Cuenca High Life

03/09/2026

U.S. expats are still waiting for tax reform

By Jack Salmon The U.S. is nearly alone in the world in taxing people based on citizenship rather than residence....

By Jack Salmon The U.S. is nearly alone in the world in taxing people based on citizenship rather than residence. An American who moves to Toronto, marries a Canadian citizen, […]

02/09/2026

Villavicencio assassination trial could be Ecuador’s day of reckoning: An InSight Crime interview

By James Bargent and Deborah Bonello Three years after presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in Quito, Ecuador could be closing in on an answer to who ordered the murder....

By James Bargent and Deborah Bonello Three years after presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in Quito, Ecuador could be closing in on an answer to who ordered the murder. […]

02/09/2026

Corruption may be fueling much of Cuenca’s construction boom, municipal council members say

Why do large, politically connected construction companies receive building permits within two to three months while small companies and individuals sometimes wait for years?...

Why do large, politically connected construction companies receive building permits within two to three months while small companies and individuals sometimes wait for years? Cuenca municipal councilwoman Jenny Bermeo says […]

02/09/2026

Fast forward to the past

Charlie Larga, or the collective of writers who use that name, seems to have been born around 1950, when the population of the United States was about 154 million....

Charlie Larga, or the collective of writers who use that name, seems to have been born around 1950, when the population of the United States was about 154 million. By 2020 it […]

01/09/2026

In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, communities build their own micro-hydropower plant to power their lives

By Aimee Gabay In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, one of the major watersheds that supply the country’s Imbabura province in the north, 19 families from four communities are developing a 300-kilowatt (kW) run-of-river hydropower plant — a project that generates electricity by capturing the Aguagrún River’s natural flows without the construction of a large dam or water storage reservoir....

01/09/2026

‘They charge gringos more:’ When suspicion arrives before the price

Robert handed Paola a five-dollar bill and tucked the tomatoes, avocados and flowers into his market bag....

Robert handed Paola a five-dollar bill and tucked the tomatoes, avocados and flowers into his market bag. He had bought from her often enough that the exchange required little conversation. […]

01/09/2026

How Ecuador became a seafood superpower

By Alessandro Ford Glance out of the window when flying into Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second city, and you’ll spot the ponds....

By Alessandro Ford Glance out of the window when flying into Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second city, and you’ll spot the ponds. Vast pools of brackish water partition the landscape, like glass […]

31/08/2026

Russia is ‘baiting and switching’ young Latin American men to fight its war in Ukraine

By Arturo McFields Russia seems to be losing the war in Ukraine, both morally and militarily. It was not a quick special operation....

By Arturo McFields Russia seems to be losing the war in Ukraine, both morally and militarily. It was not a quick special operation. It has been a long and costly […]

31/08/2026

Ecuador declares ‘red alert’ emergency for El Niño

Ecuador declared a nationwide red alert on Saturday as ocean-atmospheric conditions associated with the evolving El Niño continue to develop....

Ecuador declared a nationwide red alert on Saturday as ocean-atmospheric conditions associated with the evolving El Niño continue to develop. The red alert triggers expanded preparations and emergency response measures […]

31/08/2026

U.S. deports ex-minister José Serrano who is linked to the assassination of Villavicencio

Former Interior Minister José Serrano, accused of participating in the plot to murder presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023, has been extradited to Ecuador from the U.S....

Former Interior Minister José Serrano, accused of participating in the plot to murder presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023, has been extradited to Ecuador from the U.S. Serrano, who served […]