Cuenca news today, written for expats

Cuenca's Frente Unido de Taxistas says 35% of registered drivers no longer get the federal fuel subsidy and fares haven't budged. The city's mobility coordinator is warning that stopping service is illegal under the penal code — no strike date set yet.

Between April 14 and 19, 18 people died in traffic accidents in the Cuenca canton — and 15 of them were on the Cuenca–Molleturo–El Empalme highway. If you drive to Guayaquil or the coast, this is what the route looks like right now.

The Universidad de Cuenca has opened registration for online Portuguese courses in partnership with the Brazilian-Ecuadorian Cultural Institute. Seven levels, 40 hours each, taught over Zoom. First level costs $105 plus $59 for required materials.

Elecaustro's general manager Marco Toledo says the long-delayed Yanuncay multipurpose project will break ground in the first quarter of 2027. Cost has risen to $95 million, up from $86 million originally. Four-year build, 22 megawatts of power, and water security for Cuenca.

A 23-year-old mother from Morona Santiago paid $50 out of pocket to fuel the ambulance that carried her critically ill toddler from Cuenca to Quito. Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital refunded the money the next morning. Here's what the story says about Cuenca's public healthcare right now.

The Unidad Educativa Borja in Cuenca just celebrated 120 years of the Dolorosa miracle — the 1906 event in a Quito boys' school that anchors one of Ecuadorian Catholicism's most enduring devotions. An alumni Mass and breakfast are scheduled for Saturday, April 25.