Breaking news, politics, economy, visas, safety, and lifestyle updates for expats living in Ecuador.
Ecuador’s Council of Higher Education has started an intervention process at Universidad Amawtay Wasi and suspended its top authorities. A temporary intervention commission will assume the university’s rectorate and administration while the measure is in effect.
Commercial transport drivers in several categories can no longer invoice clients directly under new SRI rules. Operators or transport companies must handle client billing, while drivers bill the operator they belong to.
Hospitals and health centers in Ecuador will begin using the WHO’s CIE-11 system for diseases, diagnoses, and medical conditions. The goal is more uniform records across the health network.
President Daniel Noboa issued Decree 448 to make Ecuador’s 2025-2029 National Security Plan mandatory public policy nationwide. The plan names organized crime, narcotrafficking, illegal mining, money laundering, corruption, and cyberattacks among the country’s main risks.
Ecuadorian authorities list several ways to report extortion, including 1800 DELITO, ECU 911, the 131 line, Fiscalía, QR-code reporting, a WhatsApp rewards number, and a Ministry of Interior digital form.
Elecaustro opened a new rental process for a 90-110 MW power barge as Cenace warns of a 25% probability of electricity deficits in the 2026-2027 dry season without new generation.
Inamhi’s July 13 forecast calls for isolated rain, high to extremely high UV levels, and Sierra wind gusts in Imbabura, Pichincha, Cotopaxi, and Tungurahua.
The share of migrants and refugees in Ecuador with a bank account rose from 11% in 2022 to 48% in 2025, according to figures presented at a financial-inclusion event in Quito.
Ecuadorian dealerships sold 14,139 hybrid cars in the first half of 2026, up 76.5% from the same period in 2025, as Extra and Ecopaís gasoline rose from $2.67 to $3.31 per gallon.
Ecuador’s Assembly is debating tenancy-law changes that would set maximum limits and a return mechanism for rental guarantees, a practical issue for expats signing leases.
Ecuador’s ERFEN committee says El Niño is in its initial development phase, while immediate intense rainfall is not expected and dry-season conditions should continue in the Coast and western and central Sierra.
ANT will run a new license-issuance process from July 20 through September 30, 2026. Users will still generate a payment order online, but after payment they can go to the selected agency on a day tied to the last digit of their cedula.
