Ecuadorian Government Research Articles

The meanings of mining: A perspective on the regulation of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in southern Ecuador

Before Christmas 2016, an elementary school in Zaruma, Ecuador was swallowed by a collapse in the ground linked to illegal gold mining activity taking place underneath the town. This incident, along with widespread environmental contamination, proved distressing for the inhabitants of the district of Portovelo-Zaruma (P-Z). However, the revenues from this mining activity sustains the livelihoods of local people, including supplying revenue to support regional investments in agro- and aquaculture. The Ecuadorian Government has intensified its efforts to address the problems of control and regulation but the results thus far are underwhelming and partial. This paper reflects on why this is the case by untangling the complexities of the mining taking place and its regulation. I argue that current state intervention is dominated by the discourse of natural science, in deep need of complementation from critical social science in order to convey the deeper causes of the sector’s problem. By employing a perspective from the tradition of political ecology, the paper represents a first step towards opening up this context to the social sciences. The analysis contributes to the growing literature on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), particularly to discussions about its contentious character and regulation.

United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI) 1991-2012 and Beyond

The present paper contains an overview and summary on the achievements of the basic space science initiative in terms of donated and provided planetariums, astronomical instruments, and space weather instruments, particularly operating in developing nations. These instruments have been made available to respective host countries, particularly developing nations, through the series of twenty basic space science workshops, organized through the United Nations Programme on Space Applications since 1991. Organized by the United Nations, the European Space Agency (ESA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the basic space science workshops were organized as a series of workshops that focused on basic space science (1991-2004), the International Heliophysical Year 2007 (2005-2009), and the International Space Weather Initiative (2010-2012) proposed by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on the basis of discussions of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, as reflected in the reports of the Subcommittee. Workshops on the International Space Weather Initiative in the series were hosted by the Government of Egypt in 2010 (see A/AC.105/994), the Government of Nigeria in 2011, and the Government of Ecuador in 2012 (see A/AC.105/1030). Workshops on the International Heliophysical Year 2007 were hosted by the United Arab Emirates in 2005 (see A/AC.105/856), India in 2006 (see A/AC.105/882), Japan in 2007 (see A/AC.105/902), Bulgaria in 2008 (see A/AC.105/919) and the Republic of Korea in 2009 (see A/AC.105/964). Workshops on basic space science were hosted by the Governments of India (see A/AC.105/489), Costa Rica and Colombia (see A/AC.105/530), Nigeria (see A/AC.105/560/Add.1), Egypt (see A/AC.105/580), Sri Lanka (see A/AC.105/640), Germany (see A/AC.105/657), Honduras (see A/AC.105/682), Jordan (see A/AC.105/723), France (see A/AC.105/742), Mauritius (see A/AC.105/766), Argentina (see A/AC.105/784) and China (see A/AC.105/829). All workshops were co-organized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).

The Raspberry Pi as a Computer Substitute at Elementary Schools in Developing Countries: A Pilot Experiment in Ecuador

One of the main challenges of developing countries is to shorten the digital divide that exists with developed countries and countries in transition. The government of Ecuador through its National Plan for Technologies and Telecommunications (Plan Nacional de Telecomunicaciones y Tecnologías), has as a goal to give universal access to Technologies of Information and Communication (TICs) to its entire citizens. One of its projects is to assure connectivity and infrastructure in schools. This paper proposes a low-cost open source solution to improve the access to information technology and communication through computers to children of schools in low income areas. The proposed alternative was set out to using the Raspberry Pi 3 s a substitute of standard computer. Its performance and capabilities were put to test comparing them to standard PC main functions. the pilot experiment was implemented at the "Ciudad de Ariel" elementary school, located on Durán, Ecuador.

Changes in Public Institutions as a Function of Technology and Its Impact on Society

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this article is to establish the different impacts of technological changes in institutions generating irrevocable changes in today’s society. Background: Technological changes have had a positive impact on many aspects of everyday life today, and it is natural that both public and private institutions benefit from this reality. Methodology: The research method used is based on the explanatory approach, through the documentary review of secondary sources and research works. Contribution: The implementation of electronic government in Ecuador is presented as a direct consequence of these technological developments with ways to direct and govern a country, which leads to competitive advantages in a world that is increasingly globalized. Findings: In the institutions the only permanent thing is change, for which the changing and evolving fact that the public and private institutions of today must have is highlighted. Recommendations for Practitioners: Results can inform to users the importance of the “new government” in a practical level. Recommendation for Researchers: The influence of technology on how to govern and if this in some way improves the functioning of the State. Impact on Society: Technological developments, which leads competitive advantages in a world that is increasingly globalized. Future Research: Create discussion and have a starting point to compare the influence of technological government in different parts of the world.

Plataforma Cloud de Monitoreo del Funcionamiento de una Electrolinera Solar Fotovoltaica

El Estado ecuatoriano está interesado en promover la integración de energías renovables en el sector transporte, con especial atención a las islas Galápagos. En este contexto, el presente artículo describe el diseño e implementación de una plataforma informática cloud de monitoreo del comportamiento de una estación de recarga de vehículos eléctricos, alimentada desde un sistema solar fotovoltaico aislado, actualmente en funcionamiento en el campus Huachi de la Universidad Técnica de Ambato. En el presente estudio se realiza una breve descripción del diseño, dimensionado, instalación y puesta en marcha de la electrolinera solar fotovoltaica instalada en la ciudad de Ambato. El monitoreo remoto de la electrolinera está integrado en una plataforma cloud que garantiza realizar el seguimiento del óptimo funcionamiento de instalaciones solares en diferentes zonas geográficas del país. En este sentido, la electrolinera solar fotovoltaica representa un prototipo replicable y escalable en zonas aisladas, en especial en las islas Galápagos. La plataforma cloud de monitoreo remoto permite analizar el comportamiento de los diferentes elementos de la instalación solar: paneles, reguladores, baterías e inversores. La presentación de los datos adquiridos de forma visual permitirá al personal a cargo de la instalación registrar el correcto comportamiento de la electrolinera y estar alerta ante fallos inesperados, garantizando el normal funcionamiento de la electrolinera.

RUDN University and Latin-Caribbean America: new directions of interaction in the educational sphere

The article analyzes the international cooperation of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) in the field of higher education and science, shows its role in training highly qualified personnel from Latin America and the Caribbean, with a special focus on Ecuador. The purpose of the article is to show the cross-section of the Latin American contingent of pupils at the present stage on the basis of a comparative analysis, and for this purpose are set the following tasks: to identify new priorities in education that are in demand in modern society and are embodied in the PFUR, to show the importance of the internationalization of education as one of the factors ensuring educational cooperation for RUDN University. The task is also to show the cooperation of the Ecuadorian government and RUDN University in the preparation of competitive specialists for the implementation of ambitious plans for the country’s development, identify the features of the Yachai project for the development of Ecuador’s scientific potential, and outline the prospects for bilateral interaction in the training system. Conclusion: for 58 years of its activity PFUR has achieved significant results in the internationalization of education, developed interesting methods of teaching Russian and other subjects, introduced the study of a number of subjects in English, which made this university attractive for foreign, in particular, Latin American students.

Azyl dyplomatyczny jako instytucja właściwa dla krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej na przykładzie sprawy Juliana Assange'a

Julian Assange, założyciel portalu WikiLeaks, w dniu 19 czerwca 2012 r. wszedł do Ambasady Ekwadoru w Londynie i jednocześnie wystąpił do rządu ekwadorskiego o udzieleniu mu azylu dyplomatycznego. Starania o azyl miały zapobiec ekstradycji Assange’a do Szwecji, gdzie był poszukiwany w związku z zarzutami o molestowanie seksualne i gwałt. Assange obawiał się, że ekstradycja do Szwecji pociągnie za sobą ekstradycję do Stanów Zjednoczonych w związku z zarzutami związanymi z działalnością WikiLeaks. W oparciu o wyżej przedstawiony stan faktyczny, w niniejszym artykule przeprowadzona zostanie analiza kwestii prawnych związanych z udzieleniem azylu dyplomatycznego, a w szczególności zostanie wyjaśnione, czym jest azyl dyplomatyczny oraz jakie są jego podstawy prawne w prawie międzynarodowym. Celem artykułu jest również wskazanie, iż udzielanie azylu dyplomatycznego jest praktyką specyficzną dla krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej, co znajduje oparcie w traktatach wielostronnych tychże państw - jedynych takich umowach na świecie regulujących azyl dyplomatyczny w formie traktatowej. Omówione zostaną również postanowienia tychże traktatów.

New Mining Concessions Could Severely Decrease Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Ecuador

Ecuador has among the world’s highest biodiversity, despite being a tiny fraction of the world’s land area. The threat of extinction for some of this biodiversity has dramatically increased since April 2016, during which time the Ecuadorian government has opened around 13% of the country to mining exploration, with many of the concessions in previously protected forests. Herein, we describe the system of protected lands in Ecuador, their mining laws, and outline the scale of threat by comparing the mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and orchids from several now threatened protected areas, classed as “Bosques Protectores,” in the northwestern montane cloud forests. Together, these reserves form a buffer and a southern corridor for the still-protected Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, which is otherwise now surrounded by mining concessions. We gathered published literature, “gray literature,” information from reserve records and websites, and our previously unpublished observations to make comparative species tables for each reserve. Our results reveal the potential losses that mining could cause: eight critically endangered species, including two primates (brown-headed spider monkey and white-fronted capuchin), 37 endangered species, 153 vulnerable, 89 near threatened, and a large number of less threatened species. Our data show that each reserve protects a unique subset of taxa in this region of highly localized endemics and the reserves also generate sustainable income for local people. The short-term national profits from mining will not compensate for the permanent biodiversity losses, and the long-term ecosystem service and economic losses at the local and regional level.

Sumak Kawsay as an Element of Local Decolonization in Ecuador

The concept of sumak kawsay, buen vivir or “good life”—in Bolivia, suma qamaña, or vivir bien—has been widely diffused on an international level since the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly in 2007–2008 and the Bolivian one in 2006–2009. Good life has been understood as an alternative to capitalist modernizing development that is based on the indigenous ideal of harmony between individual, society, and nature. Nevertheless, in the usage of the indigenous movement, which initiated the diffusion of this concept, good life is a local and territorial conception of a lifestyle. While this notion of locality is largely ignored or invisibilized by the Ecuadorian government and by nonindigenous intellectuals, and to some degree even by national indigenous organizations, local indigenous organizations integrated good life into their discourse of territorial autonomy in a pluralist state. Good life allows for local decolonialization, a concrete and local fight against the structures of “the coloniality of power” framed within a discursive panorama that includes concepts of plurality and autonomy. This text analyzes sumak kawsay as a key concept of local decolonialization, emphasizing its relation to similar concepts and the differences in its usage by different actors.

Territorial partitions, the production of mining territory and the building of a post-neoliberal and plurinational state in Ecuador

The Ecuadorian government currently advances large-scale mining as an economic activity to alleviate poverty and ultimately achieve a post-neoliberal agenda in the country. Three large-scale mining projects are planned in the Cordillera del Condor, a region of the Amazon basin, where local people have developed particular ways of living in close relation to their land. This paper claims that current mining projects create territorial partitions that transform socio-spatial relations in five inter-related ways: institutional hierarchies, governance frameworks, social imaginaries, politico-cultural identities and productive transformations. It is argued that territorial partitions aim to develop a particular state narrative in the Cordillera del Condor, the one of a mining territory. This narrative in turn, regroups territories into a unity that imposes state dominance over new meanings of territory. Ultimately, this paper challenges the state's rationality of using mining as a strategic activity for a post-neoliberal agenda while limiting Ecuador's ability to transition towards a plurinational state.

Ecuadorian youth, social and geographic mobility and higher education in Spain and Ecuador. Unequal educational trajectories in times of crises

In the paper we analyze the inequalities that emerge from and are reproduced in Ecuadorian’s higher education trajectories in the context of economic crises. We focus on the strategies that these youth and their families employ for social mobility as well as the role of public policy in these processes. We examine the trajectories of three groups: sons and daughters of the 2000 migration wave from Ecuador to Spain who study at universities in Spain, those who have returned to Ecuador for their studies, and Ecuadorians who move to Spain in order to carry out postgraduate studies, some of them funded by scholarships from the Ecuadorian government. The research project employed a qualitative methodology based on interviews, focus groups and a survey with Ecuadorians in Spain who took the entrance exam for admittance into Ecuador’s public university system. Our findings highlight the varied forms of capitals that these diverse students employ, as well as the social and economic constraints that they encounter. In a period of economic crisis in Spain, the first group of students must often downgrade their expectations in order to continue their studies. Their experience contrasts starkly with Ecuadorians undertaking postgraduate studies in Spain, whose heterogenous trajectories are upwardly and geographically mobile. The case of the return university students to Ecuador shows us that education is inserted into a broader strategy that depends on transnational networks shaped over more than a decade of Ecuador-Spain migration.

EVOLUCIÓN DE SALARIOS REALES EN ECUADOR DURANTE LA GRAN DEPRESIÓN, 1927-1937

AbstractThe monetary policies of the decade studied had a direct influence on the evolution of real wages in Ecuador. The gold standard brought with it the increase in real wages until 1932. In February 1932, the Ecuadorian Government decided to abolish the gold standard which, together with a heavy public expenditure, produced a significant increase in money supply causing high levels of inflation. The evolution of real wages in Ecuador is similar to the evolution registered in Latin America in two important aspects: in both cases an upward trend in real wages can be observed once the international crisis began; after the increase in the purchasing power of wages, there is a decline. This study is the first research trying to understand the impact of the Great Depression in Ecuador through the evolution of real wages.

Frustrated Chinese Investors in the OPC & OEPC v. Republic of Ecuador

Chinese Investor brought forty percent of property interest of an Ecuadorian Oil Participation Contract owned by a Canadian oil company. The interest was entitled by two American oil companies, who afterwards transferred to the Canadian. The Ecuadorian government rejected the transfer, and terminated the participation contract. The American investors disagreed, and claimed for compensation. The international investment tribunal in Washington D.C. issued award in favor of two American investors, but set aside the Chinese investor’s interests. It is concluded that Chinese investors are under the protection of the Ecuador-China Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) instead of the U.S.-Ecuador BIT. However, Chinese investors have no right to apply for ICSID arbitration but an ad hoc arbitration instead under Ecuador-China BIT.

Impacto de salvaguardas en el comercio exterior caso de estudio México-Ecuador en una empresa de electrodomésticos

El comercio exterior de México se ubica entre los primeros jugadores en el comercio internacional; en 2013 obtuvo el décimo lugar como exportador y noveno como importador a nivel mundial, y el primero en ambas categorías entre los países de América Latina y el Caribe. Los aranceles, tal como las salvaguardas protegen sectores concretos, restringen temporalmente las importaciones de mercancías idénticas, similares o directamente competidoras a las de producción nacional para prevenir o remediar un daño y facilitar el ajuste de productores nacionales. El objetivo de la investigación es conocer el impacto de la salvaguarda en México impuesta por el gobierno ecuatoriano, desde la perspectiva de una empresa exportadora en México, posiciones en el mercado, dicha sobretasa fue aplicada a la importación de productos electrodomésticos en marzo del 2015. Los resultados muestran los efectos de dicha medida proteccionista y las implicaciones negativas para los exportadores mexicanos, a través del análisis financiero comparativo de antes y después de la aplicación de dicha medida, mostrando el comportamiento en ventas, costo de aranceles y la relación entre ellos.

Incidencia Económica de las Salvaguardias en el Ecuador en el Sector de la Alimentación Período 2014 - 2016

El objetivo del presente artículo es indicar la incidencia económica en el sector alimenticio por efecto de las salvaguardias aplicadas a las importaciones de alimentos en el Gobierno ecuatoriano durante el período 2014 - 2016. Se han analizado temas relacionados como comercio exterior, aranceles, salvaguardias, por ser el sector de la alimentación el afectado se abordó la seguridad alimentaria, los tipos de productos alimenticios que forman parte de la oferta alimentaria de un país, así como el entorno y aplicación de medidas políticas y su impacto económico. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron demostrar que en el sector de alimentos, las importaciones en las partidas afectadas por las salvaguardias ascendió a 564.6 millones de dólares, de los cuales la incidencia directa en la economía de la sociedad ecuatoriana fue un incremento en el pago de 142,4 millones de dólares por efecto de la aplicación de las salvaguardias en los productos alimenticios importados, lo que afectó directamente a la economía de los ecuatorianos y a la disminución del nivel de vida por la reducción de la oferta alimentaria del país.

Variation in seed production of Jatropha curcas L. accessions under tropical dry forest conditions in Ecuador

The Ecuadorian Government has, since the end of 2011, promoted an initiative for using pure jatropha oil, derived from the seeds of Jatropha curcas L., to generate electricity to supply Floreana Island (one of the Galapagos Islands). In the present study, nine elite accessions of J. curcas from tropical dry forests in Ecuador were cultivated for the purpose of evaluating seed production in relation to the propagation method used (seed, cutting). A split-plot design with three replicates was applied. Seed production, measured over a period of 7 years (2009–2015) showed a large year-to-year variation. However, seed production varied significantly among accessions and depended on the propagation method (seeds or cuttings). Propagation by stem cuttings stabilized the variability in the vegetative and seed production components measured, increasing the strength of their relationships with seed yield. The three highest yielding accessions produced 0.28–0.30 kg of seeds tree−1 year−1. As seed yield was not correlated with annual precipitation, the year-to-year variation in production of accessions indicates the effect of other factors not considered here, such as agronomic practices. The study findings suggest that agroforestry practices could be developed that would enable J. curcas to play a predominant role in a strategy for tropical dry forests aimed at reducing poverty (also known as pro-poor growth strategy).

Etiquetado de alimentos en Ecuador: implementación, resultados y acciones pendientes

RESUMENLas enfermedades no transmisibles representan la principal causa de muerte en el mundo entero, siendo responsables de 38 millones de las defunciones registradas en 2012. Esta epidemia se asocia, principalmente, al tabaquismo, al consumo excesivo de alcohol, el sedentarismo y cambios en el patrón alimentario, caracterizado por el consumo de dietas con un elevado contenido de azúcar y grasas saturadas, propio de los alimentos procesados y bebidas azucaradas, sumado a una escasa ingesta de frutas y hortalizas. El Ecuador no escapa a ese perfil epidemiológico ni a los cambios en el patrón de consumo de alimentos, por lo cual, el Estado Ecuatoriano diseñó e implementó un plan de acción orientado a modificar el entorno obesogénico, que contempla seis líneas estratégicas, una de las cuales es la implementación de un sistema de etiquetado nutricional tipo semáforo a los alimentos procesados, a finales de 2014, orientado a garantizar el derecho de las personas a la información oportuna, clara, precisa y no engañosa sobre el contenido y características de estos alimentos. El presente artículo analiza el proceso de implementación del etiquetado de alimentos procesados, los resultados alcanzados hasta la fecha y propone medidas complementarias que se requieren para el logro de la meta prevista en el Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir, a la luz de la nueva evidencia científica y los distintos acuerdos y marcos regulatorios disponibles en nuestra Región. La metodología de estudio incluyó revisión bibliográfica y de actas, entrevistas a informantes clave, y análisis y procesamiento de fuentes secundarias.

A Real Option Analysis applied to the production of Arabica and Robusta Coffee in Ecuador

The coffee market is distinguished for being volatile and uncertain in terms of domestic and international prices. Arabica and Robusta coffee are produced in 23 provinces of Ecuador. A decade-long decline of coffee production prompted the Ecuadorian government to launch a public program for replanting coffee trees towards the end of 2011. A grower’s decision to enter, remain in or exit the coffee sector is based on fluctuating profits from each year’s harvest sale. We analyzed the hypothesis whereby the coffee grower’s decision to leave the sector is explained by volatile and uncertain prices. This paper aimed to evaluate the coffee sector with an application of Real Option Analysis for the period 2002-2012. We also defined entry (H) and exit (L) prices for Arabica and Robusta coffee for the analyzed period. Our findings revealed high H and L prices encourage growers to leave the sector for the most part of the analyzed period. High H and L prices resulted from high variable cost due to increasing wages for farm workers. The Ecuadorian government is developing a policy to help growers make production more efficient, encouraging them to remain in the sector in the long run.

Intelligent Energy Management in the Galapagos Islands towards a Smart Grid

The Galapagos Islands are a fragile ecosystem which belongs to Ecuador country. About 26.000 people are located in four islands of the archipelago and approximately 61% of the population is concentrated on Santa Cruz Island. The supply of energy is through of combined technologies such as thermal, photovoltaic and wind. The government of Ecuador is fostering the policy zero CO2 emissions within the islands. In order to achieve this objective, some initiatives are carried out like replacing the conventional vehicles and the gas stoves by electrical ones. Taking into account this framework, it becomes vital to assess the impact of these new policies on the distribution network; for sure, this will change significantly the operation and control of Galapagos distribution grid. Hence, this paper proposes an impact study of intelligent Demand Side Management techniques development adapted to the Galapagos context, in order to help to their preservation, reducing the environmental footprint, becoming a world reference in management of the energy and sustainability. Real field informations have been used in the presented models.

The nature of post-neoliberalism: Building bio-socialism in the Ecuadorian Amazon

This paper explores the ideology and materiality of ‘bio-socialism’, through which the Ecuadorian government is attempting to catalyse a ‘post-neoliberal’ transition from the ‘finite resources’ of Amazonian oil reserves to the ‘infinite resources’ of biodiversity and scientific knowledge. This experiment is embodied in Ikiam, a public university under construction in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Drawing on extensive field research, we argue that, despite its radical intentions, bio-socialism is functioning as a strategy for the real subsumption of nature to capital, which is being operationalized in Ikiam in ways that reproduce the neoliberal knowledge economy. However, the contradictions of this process imply that, in practice, Ikiam is only intensifying established patterns of the formal subsumption of nature, by commodifying the genetic wealth and indigenous knowledge of the Amazon, and legitimating the expansion of the oil and mineral frontiers. The case of bio-socialism demonstrates the paradoxical nature of actually-existing post-neoliberalism, and illustrates the tendency for utopian ideologies to reproduce the material conditions they are seeking to escape.