Ecuador

Que tan lejos....

When it comes to movies, books and music, I think that there is a movie, that pictures Ecuador better than any other production before.

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Women's Rights in Ecuador

Although Ecuador is a really beautiful country and I am proud to be an Ecuadorian, Ecuador is very behind in Women's Rights. Most of Ecuadorian women are housewives that dedicate their whole life to the wellness of their husbands and kids.

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Promoting Sustainability in Developing Countries

“When you are poor, environmental conservation is a luxury that you cannot afford,”
David Woollcombe - Peace Child International

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Freedom to Love and its Threatened

Since we are talking in this issue about the different ways that countries celebrate LOVE, I would like to talk about the unconditional and unconventional love that can exist between people of the same sex and the unfair acts that they are subject to. Genetic or Psychological? That really does not matter. The fact is that there is people among us that deserve to have the same rights that heterosexuals do.

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Culture Shock in the U.S.A.

My first time in the U.S. was a long time ago. I was 5 years old and I honestly don't remember a lot. I know that I went to Orlando, FL and my family and I went to Disney World, and other different theme parks in the Orlando area in Florida. It was a magic experience for me but at the same time the only thing that I remember about my first experience was being completely overwhelmed by all the things that I was living and seeing. Mountains of food at the Restaurants, Ultra High Technology, Stores as big as football stadiums, cars as big as house- well, everything was bigger and "better" than in Ecuador, my home country. When I went back I talked to my friends day and night about every single thing that I did. I was excited, and at the same time sad because I was not in the US. anymore.

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Xmas in Ecuador

With 90% of the population being Catholic, Christmas is one of the most important holidays for the country.
Families get together, go to mass and pray "novenas" to celebrate "Jesus' Birthday." Even though this season has been changing with time, Ecuador still maintains its own traditions, especially if you go to small towns in the Andean area.

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Barack Obama and Latin America

Across Hispanic America, people are celebrating the election of Barack Obama. Even though this region will probably not be one of Obama’s top-tier priorities—given the U.S. economic crisis and the challenges he will face in the Middle East and Asia—there are different ways he could demonstrate his commitment to the region.

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The Day of the Dead

Ecuadorians did not used to celebrate Halloween, until a couple of years ago when consumerism brought this foreign holiday to our cities. Now it is common to see that young people go out to go to parties for Halloween, but this is really just another excuse to get together and drink. No trick or treat!

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A country deserves the leaders that they have.

Ecuador, a small, oil-producing country in the Andean region of South America, has experienced ten years of political and economic instability. On January 15, 2007,
Rafael Correa, a left-leaning, U.S.-trained economist, was inaugurated to a four-year
presidential term, becoming the country’s eighth president in ten years.

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Luis from the center of the world!!

Hi everybody!

Mi name is Luis Mancheno, but you can just call me Luis. A lot of people probably have seen me already walking on campus because I am the mail man!!. I know.. it is not really cool.. but well... it pays the bills.

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Ecuador, Life at its purest

Hope you get the chance to check out this video below::

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Ecuador's political situation

In this edition I would like to talk about the latest events in Ecuador and a final note will be on its implications to personal security.

These last couple of weeks have been pretty intense for Ecuador. On Saturday March 1rst, the Colombian air force dropped bombs on a “Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia” (FARC) camp which was in Ecuadorian soil at the border with Colombia. After the bombing, the Colombian Army sent land forces to make sure that the bombings had actually killed their target, and they did. The Colombian forces killed more than 20 people related to the Guerrilla including Raul Reyes who was a senior commander for FARC.

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Volcanoes and Rain are flooding the Economy of Ecuador

After weeks of rain President Rafael Correa has declared Ecuador in a state of emergency. A third of the population has been affected by the floods. According to the United Nations, 125.000 people need immediate help because 50% of the country is flooded.

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Dia de San Valentin

Valentine's Day is definitely one that has become more celebrated in Ecuador. I've celebrated it since childhood as a day dedicated to friendship and love. I remember things like women selling beautiful roses for$0.50 each during my elementary school years.

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"Carnaval" in Ecuador

It is surprising for me to be so close to a Carnival and hardly hear anything about it. In Ecuador, we get ready for Carnival a month beforehand. We have a whole holiday specifically for Carnival; this year the carnival will be from the 1st to the 5th of February. We don't celebrate our Carnival as in Brazil but in Ecuador a Carnival is less exclusive but a lot of fun.

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Achachay, Arrarray, Ayayay!

These words mean: "I am freaking cold, I burned myself, and ouch" in Quechua, the Incas language that some people still speak in the Andean countries. My name is Lucia Norris and this is my introduction.

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Ecuador decrees: 99% of oil profits go to the State

President Rafael Correa signed an executive decree in which he establishes that 99% of the excess profits from oil will remain with the State and only 1% will be for oil companies.

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Ecuador: Rafael Correa wins Majority in Constituent Assembly!!!!!!

On September 30, 2007 Ecuador elected a Constituent Assembly to draft the new country's Constitution. Movimiento Alianza Pais, Rafael Correas political movement, won more than 75 seats of the 130 seats in the Assembly. Is this the end of traditional political parties in Ecuador? Is the new Constitution going to establish a different framework for a new economical system? What does "21 century socialism" mean? Are Humans beings the most important aspect in terms of production? What will be all the structural changes?

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Hello Willamette Community

I am Rafael Cocios from Ecuador. I am a lawyer and I recently arrived to Willamette University College of Law in pursuit of a Masters Degree in Transnational Law. In 2000, while I was attending eleventh grade at American School of Quito, I was chosen to represent my country, Ecuador, in the Global Young Leadership Conference, to be held in Washington D.C. and New York. This journey influenced my life positively because I had the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with students from different countries, races, and cultures. In this Conference we analyzed international politics, finance, culture and diplomacy with key world leaders and news makers. Also, we had the opportunity to discuss international issues like terrorism, drug trafficking, and global warming among others. We participated actively in the resolution of conflicts and learned techniques for negotiation and arbitration. Furthermore, in this Summit we explored international law, human rights and national security issues. Before the end of this event, we went to the United Nations Headquarters and assumed rolls of world leaders in several international crisis simulations. It was in that congress when I realized that it is necessary to cross cultural barriers in order to achieve conclusions that benefit everyone. The future of the global community depends on suitable relationships between different countries. So here I am again, studying for a Masters Degree that will provide me with the necessary learning to face a more competitive and modernized world.

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Hot, spicy, and prehistoric

Hello,
The article for this time talks about Ecuadorean food and how its ancestors worked in order to sustain themselves. If you would like to know more about chilli peppers more than 6,000 years ago then this article is perfect for you. Enjoy it!

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Ecuadorian bananas exports and their claim

This article discusses how Ecuador (the world's largest banana producer) is dissatisfied with the European Union. It also discusses how the rules of the European Union favor only Caribbean and African producers. To find out more please click on the provided site below. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading it!

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Back again!

Hello World News readers. We (the world news writers) are back and ready to inform you about the current news in our home countries. I promise to do my best in informing you. I hope you enjoy the reading.

Adriana Caviedes

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Fiestas de Quito

These days Quito is celebrating its foundation. There are several events that are happening in the city. My favorite one is called "Jesus del Gran Poder"; it's an annual bullfighting that lasts 9 days.

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Elections in Ecuador

There are some comments about the two candidates running for President of Ecuador. One of these is by Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela.

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Adriana from Ecuador - My super presentation

Hi My name is ADRIANA and I capitalize to avoid confusions with the other language assistant from Mexico. I don't like ice cream and I'm afraid of chickens. I broke my right arm when I was two and split my lip when I was five. My favorite place of WU is the gym and Goudy because I can see my friends and laugh. I have a dog named Chucho who I miss a lot because he's as hyper as I am. I'm from Ecuador, the land where people can live longer than 100 years. I speak Spanish, English when I feel like it, French when I go to class, Italian when I don't want people to know what I'm saying, and German when I'm in a bad mood. I want to get married in Montreal to the person that can touch my heart just by looking at me. I hope you enjoy my articles! -Adriana

Oil workers start strike

Susana Gomez

A state of emergency has been declared in three of Ecuador's oil-producing regions after workers began a strike over pay and working conditions.

The strike is the latest dispute to hit Ecuador's oil industry and embattled President Alfredo Palacio. Last month, protesters forced a cut in exports after briefly shutting two pipelines to demand a bigger share of oil revenues. The situation is especially critical since Ecuador's oil production accounts for nearly half of its annual budget.

Ecuadorians appeal to senators to fix immigration

Gabriela Cardenas

Ecuadorians in the states proclaim their right to be accepted into the society on the Valentine▓s Day. They ask senators to open their hearts so they could legalize their situation in the States. This movement didn▓t have a good response cause people from the senate al ready was informed about this issue and they had guards on doors to impede immigrants to go into the building and talk about this petition.

More Protest Against Health System in Cuenca

In Cuenca, the third most important city in Ecuador, more than 300 doctors and medicine students walked in the city in a way of protest against another protest started by the medical syndicate where they stop working.
This situation is becoming comun in Ecuador. The best way medical institutions can show their discontent with the ways the state and the society work is by stop their jobs making more difficult to attend the first necessities of the people, such as health.

Ecuador wants to reduce child labor

Susana Gomez

Ecuadorian working children are the priority of Ecuadorian authorities these days. After a report by the International Labor Organization on the situation of kids working mainly in agricultural jobs, Ecuador's National Committee for the Elimination of Child Labor said on Wednesday that inspections will start as a step towards ending the problem.

What is really needed, though, is that further steps be taken. Inspections have been announced and made several times in the past, but the problem does not end once authorities have found the places where children are taken advantage of or mistreated. To start to end this issue, a real campaign planned to work in a long term is necessary, and honesty in the process of developing such campaign is, obviously, basic. I will have an eye on the issue, just in case this time the investigations actually are meant to solve the problem.

Ecuador in constant fight against Colombia

Gabriela Cardenas

The 28th of January the President of Ecuador, Palacios, was informed about a violation of the limits in the north limits with Colombia. He and Francisco Carrion, the chancellor, traveled to the zone to establish a dialogue and see what really is happening in the frontier. After some studies of this and the two past intents of violations of the limits on the north of Ecuador and south of Colombia, the President will determine whether or not take action against, ⌠Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia■ (FARC), the possible group that has being invading the aerial space of northern Ecuador.

PetroEcuador is Having Problems

PetroEcuador is one of the biggest industries when referring to petroleum, gas, diesel, etc. This is a state institution that provides subside to all the country. This company has no private support; this is the reason why instead of investing and trying to find some other way to earn some money to support them, they have to wait for a decision from the Economics Ministry to transfer them some money. If the state doesn▓t act promptly, this company could collapse and stop providing gas and their derivates to the whole country. One of the solutions would be to raise the prices for the combustible, which will bring several responses from the population.

Ecuadorian president visits Colombian border

Susana Gomez

Ecuadorian President Alfredo Palacio made a surprise visit to the northern border on Thursday to inspect a spot where Ecuador officials say Colombian war planes violated its air space, his spokesman said.

Palacio's trip comes as Ecuador awaits a response from Bogota after Saturday's incident in which Ecuador on Monday said Colombian aircraft fighting leftist rebels violated its territory.

Colombian internal problems with rebel groups aren▓t new, and Ecuador has been avoiding getting immerse in the situation for now 41 years. This avoidance has been based on Ecuadorian leaders▓ idea that such an involvement would compromise Ecuador▓s own internal security and resources to fight a problem that is not of its incumbency.

But starting with the first fumigations Colombian authorities encouraged in order to end illegal crops, Ecuadorian inhabitants of the northern frontier have been critically affected by the chemicals used, and Palacio▓s visit now may cause Ecuador to choose a definite position towards Colombia fight against guerrillas.

The question that arises in my head is, anyways, whether the airplane that flew on Saturday over the northern towns of Ecuador wasn▓t just a way to pressure Palacio to declare his cooperation with Colombian politics against guerrillas and illegal crops.

Here are two links written in English that explain what happened and Saturday and the possible results Of Thursday▓s visit of Palacio.

Ecuadorian President Alfredo Palacio made a surprise visit to the northern border on Thursday to inspect a spot where Ecuador officials say Colombian war planes violated its air space, his spokesman said.

Palacio's trip comes as Ecuador awaits a response from Bogota after Saturday's incident in which Ecuador on Monday said Colombian aircraft fighting leftist rebels violated its territory.

Colombian internal problems with rebel groups aren▓t new, and Ecuador has been avoiding getting immerse in the situation for now 41 years. This avoidance has been based on Ecuadorian leaders▓ idea that such an involvement would compromise Ecuador▓s own internal security and resources to fight a problem that is not of its incumbency.

But starting with the first fumigations Colombian authorities encouraged in order to end illegal crops, Ecuadorian inhabitants of the northern frontier have been critically affected by the chemicals used, and Palacio▓s visit now may cause Ecuador to choose a definite position towards Colombia fight against guerrillas.

The question that arises in my head is, anyways, whether the airplane that flew on Saturday over the northern towns of Ecuador wasn▓t just a way to pressure Palacio to declare his cooperation with Colombian politics against guerrillas and illegal crops.

Here are two links written in English that explain what happened and Saturday and the possible results Of Thursday▓s visit of Palacio.

USA discriminates Ecuadorian Tuna

Susana Gomez

The tuna industry in Ecuador is in risk because of the exceptional treatment it has received from the USA.
According to an Ecuadorian Fishing Representative, the USA discriminate Ecuadorian canned tuna, which could become a major problem once the Free Commerce Treaty (TLC is its acronym in Spanish) with USA is applied.

The following article, written in Spanish, explains possible alternatives for Ecuadorian tuna industries, and proposes a way out (or into?) the difficulties of the American market.

Susana Gomez

Night schools in Ecuador close

The Ecuadorian Secretary of Education has come up with the oddest plan to improve Ecuadorian's educational standards: all nocturne schools will disappear as a step towards the "Reconstruction of Nocturne Schools" Program. Almost 20 thousand people who attend these schools, most of them working children and adults, will be forced to quit school. This link deepens the case of Cesar, a child who works during the day helping building houses and who is asking the Secretary of Education to give him and other like him an educational alternative.

Ecuadorian teenagers want to vote at 16

Teenage students, grouped in a political association known as "Federation of High School Students of Ecuador", promote a campaign to change the Political Constitution of the country and start voting at 16 instead of at 18, as it is currently mandatory. They say that at that age, citizens are old enough to take such responsibility, and cite the cases of Brazil , Cuba and England , which have considered allowing teens to vote.

"We are mature" they say, but the arguments they use to support their request are somewhat far from maturity. Read it yourself and decide:

Gabriela Cardenas

Hi,

I'm Gabriela Cardenas, from Ecuador. I was born in Quito, the capital of the country. I'm 19 years old and at the moment I'm staying in Salem attending at WU as an exchange student. In Quito I study in the USFQ (Universidad San Francisco de Quito), right now i'm a junior and I'm planing to get a major in Advertising and a minor in film production. Hopefully in the future i'll go to Germany or to Argentina to get a master
in film studies. I speak only two languages, obviously English and Spanish, i tried to learn some Italian, French and German... so I can catch a couple of words but not more than that.

I have traveled around a few countries in europe, through Colombia, and my own country; each one has a different characteristic that makes it beautiful. In the case of Ecuador, it is definitely the people and the facility of travelling inside the country; it is so small that it is possible to be at the beach on Saturday and on a mountain on Sunday.. which i don't recommend. If you go to Ecuador, you have to visit the beaches and the Amazon, the lakes...something amazing. For more information, you can reach the travel addict...Gabriela Cardenas.

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Susana Gomez

Hi everyone!

I am Susana Gomez, from Quito, Ecuador. I came to Willamette because of its writing program. In Quito, I study journalism and Creative Writing. I enjoy thinking of life as of meanings and people▓s ways to convey them. No wonder I am glad to be writing for World News from the beginning of my experience in the US!!!

One of the first things that astonished me when I got here was to see the sun setting at 8 p.m. during the summer. That made me think of Quito a lot. I missed the security that the sun would be gone by 6 p.m., and even missed the maddening changes of the weather during the day: sun in the morning, wind at noon and rain in the afternoon, all four seasons in the same day. But I realized Salem has its own charm. The yellowish leafs on the balcony of my room in Kaneko Hall suggest to me everyday that this city has a constant, stable peace I have not yet been able to define. And the deafening whistling of the train in my ears wake me up every morning, willing to see a new bit of a city that, I hope, will not feel strange for very long.

I will keep you informed of what is happening in my country, which means that I will try to show as many different aspects of people▓s ways of being as I can think of. And to start right away, for those of you who have some knowledge of Spanish and are interested in good Ecuadorian literature, visit Domingo Siete, a site that everybody deserves to know. Enjoy!

Now some news:

Former Ecuadorian President gets political asylum

Former Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez gets political asylum in Colombia, after having been removed from the Presidency in April by the Ecuadorian Congress during a week of manifestations and protests against him. Gutierrez is formally accused of corruption and risking the democracy in Ecuador, and the support of Colombia -a neighbor country- raises critics among Ecuadorian authorities, who state that Gutierrez should return to Ecuador to be judged. This link provides the reactions of the current Ecuadorian President and other public figures towards Colombia▓s acceptance of Gutierrez.

For further detail on Gutierrez's government and the reasons for his destitution, see this link, totally written in English.

Rafael Sandoval

Mayor initiates march against the Government

Several weeks ago there was a march in Guayaquil (Ecuador’s biggest city), against the government. Since Lucio Gutierrez, the president of the country, came to power, many aggrieving incidents have happened. Jaime Nebot, Guayaquil’s mayor, is one of the persons in charge of the group that’s against the actual government. That's why he asked the people of Guayaquil as well as his colleagues from his political party to march in a pacific demonstration, so they can show what the power of will can do. This happened because the president took many of the resources that by law he is supposed to give to the city.

Taking care of others

It’s known that Ecuador is one of the poorest counties in South America. Lack of money and dependency on others nations make many peoples' life misery. The public system, such as social security services, health care and public education, is something that we still are trying to improve. So it is always gratifying to see how strangers show their will to help others, without gaining anything, but the satisfaction to improve someone’s live.

Earthquakes worry people living at the coast

After the tsunami disaster in Asia, many people are scared of earthquakes, especially people who live near the coast. In the last month, about 320 tremors higher than 4.0 on the Richter scale have occurred in the Pacific Ocean, near the coasts of manta (one of Ecuador’s beaches). The people in this place live in fear of the possibility that an earthquake might shake Ecuador’s coasts.

Rafael Sandoval

USA choose their president

The world followed with expectation the bitter elections in the United States, where 156 million citizens enrolled in 50 states decided the destiny of the country for the next the four years. In Ecuador we have a lot of influence from the United States, so the American election was a big issue for us.

Read the article here:

George W. Bush, and their democratic rival, John Kerry, followed tied in the surveys spread yesterday. The American presidential election is made today and according to four of the last soundings, both candidates are even with 49%, whereas other six grant a very small advantage to him to Bush. The third aspiring to the White House, the independent Ralph Nader, has 1% and the number of indecisions is located between 2% and 7%. Crucial day for Bush and Kerry
Republican president George W. Bush and its democratic rival John Kerry, virtually tied in the surveys, faces today by the White House in a fight considered the most fought in history of the United States and in which about 156 million citizens enrolled in 50 states will decide the destiny of the country for next the four years, under the kind glance of the world that still remembers the controversial elections that gave the triumph to the republicans in the previous election.

Those of American Research Group, Zogby and Washington Post gave a tie from 48 to 48, while Fox considered the 46 to 46%.

Although some surveys grant to two Bush one or point of advantage on Kerry, others think the opposite; and according to analysts, if the error margin is considered, the criterion consolidates of which there is a technical tie and that will be the indecisions that define the election.

Bush, of 58 years, gambles the re-election or to emplace its things and to return to Texas. The governor, who reached a maximum of popularity of 80% as a result of the attacks to the Twin Towers, today with an acceptance of 50% is put under in the opinion of history and will have to redeem accounts before the American town on his foreign policy, in the shade of a war in the middle East that has left more than 100 thousand dead civilians and who maintain to 130,000 North American soldiers in Iraq.

President George Bush has made of the antiterrorist policy his main front throughout his government and blames John Kerry to be weak and contradictory in his speeches.

The Agent chief executive repeats over and over again that “my opposnent is not prepared nor is enabled to be the commander in chief”.

Kerry, 60 years, has been senator by the state of Massachusetts for 20 years and turned the greater critic of the present management, has been promising “new beginning” for the United States.

The democratic candidate has attacked yet against Bush to which he considers it negligent to break with the traditional alliances and to fail in Iraq, that is violence center; in the antiterrorist fight, with Horseradish tree Laden still without being captured; and in the economy, with diminution of uses and a deficit in the fiscal coffers that contrast with the great surplus that received from Clinton.

The citizen participation is a surprise in the elections and all it makes anticipate that registered 51% in the 2000 widely will be surpassed if the tendency of the long rows observed in the modality of the advance vote is confirmed, qualified from the 18 of October in 26 states.

In Florida, observers and mass media reacted yesterday atonics before the height of citizens in the centers of voting advanced of the county Miami Dade and before the proselytes campaign that freed in the adept streets of both candidates, by means of caravans, placards and horns.

The coveted Hispanic vote, represented by seven million people, delay gambles a decisive roll in some states like Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico.

The surveys think that between the Latin voters Kerry has ample advantage on Bush, basically by the influence who exert on nonvoting Hispanic them whom they at all costs look for to obtain an amnesty offered by Kerry and that would allow to obtain the longed for residence them and in the long run the American citizenship.

For that reason, the republican and democratic invested this year more than twelve million dollars in the campaign directed to the Hispanic community to seduce that coveted electorate, surpassing three million of the preceding record that establish for four years.

Ecuador celebrates "Day of Deceased"

The natives, the black and the farmers in different ways honor their dead. There’re a lot of tradition in south America, one of the most interesting and fascinating is how people of different entices honor or remember their lost ones, the amazing thing about Ecuador is the diversity of people who lives there, and their traditions
Traditions by the deceased’s. To take foods to the cemetery, to sing, to dance, to write letters to him to the passed away relative or to visit their tombs in the nights are some of the ancestral customs that stay in the different regions and populations of the country in the Day of the Deceased’s that is commemorated today.

Read the article here:

In Quito the Day of Deceased’s with fairs of dwelled tap is celebrated, kids of bread and with other own rituals of the date.

In the cemetery of Calderon, North al of the city, will be fulfilled the tradition to take foods to the deceased’s. Natives of the communes of Level Great, San Miguel of the Common one, Oyacoto, Santa Anita and the Chapel will go to the pantheon with the foods that prepared previously, and they will consume them on the foot of the tombs of its passed away relatives.

According to the indigenous belief, in nights previous to the Day of Deceased’s, the soul of dead communicates with them through the dreams, requesting that remember them.

Also in Calderon, throughout the holiday is made the artisan fair of “mazapán” (crafts done with mass of bread, typical of the zone) and other cultural activities.

In Emeralds several black communities of the north of that province make yesterday from the night of the lullabies denominated ones. There they go the relatives of dead armed with big drums, cununos and maracas and interpret rhythmical song during all the dawn.

Francisco Wild Añapa, ex- director of bilingual intercultural education of the Provincial Direction of Education, said that today the relatives who have deceased’s in the cemetery chachi, arrive at the tomb with drinks prepared by them, pipes, oranges, food, outfits and are offered it to the deceased.

In the Concord, the traditional thing is to visit the relatives at night, taking eaten and alcohol. They take guitars, apparatuses of music to battery and even make rocks in the cemetery, with songs like corridors or boleros.

In the Santo Domingo corner of the Colored one, the members of the ethnic group tsáchila go to the cemetery to carry out their rites, to deposit their flowers and the food of predilection of the deceased like the fish, guanta and juice of cane.

In the countryside of Chimborazo the tradition in these dates is the presence of the cheer-man, specially in the parishes Yaruquíes, Químiag, Cubijíes and of the corners Penipe and Guano.

This personage leaves to the midnight to sing and to say by dead. Sleepy souls “get up to say a Father Ours and a Bird Maria by the souls of the saint purgatory, by the love of God”, it is the song that it shakes that they listen to it for the first time.

In Riobamba the 2 of November are reason to maintain a meeting familiar, to elaborate kids of bread, to prepare the mulberry tap and to participate in the traditional games of “finados”: the Chilean bowling alley, perinola, coconuts, the plomos (rudiments small of steel) and until the game of the cards.

In Zamora the descendants of the towns Saraguro and Quichua conserve the custom to celebrate the day of the deceased’s with a great celebration in the house of a devotee one, previously chosen in assembly. There all the neighbors concur, kills a cow, he prepares juice of corn and drink (cane brandy that produce in the zone) and eat and drink throughout the day and the night.

In the Chone corner, of Manabí, and their rural populations the people also take to meals al cemetery, say and letters write to them al passed away in which tells the happened thing them in the last year.

Value of the fragile dollar before results of the elections in the U.S.A.

As some of you may know, the “coin” in Ecuador is the American dollar, as I said before, we have a lot of influence form the United States, do you see know what I meant??? Actually the country depends on the States in many ways, we buy the dollars, and if the value of the dollar decreases then for the people and for the government of Ecuador is going to be a lost as well.

Read the article here:

The dollar in the morning revalued east Tuesday before main currencies in the market of changes, benefiting from delayed of the prices of petroleum, but it follows threatened by a brutal fall if an uncertain outcome in the presidential election in the United States takes place.

The attention of the moneychangers and experts now is not centered in the economic indicators but in the presidential election in the United States, in which most of the soundings they augur a situation of tie between the republican president George W. Bush and its democratic adversary John Kerry.

"Several days ago, the moneychangers other currencies like Swiss francs sold their dollars for buying, since they hope that the election is fought y we immediately do not have the name of the winner", it emphasizes Patrick Bennett, economist of the Comers bank.

The market fears in effect that reproduces in 2004 the presidential scene of la of 2000, with possible resources before justice for questioning results in some States very disputed, as the case of Florida four years.

"If the result of the American election is announced before del Wednesday at noon, the dollar is going to raise main currencies in front of, whichever it is the name of the new president of the United States", thinks Greg Anderson, economist in bank ABN Amro.

"But, in opposite case, we can hope that euro raises until 1,2950 dollars in following the 24 hours, an ascent that also would register the main currencies in front of the dollar", warns.

Tuesday in the morning, euro quoted to 1.2708 dollars (contra 1.2753 Mondays at night). On the other hand, the dollar was 106.53 yens, against 106.40 Monday at night.

"It seems nevertheless that the markets have been prepared for worse of the cases, it is to again say a determined election by the Supreme Court of United States", affirms Anderson.

Beyond this conjuncture, Anderson assures that "the perspective de evolution of the dollar after the presidential election continue being the same ones: el dollar must lower to the European currency in front of ".

"Deficits twin of the United States will continue being independently the same of that is the next renter of the Blanca" House, explains the analyst.

Rafael Sandoval

Ecuador's Galapagos Park Rangers End Strike

As some of you might know, in Ecuador it’s located the Galapagos islands, last moth there was a strike against the government, because his changing the administration of many cities, and people don’t like that at all. It’s supposed to be for a good cause, I mean, as a president you’re supposed to do the best for your country, but in this case, who knows…

Read the article:

QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Galapagos park rangers on Monday ended a strike that had blocked tourist sites in the exotic islands for more than two weeks after the Ecuadorian government accepted their demands for a change in park leadership.
"The strike is over," protest leader Xavier Castro told Reuters.
Some 300 rangers went on strike on Sept. 10 to demand that President Lucio Gutierrez backtrack on his decision to remove Galapagos Park Director Edwin Naula and replace him with biologist Fausto Cepeda in a move they called political.
Cepeda called for expanding tourism in the islands and had worked with fishermen unions that have clashed with conservationists over how to manage the archipelago that inspired British naturalist Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Demonstrators said Gutierrez was using the park director's seat to appeal to political independents in Congress to shore up his own political party, which has just five of the legislature's 100 seats.
Castro said that Environment Minister Fabian Valdivieso had temporarily replaced Cepeda with a Galapagos park technician, Victor Carrion, and would select a new director after consulting with conservation organizations. A source from the Environment Ministry confirmed the change.
Rangers had shut down key tourist sites like tortoise breeding centers and clashed with authorities at park headquarters over Cepeda's appointment.
Ecuador is facing growing pressure from international conservation organizations to step up controls in the world-famous islands 625 miles west of the mainland that are home to sea lions and exotic birds.

Kidnapping-Victim hunts for treasures

The story of a man who was kidnapped by the Colombian guerrilla a few years ago, but he is coming back to Ecuador, working for the Ecuadorian government. Now his looking for treasures in the pacific ocean…

Read the article:

By JAN DENNIS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MORTON - The last time Scott Heimdal set out in search of sunken treasure, he ended up being the bounty instead, kidnapped and held for ransom in the jungles of South America for two months not knowing whether he would live or die.
Nearly 15 years after his central Illinois hometown raised the cash that bought his freedom, Heimdal is preparing to head back to Ecuador to resume a treasure-hunting dream that still burns hotter than his memories of 61 days at the mercy of Colombian rebels.
The 42-year-old former hostage says this trip will be much safer. Instead of guerrillas, he says, his biggest worry will be finding a Spanish ship that sank off the coast of Ecuador in the late 1500s with a cargo he estimates could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
"I've always been someone who likes to see things through. If you decide to do something, do it," the soft-spoken Peoria native said with a laugh.
Even his parents, who went to South America and negotiated their son's release in 1990, say they have no qualms about Heimdal rekindling a dream sparked by a documentary on shipwreck recoveries he saw as a teenager.
"What happened to him when he got kidnapped was just that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said his father, Roy Heimdal.
At the time, though, he had feared his son never would be released by the rebels alive - "It was awful, I almost lost my mind," he recalled.
Heimdal wound up within the rebels' reach after signing on with a mining company to support himself when the Ecuadorean government thwarted his bid for a permit to salvage a potential shipwreck he had spent years researching.
He was working on a gold mine being established deep in the jungle when rebels crossed over from Colombia and ambushed Heimdal's canoe from a riverbank. They killed his native navigator and abducted Heimdal, seeking ransom money to finance their efforts to overthrow Colombia's government.
Heimdal's captivity made international news as rebels demanded $1.5 million for his release, unaware that the gold mine was not yet operating.
They ultimately settled for $60,000, a deal negotiated by Heimdal's mother, Marge, using money from fund-raisers across central Illinois. More than 50 members of the insurgent group have since been arrested, though none has gone to trial.
Other rebel groups still are carrying on the decades-old insurgency, but Heimdal said he will be out of harm's way on this trip.
He will be working with the Ecuadorean navy on the salvage project, operating under a deal based on a new Ecuadorean law to evenly split any coins, jewelry or artifacts that might be found on the ocean floor.
When Heimdal and his crew aren't with government officials, they will stay in a resort-like area along the Pacific Ocean.
"It's like anywhere, it really depends on where you are. If you're out in the middle of the jungle and you're close to the Colombian border, you need to be careful. The rest of the country, it's a wonderful country," he said.
Heimdal, who lives in Morton and works for a computer consulting firm, prefers not to dwell on his weeks as a hostage.
But he acknowledges his past could help as the new company he formed tries to attract investors for the nearly $500,000 salvage effort in Ecuador.
"If I had just been somebody that no one ever heard of and I wanted to do this, chances are it would have been much harder," he said. His Peoria-based RS Operations LLC has about 10 percent of the money it needs, and Heimdal hopes to collect the rest and launch the yearlong project by November.
Once the project starts, imaging equipment will be used to map the ocean floor in a 35-square-mile area about 15 miles off the coast of Ecuador. Crews then will dive about 50 feet to probe the best targets, using underwater blowers to excavate up to 20 feet of sand that could cover the ruins.
Heimdal is confident the search will yield wreckage from Spanish ships that traveled the South American coast hundreds of years ago with loads of gold, silver and other riches. Coins and other artifacts that have washed ashore are signs that more may lie beyond, he said.
"I have no doubt. The question is how much," Heimdal said.
Shipwreck salvage is a growing industry worldwide, said Laura Barton of Odyssey Marine, a Florida-based company that specializes in deep-sea projects.
High-profile projects such as the 1985 discovery of the Titanic heightened interest in underwater treasure hunts, and technological advances such as underwater robots have helped searchers reach deeper parts of the ocean, she said.
"As these projects get more press and publicity, more and more people are going to say, 'Wow, there's money down there,'" Barton said.
But salvage is also a risky business, Heimdal said. Projects could turn up nothing or have staggering returns. A Civil War-era shipwreck discovered by Odyssey Marine off the Georgia coast last year already has yielded more than 50,000 gold and silver coins and is estimated to be worth more than $120 million.
Roy Heimdal thinks his son will be among the treasure hunters who cash in, using the same perseverance that got him through his hostage ordeal.
"He basically has a dogmatic determination to do this," he said. "It's kind of been a lifetime dream of his. He's just never given up the idea."

Ecuadorians fight "Texaco Oil Company"

One of the first economics resources for Ecuador is the oil, but in the last couple of years there have been some abuses coming form the oil companies, in this case the “Texaco Oil Company”. Now people who lives in the rain forest (where the oil extraction takes place) had sued the company, they alleged damages to half a million hectares.
Ecuador says it will not submit to mediation in US in Texaco environmental case Ecuador will not submit to mediation in New York as proposed by US oil giant Texaco, from which indigenous people here are seeking billions of dollars in damages for alleged environmental harm to their land, the South American country's top law enforcement officer said. The Amazon basin region's four indigenous peoples -- the Siona, the Huaorani, the Cofan, and the Shuar -- in July 2003 took on Texaco in the Ecuadoran courts, seeking reparation for alleged damages to half a million hectares (1.24 million acres) of sacred lands. They put the cost of cleaning up at six billion dollars.
Texaco maintains it already has cleaned up in the area. Ecuadoran Attorney General Jose Maria Borja told foreign correspondents Texaco's proposal for mediation in New York was "incompetent, immoral and inappropriate because it is an affront to the sovereignty of our country."
He said Texaco was trying to force state oil company Petroecuador to pick up the tab for the damage allegedly inflicted over 20 years.
"That damage should be repaired by Texaco," Borja said. A New York court in May 2003 said the case should be handled in Ecuador's courts.

Ana C Castillo

My name is Cristina Castillo. I am the new Spanish assistant for this year. I was born in Quito on December 18th, 1983. Quito, along with few cities in the world, was declared a Cultural Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO over 25 years ago. I was on my second year of Tourist Administration before coming to Willamette. I have spent almost all my life in Quito though I’ve also had the privilege of living for a couple years in the Ecuadorian Amazonian jungle, in the city of Puyo.

Coming to Willamette has been quite a challenge to me and at the same time a lifetime opportunity since it’s the first time I live by myself away from my family. I am a person with strong family and moral values. I have acquired them thanks to God and to my family, particularly because of my mother and my aunt. They both have been by my side whenever I needed them.

I have a younger brother. He is 15 years old and he is a very important person for me, besides my cousins Carlos, Luis and Fernando from whom I have received a lot of support. I am here at Willamette for two reasons. First of all, because one of my cousins (Carlos Moncayo) went to Law School and he told me about the program WU has for language assistants. Second, I have great interest in learning as much as I can from new cultures. Throughout my life I have had to face several unexpected challenges and responsibilities that have taught me the importance of self and professional accomplishment.

Welcome!!

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Rafael Sandoval

Hi all,

I’m Rafael Sandoval, one of the new Spanish languages assistants for the
academic year. I was born and raised in Ecuador (South America) - my home
city is Guayaquil, is the biggest city in my country, is near the coast and it is a really hot city, but beautiful as well.

I apply for the tutoring program last year and that’s why I’m here… I really like Willamette, it’s very different form Guayaquil, but it has
been a good change!!!

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Daniela C Solano

After a great break at home, Ecuador, I’m back with some news from my country. Things haven’t change that much.

Ecuador requests to Colombia more military and police presence in the North border

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Patricio Zuquilanda demanded that Colombia must place a larger presence of military and police control on its border with Ecuador; to immediately regulate the migratory situation in that sector

The New York Times criticized oil policy in Ecuador

An article published in The New York Times on February 10th 2004, criticized the lack of a suitable oil policy in Ecuador

Miss Universe 2004 will take place in Ecuador

Miss Universe will take place this year in Quito in June. According to the Minister of Foreign Trade and President of the Foundation Miss Ecuador 2004, Ivonne Baki, this is a very good opportunity to attract tourism and investment as this event will be televised in more than 150 countries, including China. “It’s the best way to show the country to the world since it will be watched by more than one billion people”.

Daniela C Solano

Another political crisis in Ecuador

A new scandal: the President of Ecuador, Lucio Gutierrez, is associated with drug trafficking. Cesar Fernandez, ex- governor of Manabí now detained by alleged traffic of drugs, supported economically in the electoral campaign of Gutiérrez. This scandal has debilitated still more to the Regime that after its distance of the indigenous movement doesn’t have a political project. Since 1995, corruption has been a common element of the different governments. It looks like it is still present which does not allow the country to achieve a certain degree of stability.

Daniella Solano

I was surprised to know that here in the United States you still celebrate and remember Columbus Day. Some questions came to my mind. Did Christopher Columbus arrive in North America? Was he part of U.S. History? Knowing the answers to both of these questions is no, I started to think that any excuse is a good excuse to celebrate here!! It is so ironic because in South America this celebration is disappearing. In Ecuador, October 12th is not a holiday anymore. In 1992, the indigenous population started to play an important role in the Ecuadorian Society. After years and years of submission, they started to achieve some political power. They got politically active through the creation of a political party, the Pachacutik. In 1992, the year of the 500th anniversary of the “Discovery of America,” the indigenous population, more commonly known as Indians, put lots of pressure on the government for it to abolish that holiday. Their argument was very strong: “Why should we celebrate the day when the “Old World” came and ruined our culture? Why should we celebrate the day when we started to be subjugated to the Spanish Crown? Why should we celebrate the beginning of the destruction of centuries of History, Culture, Traditions, of LIFE!! In Ecuador, since the mid-1990s, October 12th has not been a holiday anymore. It becomes a day that commemorates one step forward for the Indians. It was time for them to have a place in the Ecuadorian Society since they represent 45%- 50% of the Ecuadorian population. Since then, they have realized how much power they can achieve and how they can influence the course of the country. After a lot of work and planning, they reached power when they became part of the government at the beginning of this year. In the presidential campaign last year, they supported Colonel Lucio Gutierrez. In 2001, the colonel tried to stage a coup d’ Etat, again with the support of the indigenous population. It didn’t work that time, but two years later, he became President of Ecuador democratically. His triumph was, of course, due in large part to the indigenous support and because of the numerous offers he gave them. Once in the Presidency, he was supposed to share the government with them. At first it worked and the indigenous leaders got some Ministries in their charge and some high positions in the government. But the Indians wanted more and more power, they wanted to make sure to keep power, to be listened, to be respected and to achieve big transformations for their profit. Their requests were so strong and incompatible with the politics of State that after 204 days of political cohabitation, the alliance was broken. Their place in society has changed since. Of course they needed a bigger place in society and their culture to be respected as the roots of the Ecuadorian nation. But their strategy is still based in old times, in times where the world wasn’t globalized, where technology didn’t even exist, where corruption wasn’t present, where nature and human values were very important. They have to adjust themselves to the fast and unpredictable turnings of the world. They have to understand it is not a matter of months before their policies and demands can be heard. Rather, it is a longer process in which learning counts every bit as much as teaching the new generations the basis of Ecuadorian culture and the importance that it may have today .

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Maria

Hi! My name is Maria Clara Duran. I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Quito, Ecuador. I arrived to Willamette University a month ago as an exchange student. Right now I am in my senior year. I study Liberal Arts with a major in Anthropology. I am happy to be here because I have had the opportunity to meet people and to know more about American culture. I love to meet people from other cultures because it opens my mind to other perspectives of the world in which we all live. I hope, that as I am interested in learning more about your culture, you are also interest in finding out something about other cultures. During this year I will be writing about different topics from an Ecuadorian perspective. If you have any question or interest, please do not hesitate to contact me. It will be a pleasure to be in contact with you!

Women's Rights in Ecuador

Women are the 50.3% of the total of Ecuadorian population. Laws prohibit violence against women, including within marriage, abuses are widespread. The Law Against Violence Affecting Women and Children criminalized spousal abuse, including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; created family courts; and reformed the Penal Code to give courts the power to remove an abusive spouse from the home. The law also gives legal support to the government's Women's Bureau in cases of sexual harassment in the workplace.Between June 2000 and June 2001, the Women's Bureau reported 6,868 cases of sexual, psychological, or physical mistreatment of women. In 1999 a Guayaquil NGO reported that one out of three women suffered from some form of domestic violence

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SAMUEL PINO TORRES

Women are the 50.3% of the total of Ecuadorian population. Laws prohibit violence against women, including within marriage, abuses are widespread. The Law Against Violence Affecting Women and Children criminalized spousal abuse, including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; created family courts; and reformed the Penal Code to give courts the power to remove an abusive spouse from the home.

Economic Consequences of Iraq War

The consequences of the war have been felt in the oil exportations as well as other Ecuadorian products. The world nowadays is very interdependent. For that reason, the war between the United States and Irak causes repercussions even to countries that are far away form the conflict like Ecuador, specifically economically. In the short term, some cases are positive -high oil price-, but is a problem in other cases: the cosumer confidence in the United States, main commercial partner of Ecuador has fallen and will continue to lower levels if this war remains, even if the Army Affairs specialists consider that this possibility is remote. In the medium term, it is possible that the oil price could fall considerably because of circumstances related to this conflict.

Death Penalty

Samuel Pino Torres

Death penalty in Ecuador was abolished in 1906; 76 years after it became an Independent Republic. Our Constitution punishes with 16 year of prision for penal and 25 years for crimes that have to do with psicotropic and mind altering substances. Venezuela was the first country in the world that had abolished death penalty for any kind of crime in 1863. Costa Rica was the third country in the world and the first in Central America to abolish death penalty in 1877.

Read more about abolished countries, where laws don't allow death penalty for any kind of crime, abolition date, abolition date for comun crimes, and last execution date at the next address:
Http://www.ya.com/penademuerte/listapaises.htm

Some opinions:
Http://www.hoy.com.ec/textofinal.asp?numero=pena%20de%20muerte
Http://www.hoy.com.ec/textofinal.asp?numero=77159&texto=penas%20de%20muerte
http://www.ya.com/penademuerte/bush.notfinal.htm
Http://www.puce.edu.ec/DPU/condicion/co_spa_08jun99.htm

The folowing page has information, statistics, forms
to collect signatures to ask the abolition of death
penalty in the Unites States and a list of countries
where death penalty is still practiced.
Http://www.acpp.com/penademuerte.htm

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Ecuador in space?

Vanessa Lanas

When I received the topic for this week the first thing I thought was: “oh, oh, Vanessa, it seems that you’ll have some problems”. The second idea was: “don’t you want to change the topic?, are you sure that you don’t want to know about bananas, petroleum, or Iraq again?”. Finally I decided to reflect about it and start the respective investigation. Which I found have surprised me.
The topic of spatial exploration hasn’t had a lot of importance in developing countries as Ecuador and the reasons are evident. First talking about history: my country hasn’t a solid base on space studies because since the colony epoch his attention was directed to agricultural production instead of to technology. Second, there is an economic factor that doesn’t allow the governments or private institutions to support scientific careers or invest in expensive researches dedicated to explore our cosmos.
We have left these affairs on developed country’s hands, they are the ones who know, aren’t they?
However, the human resource is very valuable, people from all ages working hard and offering a huge effort, making important studies generally out of the country.
One of the favorite destinies is the United States, taking into account all the amount of non-profit organizations, scholarships and help offered, not to mention that by now, United States is considered one of the leaders in the spatial industry.
A lot of Ecuadorians (Samuel Pino is telling us on this same issue a very interesting case) are now working in well known organizations as the NASA, where they take out of pawn important functions and, even more, they are able to get all the knowledge that one day, maybe, hopefully… is going to help to be applied on their far nation.

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Attacking Iraq? A Latin American Perspective

Even if Latin America isn't involved directly with the facts that we all know, its attention is directed, as well as the rest of the world, to the apparently imminent conflict between the United States and Iraq. My intention in this article is to present some of the reactions to the reasons exposed to justify the attack, published in the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio (www.elcomercio.com). First, the presentation of a common evil enemy is evident as a tool to mobilize the public opinion in favor of Bush's campaign. However, isn't Saddam Hussein the same "killer dictator" he was before Gulf's war, when United States considered him as a friend and its best commercial partner?

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Introduction:

My name is Vanessa Lanas, I’m 20 years old and I come from Quito, the capital of Ecuador. I’m an exchange student at Willamette University, and now I’m enjoying a year full of learning and new experiences on all kinds of levels. I’ve met people from very different cultures and this, instead of being an obstacle, has made communication easier and fortified the friendships. Only one who has traveled to a foreign country (for more than tourist motives) knows that behind the emotion, the complete freedom, and the discoveries, are moments not always easy to bear - the struggle against yourself and all the efforts of a new beginning in a new place. All this constitutes for me a unequal opportunity to know that the only absolutely certainty is…. that everything is relative! The word “tolerance” must be our principal ally to go out of the bubble and explore the rich and complex world outside.

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Fausto Pino Torres

Introduction:

I was born 25 years ago in a region in Ecuador with rich natural resources, the Amazonia. I studied primary school in Lago-Agrio. I studied secondary school in Quito, and I earned a degree as a National Tour Guide. I speak four languages; English, French, Italian and Spanish. I worked as a Tour Guide for three and a half years. Natural and cultural richness makes my country an interesting place for anyone who wants to have a very exciting trip in South America.

I am really interested in learning about several cultures of the world. I enjoy learning about geography, customs, ways of dressing, and the different ways of communicating. My favorite hobbies are listening to music in other languages and drawing. I value friendship very much and I try to grow every day in my faith as I learn about spiritual and moral values. I consider myself to be very happy, sincere and uncomplicated. I came to the United States six months ago,and I work at Willamette as a Spanish tutor. This has been a nice experience for me because I am able to get to know about the way people live in this country. While I am here I would like to share with you important information about South America in general and especially about my well loved country, Ecuador.

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