Yes and No...good answer huh?

In someways much less so here -- there is simply not the level of electronic surveillance as in the states. That being said, there is less freedom from search here -- although in areas such as tourist and gringo populated Salinas the police are much more liely to shy away from that with us. You will see however that young men might be randomly searched and the police can be a bit over bearing at times, more so than we would be comfortable with.

Another difference is visual deterence. An example is that in front of most bans is a well armed security guard -- what we would see say when wells fargo is maing a drop off or pic up is there all the time. After awhile you and the guard are on a nodding aquaintance and it is rather comforting to know that when you wal away from say the ATM (caja automatica. automated cashier) there is someone who has been eeping an eye over your shoulder for you.

The other day I was pulled over in a regular traffic stop -- they have them occassionally on the main roads to chec that fols are up to date on their registration (matricula) and mandatory insurance (SOAT) and license to drive (licensia) and of course that they aren't driving under the influence. It was an interesting experience -- the police had never seen an International Drivers Permit with a USA license, so it called fro a conference with the other officers. All went well and they proacticed their English with many "See you Laters" and "Good Afternoons" as they stopped traffic and waved me and my jeep back into traffic. Actually not a bad stop, they all now me now!

Susan
TheOceanHideaway.com

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I agree with Susan. there are some things that are better, butr also some that are worse. Corruption is extremely common here. People pay bribes in so many situations it's impossible to list them. For example, in an extreme case, if you kill someone, it's possible to bribe the judge to avoid jail time. Lesser examples, paying your way out of a traffic fine, paying a municipal employee to speed up the process of something you need done etc.
I think the biggest surprise to me was that there isnt any law against searches without cause. As in the example cited by Susan, My son was constantly stopped and searched by police with no cause. This included him lifting his shirt, and having them pat him down. Once he got a new cell phone for his birthday. The next time he was searched, they found it and accused him of stealing it. He had to call my boyfriend (an Ecuadorian cop) and have him talk to the officers to vouch for him before they let him go. These searches happened constantly. Maybe because my son is big...6'3 and 230 pounds, but I didnt like it.
Traffic stops like Susan described are common. Here in Guayaquil, you are pulled over and stopped by police and the army. When I first arrived here, it was a little disconcerting to have my bag searched by a heavily armed military guy. Now I'm more used to it, but still.....
Also, there is no right to a speedy trial here. One of the fundaciones I am involved with here visits prisoners. If you have no money, you can be locked up for years before going on trial. One of the women we used to visit was an American woman who had been held for over five years without being tried.
Another thing that bothers me, is that you have to give copies of your cedula to almost everyone. Your job, any service that you contract, the bank, etc. Your cedula contains your ID number, your place of birth, parents names etc. I think it wouldnt be impossible for someone bent on identity theft to get the ball rolling with this information.
The good things: if you are working, it is farily easy to file taxes, and I dont think the government has its nose in what you do quite as much employment wise.
People here dont do credit checks quite as much as they do at home. So, its not a lengthy process to rent a home or apartment.
I think there are good and bad things in that regard. But in my opinion it would not be correct to say that big brother has passed Ecuador by.

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Over all I doubt Ecuador has the resources to do the spying being done in the USA. In spite of the rules against it domestic intercept and data sifting has been happening for decades.

Now everything and anything is being done to protect citizens. That is always the reason. Dictators and elected saints share that, the reason is to protect you and me. But the machinery sometimes chews up the odd citizen, accidents happen...how often? sorry thats classified. All their excess and error will be classified. There will , however, be lots of vague press releases about their virtue and success.

It is getting worse. There is a case at the supreme court now involving GPS tracking. Very effective. Tells whoever plants the little device on your car where you've been and where your car is right now.

The telcos gave up fighting and allowed the government to set up offices in their switching centers. High Tech spying, data mining. computers listening for words and phrases.

These social media are useful not just to ID thiefs but to the government. Computers make so much possible. A file updated in real time on every citizen. Cell phones will by law have a GPS function and will be trackable.

Cars will in a few years be subject to remote over ride by government agents (such as police and fire department) The reason is to eliminate these horendous high speed chases so common now. It only takes the intent of someone in charge to use such power politically.

Depending on the good intent of peole in charge is not an effective way to preserve what freedom is left here. Obviously there is a contradiction...they must have the tools to do the job of protecting the people, thats their first responsibility. Those tools are always "dual use". Good and evil seem to invariably travel together. The problem is that the people are asleep, have no clue.

Tiny little cameras with wi-fi links forming huge nets tied to computers with face recognition. All of this is available now and cheap.

The brave new world arrives first in the 1st world.

sin ego

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Silverwater,
I'm curious
" One of the women we used to visit was an American woman who had been held for over five years without being tried"
Was she eventually tried???
And for what???
what was the outcome???
No American embassy assistance???
This sounds like the worst thing I have ever heard about Ecuador
I met some Belgium people,in Cuenca, who had come over to Ecuador to work in a woman's prison there ,at their own expense.They went in daily to help the women who often had children to support
These Ecuadorean women and mothers had very long sentences ,drug related.issues
.They had become involved in transporting for money because they were in extreme poverty and had been mostly set up

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Of course one positive/negative is the frequesnt blacouts we have -- especially out here in the countryside by the beach -- the salt air corrodes our wires and the transformers blow -- so any electrical surveillance is ...well let's just say we are back in the darl ages :)

I find that rather refreshing ...

And living in a small town where I basically use cash -- rather loose change -- to buy my needs (eggs, bread, butter...chocolate0 you now the necesities) helps eep a low profile ... so unless you are specifically running away from something, no worries.

BTW -- when the lights go out on a clear night -- head outside and do some stargazing, its amazing -- and on a full moon night, it is almost bright asday and you can see moon shadows, just lie the old song!

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Hi Ila. The woman I was talking about was accused of various drug offenses. I am not sure what happened to her as I stopped going to the prison after my guy was killed. But she had no money and no family support which I'm sure contributed to the length of time she was being incarcerated. She was from New Jersey and supposedly had been coerced into her alleged crimes by a boyfriend. As far as the US Embassy goes, they won't interfere with the legal process in another country. They will do welfare checks on incarcerated citizens, but provide no legal help.

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In the US, it's not just the gov't who can spy on us. As Susan mentioned obliquely, the use of debit and credit cards allows one to be tracked easily--when/where and what one uses them for. A friend used to work for a software company that had developed some of the first data mining software. When they began selling it to anyone and everyone, without regard for how it would be used, she quit.

Ever notice that, if you've been to a website like overstock.com, you suddenly start seeing ads for that site in other, unrelated places, like next to your hotmail inbox? Not just ads, but ads for the things you were browsing at the site? Datamining.

I'm not sure that there is an answer to it, nor that one can argue that stops and patdowns are more invasive than being able to read your electronic communications at will. There are, and always will be, people and organizations who hold that the need to control behavior trumps the need to protect privacy. It's the duty of those who hold privacy dear to fight it, whether by voice or at the ballot box.

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When I receive business related emails I do google searches.
You would be amazed to see info which pops up just based on email and name.
One time I received very business, legimate looking email, providing name and company and saying their clients would like to adv on my blog. After min searches I found it was a scam and people got duped.

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