Overview
- The incident occurred during a communal meeting in Hualcuy and was recorded on video, according to local reports.
- La República reports the mayor, Darwin Quinde Rivera, received 12 lashes in front of residents after ronderos judged his explanations insufficient.
- Community members accused him of failing to fulfill an agreement tied to providing a sound system for a ronda event, while he said he paid half the cost and the equipment never arrived.
- The mayor denied wrongdoing, blamed hired contractors for broader project delays, and said he would not apologize to the community.
- He said he sought a medico-legal exam to file a complaint over the punishment, as the national rondero federation CUNARC publicly defended the sanction as permitted oversight; no wider official investigation was reported.