It was last Sunday in the Mariscal, I walked up to Finn McCools, a popular Irish pub in Quito’s Mariscal with the mind to order a Sunday roast and indulge myself. The waitress tells me there will be no roasts and that they’ll be shutting in 30 minutes. 
Normally the beer would be flowing at 4:30 in the afternoon, with the mixed crowd of locals, tourists, and expats watching sports, eating, or playing pool, but the new law had kept pretty much everybody at home. Quitos’ new drinking law had gone into effect and we were feeling it here at ground zero in the Mariscal, Quitos main party zone.
I looked back outside contemplating where to get a bite; the normally deserted streets took on a leaner feel with the passage of the new law not permitting alcohol to be served on Sundays throughout Ecuador. The law went into effect Friday the 18th of June(just in time for my bday) changing Ecuador’s drinking hours from pretty much all night every night to 12 A.M.. On Mondays to Thursdays and until 2 A.M. On Fridays and Saturdays, with Sundays being left completely dry. The law had come as sort of a knee-jerk reaction against some incidents of late night violence around the city. And without any public debate, the ever unpredictable government of Correa issued a decree stating that the new drinking hours would come to pass, leaving many owners, drinkers, and employees quite miffed as to what they would do with themselves in the late night revelry hours.
Surely had there been allowed a forum, the pros and cons would have been well laid out. How much revenue would be lost? How many alcohol related jobs would be lost? Not to mention the unquantifiable loss to human liberty that the passage of these sort of restrictive l
aws arouse. But will stopping the legitimate drinking establishments from serving stop people from drinking? Of course not. There are still underground, illegal establishments that operate with bribes to right cops. And will not these sort of places attract the kind of crowd which inspires violence? One thing is for sure, one thing doesn’t necissarily equal the other: longer drinking hours, more violence. Why not address the real causes such as drugs, guns, and poverty. It seems that a lot of innocent people are being punished for the crimes of a few. The government hasn’t looked at all the angles to this law, and of course bar owners and drinkers alike are furious over this.
Well, personally I don’t think the law will last. They passed a similar law in Santa Helena province last year, the province home to Montanita, the biggest beach party town in Ecuador. The law lasted for about 2 weeks before the police stopped enforcing it and business went back to normal. And I feel quite bad, though, for the majority of newly arrived tourists I talk to during the week. Many feel a bit put off by Ecuador. All had no knowledge that such a law was in existence before they came and feel like their holidays has been a bit ruined by this nuisance. As reports filter back will this affect tourism here? If you had to choose between here and Columbia for example where would you go if all else was equal—you’d go where you could get a drink if you wanted. At least I would.
First chips in the wall: Yesterday I stepped into Finn McCools about 10 A.M. The punters had packed in and everybody had a beer. An English friend starts bemoaning the 2-1 score against Germany. For a moment we stopped bemoaning the governments grip on our lives and enjoyed a beer on the Lord’s day of rest—while suffering the shattered dreams of England for the World Cup. The government, in reaction to the public’s malcontent, and the impingement on the enjoyment of the World Cup, lifted the ban on Sundays to allow drinking the hours between 10A.M. And 4 P.M. Finally, step in the right direction.
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Who would need a government if everyone could just do what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it. I think when the British sailors landed on Tahiti looking for bread fruit for the first time this may have been the form of government in place. Captain Blye was a great captain. Captain Cook died recovering his stolen long boat. I for one am glad that people just can’t do what ever they want whether it Sunday or Wednesday.
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread[and beer] it has earned – this is the sum of good government.
Thomas Jefferson
[...] who argue that fewer people visit their premises on a Sunday. Less sympathy goes out to the gringos who complain that they can’t party quite so easily. Please don’t get discouraged from visiting [...]