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Post by james on Oct 8, 2019 18:19:03 GMT -5
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Post by tubes on Oct 8, 2019 19:44:46 GMT -5
I know that we should be thinking of fuel surcharges and not subsidies, but the poorer countries have been used to them for a very long time are having big troubles adjusting to reality.
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Post by scumbuster on Oct 8, 2019 20:07:34 GMT -5
I'm on the ground here. Its bad in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. Violent protests there. Buses are not running in the whole country. Taxis are afraid to go out. We have moto-taxis here in our little town so we are virtually unaffected. Manta seems pretty calm and we were in the magamaxi in Manta on Sunday. It was packed but was fully stocked. School has been canceled nation wide since Monday. I have seen some photos of empty shelves in stores in Cuenca. I heard some flights have been canceled. If your flying in as a tourist you better have a hotel shuttle or you might get stranded at the airports. Or personal drivers will gouge you for the trip. Gas prices went up from $1.90 to $2.29 a gallon.
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Post by james on Oct 9, 2019 10:55:08 GMT -5
I'm on the ground here. Its bad in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. Violent protests there. Gas prices went up from $1.90 to $2.29 a gallon. That's like a 20% increase. On paper it doesn't look too bad, but to people who buy a lot of fuel (Truckers, heavy equipment operators, bus drivers, taxis, etc.) this cuts 20% out of their profits which is a lot. Government leaders who make big money are unaffected and are totally disconnected from the average worker who is lucky to pull in $450 a month. A smart government would have phased out the subsidy slowly (say ... a nickel every month or two) to let people adjust. But a smart government JAJAJAJAJAJAJA!! - JAMES
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Post by scumbuster on Oct 9, 2019 12:09:22 GMT -5
Some here are suggesting the same about phasing in the increase. But I also heard a good counter to this. Say you phase it in in 3 increments. Now you probably have 3 protests. Is it better to just yank off the band-aid?
Another option that was discussed was increasing the VAT that is currently at 12%. They chose to go with eliminating the fuel subsidy. This fuel increase (Just eliminating the subsidy) is required by the IMF so they get a $billion+ dollar loan. Not sure all the internal reasons they need the loan. I know that Correa left the country in a hole when he left office. He seemed to be pulling another Hugo Chavez by borrowing from China and giving all kinds of freebies to the poor. Correa put up parts of the Amazon and oil reserves up as collateral on the China loans.
Myself, I dont know why they dont just up the fairs to cover the additional cost. The minimum taxi fare in Manta is $1.25 for up to about a 10 min. ride. Its all subjective since they don't use meters. The bus trip we take to Portoviejo is $1.25 and its a 45 min to 1 hour ride. So increasing fares would be minimal to break even. Lots of talk of a lot of the protests being staged as political theater by the presidents opponents. Many trying to get Correa back even though is is currently being investigate for corruption. LOL Typical LA stiff.
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Post by james on Oct 9, 2019 13:18:20 GMT -5
If the operators were smart, they would do what you suggested and just raise their fares. Since the price of gas went up 20%, they should raise the fares by at least 25%. If people ask why the increase, just say, "The government raised the price of fuel." I doubt if anyone will do the math.
- JAMES
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Post by scumbuster on Oct 10, 2019 6:41:31 GMT -5
The one member on the discussion panel was a Minister under Correa. You can see toward the end he even suggested the military may have to step in. Just from hearing him speak, he is for sure a mouthpiece for Correa.
But if you remove him it had some interesting information. They mentioned the Dam project. I remember that now. It was financed and built by China under Correa. They say the thing is already having issues and only producing a fraction of the electric it was supposed to. In fact it was supposed to produce a surplus so that Ecuador could sell electric to Colombia. Of coarse the country is on the hook for billions for this. Correa can not be President again but wants to run as vic-president to skirt the constitution. If they push out Moreno I can see China looting the country's resources to keep finding the handouts.
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