Volume 4 • ISSUE 19 December 9th , 2019 • www.thecuencadispatch.com Moreno stands behind actions in October protests cuador President Lenin Moreno does not regret his response to the Eprotests that shook his country last October and believes he did the right thing by trying to eliminate a “perverse” subsidy to fuels that, in his opinion, benefits the “wealthiest,” narcos and traffickers.” In a meeting with a small group of media in Madrid last week, where he participated in the climate summit (COP25), Moreno said that in a “hard confrontation” like the one lived in those protests, in which a dozen people died and more than 1,300 were injured, it is “difficult to avoid excesses.” “With 5,000 or 10,000 police on the street, with 20,000 or 30,000 protesters on the street too, it is very difficult that there are no excesses, 13th, after Moreno announced economic adjustments that included the but we are investigating them,” said Moreno, who added that “the use of withdrawal of the fuel subsidy. progressive force”was applied correctly during the almost two weeks of Pressured by the protests, which led the indigenous movement, the riots, looting and roadblocks. Moreno government repealed the decree that eliminated this subsidy and The UN Office for Human Rights, which sent a team of experts to with which it intended to raise about $1.4 billion a year. Ecuador from October 21st to November 8th, received complaints about “There is always the possibility of doing things better ... But the purpose at least nine dead, 1,507 injured (including 435 members of the security was the best,” said the president in reference to his decree to end “a forces) and 1,382 people detained. perverse subsidy that for 40 years nobody had dared to eliminate.” Reflection on protests “We acted correctly,” he insisted when asked if he The demonstrations in Ecuador took place between October 3rd and cont. page 5. Lawmakers spend a day BUSINESS HIGHLIGHT experiencing how unfriendly Light & Touch Therapy Ecuador is to the disabled ast Tuesday, a group of Ecuadorian Llegislators mimicked the problems a person with disabilities faces daily in order to experience for themselves what those struggles entail. And perhaps to a legislate with greater sensitivity towards the disabled. The sensitization exercise was carried out when the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was commemorated on December 3 and involved legislators without ideological distinction. The legislators Raúl Tello, Mauricio Proaño and Patricio Donoso, entered the If you do something unnatural, then you should expect an unnatural legislative session blindfolded through the “result.” Those were some of the first words that Martyn Luberti said to main door of the Parliament, in what became me when we met to talk about his business, Light & Touch Therapy. a moving experience that aroused in them a greater empathy towards And another central theme—that supporting the body to heal itself people with disabilities. is the most effective way, and the least invasive—ran through our entire “One loses the notion of the location, of everything that is around, the conversation for two hours. only thing that is heard are voices,” Tello said before noting that although But let’s back up a second and talk about Martyn and what he they traveled about 50 meters blindfolded, it seemed like five hundred is doing for his patients here in Cuenca. Light & Touch Therapy is a due to the insecurity he felt. unique alternative treatment option for people to obtain relief from A legislator for two and a half years, Tello stressed that all the legislators their symptoms. Studies are showing that this kind of therapy is highly should think to support people with disabilities daily cont. page 5. cont. page 4. VOL 4 Publisher: Jonathan Mogrovejo ISSUE [email protected] Graphic Design 19 Bianca Mosquera FOR ADVERTISING, PLEASE CONTACT: [email protected] 098-482-24195 Printed by: Imprenta Unigraf The Cuenca Dispatch is published by GoBig Web Design and Marketing. Any reproduction or duplication of any part thereof must be done with the written permission of the Publisher. All information included herein is correct to the best of our knowledge as of the publication date. Corrections should be forwarded to the Publisher at the address above. Disclaimer: The paid advertisements contained within The Cuenca Dispatch are not endorsed or recommended by the Publisher. Therefore, neither party may be held liable for the business practices of these companies. © The Cuenca Dispatch & GoBig Web Design and Marketing, 2019 Pick up a copy of The Cuenca Dispatch near you! You can find The Cuenca Dispatch at the following locations: • Supermaxi El Vergel • Sabatino’s Garden • Supermaxi Don Bosco Restaurant • Fabianos • Sunrise Cafe • San Sebas Cafe • Don Colon • Common Grounds • Creta Restaurant • Oro Verde Cafe • Cafe Del Museo More locations coming soon! Want another expat hangout added to the list of locations where you can find The Cuenca Dispatch? Let us know! Email us at [email protected] www.thecuencadispatch.com | THE CUENCA DISPATCH | VOL 4 ISSUE 19 | 3 I know other expats who have had great results here with their healthcare. So, perhaps it is good. Or maybe “good enough.” Nonetheless, what seems to be lacking is a good study among the expat population to get the question answered, “How good is the medical By care in Cuenca?” I mean a study with real clinical observations and records. Michael Soares Something we could hold up and say, “Take a look at this!” Short of that, I am now going to simply answer that question with, “I don’t know, I’ve heard good and bad.” Because healthcare is a very important issue for expats and anyone who thinks they know the definitive answer on it, is probably not putting a lot of thought into the question. The care is kind if good, well maybe However, if we can ever get a good study on the topic, it would be worth comparing the results to the care in the US and Canada. It would help expats think I’m passing a kidney stone. Maybe, maybe not. I have a lot of back decide to keep their healthcare plans back home or discard them and jump pain in the area that would indicate that I do. I know because I’ve had them I right in here in Cuenca. Until then, all weare going to get is anecdotal stories before. Several of them. They suck. They pop up at the least opportune like the ones I’ve written here. times and can screw up your life for several days. And simply put, they’re not worth the paper this is printed on. I’m just If you know anything about kidney stones, you’ve probably heard people sayin.’ say, “Well, for a man, that is the closest they will ever come to feeling the pain of delivering a baby.” I don’t know, because obviously, I’ve never had a baby. But I’ll tell you this, women keep having babies and there is no way I would ever choose to have another kidney stone. I’m just saying. Can you see this? Now, I question whether what I am feeling now is a kidney stone or a back issue. Because back pain is a chronic problem for me. My sacroiliac (SI) So can thousands of our readers. joint goes out a lot. It’s a problem I’ve had for 20 plus years. In the past some Place your business’s ad here and reach your market surgeons have even suggested fusing it. Which I have no intention of doing. Contact us to start your marketing campaign My back has been bothering me for a few days and I know that pain is 098-482-2495 - [email protected] from a slipped SI joint. I felt it go. So, I can be sure of it. However, maybe it’s both back pain AND a kidney stone. But, maybe it’s just psychosomatic because I just read an article in El Tiempo announcing that a local hospital is now doing lithotripsy for kidney stones. And they are doing a lot of this procedure. So, it seems like with respect to kidney stones, Cuenca has now caught up with the US for treatment (I had lithotripsy for a kidney stone about 15 years ago in Denver). Like most medical problems, Cuenca has caught up enough to take it into the 21st century. But is the care good? That really is the question. When people ask me, I relate some anecdotes about good treatment and just assume that it is good. But lately I’ve really begun to question whether healthcare here is good enough to tell incoming expats that they don’t need to worry about it. Why? Well, a lot of reasons but mainly because of so many horror stories I have Fun By The Numbers heard over the last year, culminating with yet another one this week. Like puzzles? Then you’ll love Sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you In reviewing friends’ experiences over the last year or so, the most tragic hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your is that of Michel Blanchard who I wrote about in a previous issue of The Sudoku savvy to the test! Cuenca Dispatch. Michel was a friend, a wonderful man, and someone taken Here’s How It Works: much too soon. He died, in my opinion, because of poor medical care. He Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9X9 grid, broken down into nine 3X3 boxes.