Heavy rains continue, flooding Guayaquil and Quito; High court upholds phone ban at polling stations; Banana growers say U.S. tariff will have limited impact

Intense rainstorms continue to roll across Ecuador, flooding streets, airports and highways. On Thursday and Friday, Guayaquil and Quito experienced heavy rainfall while Cuenca saw localized flooding.

On Friday, the National Transit office announced that travel was “severely affected” by the storms, closing several major highways and restricting traffic on dozens of others. “Crews are working full-time to clear landslides near Quito and Cuenca, as well as other regions affected by heavy rainfall,” the office said.

Large sections of central Guayaquil were closed by flooding Wednesday and Thursday while several major thoroughfares were flooded Friday in Quito.

Ecuador banana exporters said Friday that new U.S. tariffs will have little impact on exports.

Since early Wednesday, Guayaquil’s José Joaquín Olmedo International Airport has experienced at least five closures due to water on the runway. In Quito, some flights were delayed on Thursday and Friday due to weather conditions.

North of Quito, flooding closed the Pan American highway at two points near Guayllabamba. Near Cuenca, highways to Guayaquil and Machala have experienced multiple closures as a result of landslide but were partially open Saturday morning.

High court upholds cell phone ban at polling stations
The Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld the prohibition of cell phones at voting stations in the April 13 presidential runoff election. Challengers to the restriction imposed by the National Electoral Council claimed it violated constitutional guarantees.

The CNE ban followed the government’s claim that phones were used to take photos of ballots and voters as part of an extortion scheme during the February 19 election. The CNE accepted the government’s request, saying the prohibition does not restrict or limit the right to vote, an argument the court accepted.

In its written opinion, the court said the rule does not violate the constitutional “right to liberty,” nor does it affect the right to cast a secret vote.

Banana growers say U.S. tariff will have minimal impact
The Ecuador Association of Banana Exporters said Friday that its members “can live with the 10% tariff” on U.S. imports announced Thursday. “Because the tariff was applied to all imports in the U.S., we do not feel we will suffer a competitive disadvantage,” AEBE said in a statement.

The association said it regretted the increased price U.S. consumers will pay for bananas and other imports, but believed it can be absorbed in the “coming inflationary climate” in the U.S. “We reaffirm our commitment to working in coordination with the U.S. and other governments to comply with all applicable laws and rules,” the AEBE said.