were fulfilled three years of the declaration of lockdown for all Ecuadorians. This measure tried to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. covid-19. Ecuador, in those days, was entering a moment of expectation in the face of the unknown. But also to what it has always had: corruption.
On March 12, 2020, the health emergency. With it, hiring was allowed without so many bureaucratic obstacles to supply public hospitals in the face of the explosion of cases. On March 16, the then President of the Republic, Lenín Moreno, decreed the lockdown complete. The measure would be extended for six months, and was later regulated by a system of traffic light.
On March 28, that is, 16 days after the start of the emergencythis Journal reviewed some contracts in the public procurement system. There were some agreements to buy masks N95por USD 12 for each one, when in the normal market it was sold at USD 2.10.
That dart served to pull the ball. The rest of the press began to systematize the information and, with deep indignation, the cases were more and bigger as time passed.
By May 2020, the prosecution had opened 13 investigative processess and the National Anti-Corruption Commission had denounced alleged overpricing for $32.5 million.
Then came the contracts for the cadaver slings and the covid tests. While people died due to the complications of an aggressive and little-known pathology, the citizens were informed that in the darkest moments there were people willing to do money no matter if it was illegally in the middle of the suffering of the citizen.
It is not uncommon for many people to have some kind of laguna mental about those time of the lockdown. Three years later, the news summaries arrive, which also show the Department of hospitals for political favors as well as the harsh scenes of the crisis of the corpses in Guayaquil. But just as it was a time of hardships to stop the pot, while others enriched themselves through corruption, there were also stories of solidarity y resilience among neighbors, friends and relatives who should make us proud that Ecuador is more than a country full of corruption.
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