Several activities took place during student week in our branch campus in Cuenca, one of them was a conference on "Economic Reforms and their impact on the business sector" led by Andres Robalino, executive director of the Chamber of Industries, Production and Employment (CIPEM for its acronym in Spanish), and Pablo Davalos, analyst and economic consultant, who spoke about the country's current political situation and the consequences of October's strike. 

Andres Robalino suggested some possible solutions for the country's current situation and gave his opinion on the new taxation law presented by the president, which he does not agree with.

Additionally, he said that it is necessary to change the labor laws in the country, in order to give the unemployed more opportunities for work, especially younger people. He pointed out that as a country we should be more united in all areas, he cited the case of production chambers in Ecuador, which are more than seven, unlike other countries where there is only one business union, and consequently it is easier to start direct relations with governments. He also commented that one of the programs that the Chamber has with this University is the dual training program which has been very successful because only 2% of people who graduated from this program are unemployed.

Pablo Dávalos presented the conference on the "Political situation of Ecuador: the consequences of October's strike", where he focused on a critical analysis of the agreement signed with the IMF in March 2019; on his analysis of subsidies and labor flexibility he believes it would affect women and young people above all. In its opinion, the bill would be sent to the National Assembly in the short term in order to comply with the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund.

In his speech, he also gave his opinion on the indigenous strike of last October, the reasons that caused it and the consequences of overturning decree 883. He also talked about the proposals in the economic field given to the president by the "CONAIE"(indigenous groups)  and about suggestions on the country's economy by a group of heterodox economists related to their line of thinking.