Certainly, as a society, Ecuadorians prioritize the level of urgency or what needs to be resolved quickly. We feel overwhelmed by facts that are often beyond us, because we are not ready to face them or, in many cases, use them. Climatic variations always find us deprived of means and ways to adapt and adequately continue life. Winters destroy what is left of many routes and highways, because we do not know how to maintain them. Drought times represent an increase in poverty and insecurity, especially in the countryside, because we are not prepared for these circumstances. Natural disasters often surprise us without defense. And when we are faced with fait accompli – the aforementioned and all the others – we react nervously and violently in order to quickly respond to these impermanences.

What is important requires reasonable reflection and the application of virtues, such as prudence, measured analysis, weighing the facts… What is important refers to people’s ability to see themselves projected into the future. Defining what is important is the best way to avoid and solve problems; And, without a doubt, this is common to many Ecuadorian individuals, families and groups, but unfortunately it is not common on a collective level, because as a people we have not achieved this in our entire history, with some exceptions that only confirm the Rule.

The current highway Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme, first imagined by García Moreno in 1869 in his basic conceptual scheme, carried out a century later by Velasco Ibarra in 1968 in an initial and unsuccessful phase and materialized in the government of Rodrigo Borja, It is a clear example of an important action that is carried out from the point of view of urgency. It was always an important project, because the citizens of Cuenca were exposed and unable to react to the frequent blockades of the Cuenca-Tambo-Durán highway, the only one that allowed the connection to Guayaquil, carried out by the Cañars who used their territorial jurisdiction as a form of political pressure to fulfill their demands.

What is important requires reasonable reflection and the application of virtues such as prudence, measured analysis…

Urgency prevailed. The highway was built through the middle of Cajas, which was already a protected national park since 1977. The work destroyed nature with the huge machines used for the project. The material displaced from the route devastated the flora and fauna of the steep slopes and mercilessly affected the entire ecological reserve. Today, the residents of Molletur and the communities in that sector already have problems with water supply, and the poorly designed and poorly constructed road poses a danger to everyone. Flora, fauna and the environment suffer from noise and pollution of all kinds, and water resources, vital especially for Cuenca, are threatened.

We congratulate that there is a highway project that has a different route, more environmentally friendly. The road through Cajas must be maintained for tourist activities and those related to the life and development of the people who live along it. (OR)