Ya mismo

If you are folowing my blog and have picked up on my frequent frustrations and references to "ya mismo" and wonder if I am being overly dramatic about how habitually late people are in this country, well here is proof that the problem is truly a national issue (thanks to our pal Eric--RPCV Ecuador for sharing this!)

Ecuador's punctuality campaign
From The Economist Nov 20th 2003

PUNCTUALITY is not a Latin American comparative advantage. Now, Ecuador is trying to make up for lost time. Last month, Jefferson Pérez, the country's Olympic walking champion, fired the gun on a national punctuality campaign. Even the president, Lucio Gutiérrez, turned up for the launch, though at the last minute. His government is backing the campaign, in which posters have been handed out to offices and schools berating Ecuadoreans for wasting other people's time. Hundreds of institutions ranging from local councils to airlines have signed up to a promise to keep to time. Stragglers are barred from entering meetings. Hotel-style door signs have appeared in offices and schools. On one side, they say Come in: You're on time'' and on the other Do not enter: the meeting began on time.'' A local newspaper is publishing a daily list of public officials who turn up late to events.Participacion Ciudadana, the civic group behind the campaign, reckons that lateness costs Ecuador $724m (or 4.3% of GDP) each year. Cinemas, football matches and the church ceremonies generally begin on time. But more than half of all public events start late. Government is the worst offender. Two out of three appointments at the Ministry of Education are said to start late. The more (self-) important the official, the more unpunctual he tends to be. Social events are no better.The campaign is having an effect. Mr. Gutiérrez, who habitually turned up several hours late to meetings, has cut that to a few minutes. Businessmen also say that meetings are running closer to schedule. Many Ecuadoreans agree that it’s time for a change. Earlier this month, the 22 contestants at a beauty contest in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, were left to wait for two hours, propping up their hair while their make-up melted, until a local official showed up to open the event. “If it had been a date, I wouldn’t have waited more than an hour,” fumes Tahiz Panus, the runner-up. Ecuadorean men have been warned.

Editor´s note: My office has stickers from the punctuality campaign all over the office. But, uhhhh...they don´t seem to have much impact.