Quito is a big city, and like any big city, it's dangerous. Like our own city, Denver, Quito has 2 million citizens, but these 2 million Quiteños have to cohabitate in a fraction of Denver´s area. Adding to the temptation to steal is the huge gap between the rich and the poor, and, in particular, between the Ecuatorians and the Americans. While the living wage in America gets you about $2000 a month, the living wage in Ecuador is on the order of $200 a month (The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Ecuador is $4,770, compared to $43,954 in the US). That ten-fold difference in income makes Americans look delicious. If an Ecuadorian were to steal and sell my camera, for example, they would have just secured an entire month's food and rent. Tempting, no?
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