Noboa announces support for migrants; ‘Falling tree emergency’ declared; Election results reported 8:30 Sunday night; Border and ports closed for election

President Daniel Noboa announced Tuesday that the government will provide three monthly payments of $470 dollars to Ecuadorian migrants who are deported or decide voluntarily to return home. He also said funds are being set aside for scholarships and job training to assist those returning from overseas.

Noboa made the announcement following the start of a U.S. program to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreigners. Tuesday morning, the Interior Ministry reported that four flights have arrived from the U.S. since January 29, carrying 378 Ecuadorian migrants.

No one was injured when a large ficas tree fell Monday night in Parque Calderon.

“To our migrants who are returning from abroad, I want you to know that Ecuador is waiting for you with open arms,” Noboa said when announced the program. “We have implemented measures to support you and facilitate your reintegration in your homeland,”

The Interior Ministry said Tuesday night the number of deportees under the new U.S. program may not exceed that of the past 18 months. “More than 33,000 Ecuadorians have been flown home from the U.S. since mid-2022, so what we are currently witnessing is part of an ongoing process.”

City declares ‘falling tree emergency’
Cuenca Mayor Cristian Zamora declared a “falling tree emergency” Tuesday, after a tree fell in Parque Calderon and large limb fell outside the Carmelite Monastery on Calle Sucre. The mayor said the emergency allows the city to use funds from other budgets to cut down 1,080 trees designated for removal.

The mayor said the emergency was planned prior to the Monday night and Tuesday morning tree-falls in El Centro. “These incidents simply emphasize that we must act quickly in our removal project in the interest of public safety,” he said, suggesting that it was “symbolic” that both tree incidents occurred across the street from the Municipal Building on Calle Sucre.

The emergency was declared a week after two children were killed by falling eucalyptus trees in Parque de la Paz on Av. Remigio Crespo.

Zamora said the emergency will allow the city to purchase more chain saws and bucket trucks and to transfer personnel from other projects for tree removal. Currently, he said, the city only has the budget and equipment to remove about 100 trees a month.

In his comments to the press, Zamora said he planned to present a biodiversity ordinance to the municipal council to develop a “comprehensive plan” for the planting and replacement of trees and shrubs in city parks and other public areas.

City crews were also called Tuesday to remove a tree that fell across the Cuenca-Molleturo highway.

Election results reported by 8:30 Sunday night
The National Electoral Council (CNE) says the first results of Sunday’s presidential elections will be released to the media at 8:30 p.m. CNE President Diana Atamaint pledged there will be no computer crashes, as occurred in the last two elections, and that the speed with which vote totals are released depends on the “data processing agility” of poll workers.

According to Atamaint, votes will be entered into the system beginning at 7 p.m., two hours after the polls close, and that the presidential vote count will be prioritized over National Assembly counts. “Our intent, as it has been in the past, is to release the numbers as quickly as possible,” she said. She added that private news organizations and political parties will release “unofficial vote estimates” before 8:30 but these are unrelated to the official count.

Border and ports closed for election
The borders with Peru and Colombia will be closed from Saturday, February 8 until Monday, February 10, to ensure the Sunday’s national election “proceeds without the threat of foreign interference,” the government announced Monday. In addition, military personnel will patrol the country’s major ports in Guayaquil, Machala, Manta and Esmeraldas.

The closures and military patrols have been standard practice for Ecuador elections since 2000.