Blackouts

Here is the situation. A few years ago, Ecuador cut off diplomatic ties with Columbia. It is something to do with Ecuador supporting the FARC guerrillas. FARC was originally an indigenous resistance movement that ended up being taken over by cocaine lords. Columbia entered Ecuador to get some of the FARC leaders - it lead to some kind of kerfuffle that resulted in the two nations cutting diplomatic relationships. I could be entirely wrong about all of this - it is just what I was told.

Now this might not seem like much, but Ecuador can barely meet its own energy needs. It used to buy energy from Columbia when demand couldn't be met. Today, Ecuador does not have that option.

Ecuador has been having a very dry season. It might seem unrelated, but half the country is run on hydropower. That means that Ecuador cannot currently meet the demand for electricity. In other words, half the country does not have electricity. To compensate for this, they have started doing rolling blackouts throughout the country. Every part of the city has 4-6 hour blackouts each day – at least until it rains.

So then, what does this mean? Who the hell knows? Around here, rumors spread quickly. Some suspect that this will lead to overwhelming public dissatisfaction with the president - others think it will come to nothing. People will just adjust and get on with their business. I suppose that if this was California I would bet on a recall vote - but here, it could mean anything. I doubt it will lead to a coup, but I suspect that people might protest and rally in the streets. It definitely helps one to appreciate what it means to live in a stable and prosperous nation.

***On a personal note, my workplace gets hit by the blackouts between 3:00 PM and 7:00, so I get out of work early. My apartment gets hit between 11:00 and 3:00 – so I am guessing that I might get full benefits from this. I have some friends whose power goes out between 7:00 and 11:00. I guess they will just have to sit around in the dark.