, long holidays, and long arguments about “the gringos” 🌱 1. Where is Vilcabamba and why do people talk about it so much? Vilcabamba is a small parish in the canton of Loja, southern Ecuador, about 40 km south of the city of Loja, in a valley at roughly 1,500–1,700 meters above sea level. It sits where the Andean foothills start to relax toward the lowlands, with green hills, a mild “eter…