Since December 1, activity has been resumed on the northern border.
The joint pronouncement of the presidents of Colombia, Iván Duque, and of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, related to the reopening of the borders between the two countries generates divided criteria on the border.
Closed since March 2020, the borders will open on December 1. That was one of the agreements reached by the leaders in a meeting that included delegations from both countries, held -on Sunday- at the Palacio de Carondelet, in Quito.
The restaurant, hotel and commerce sectors express their concern about this decision, as they consider that the exchange rate differential of the dollar against the Colombian peso makes consumption attractive in the border cities of Ipiales and Pasto, in Colombia, located 10 and 70 minutes from the Rumichaca International Bridge, respectively.
On the other hand, transportation would be in favor of the reopening considering that it would reactivate taxi, international cargo transportation and the transportation of foreign passengers from the land terminal of the capital of Carche to the interior of the country.
Patricio Rodríguez, president of the Carchi Heavy Transport Association, which groups 1,000 truckers, has been suggesting that the reopening be total for that sector, which must change Colombian crew when the units enter the neighboring country.
Ecuador-Colombia Binational Cabinet will be held on December 17
The leader agrees with other economic and productive actors on the border that the Pico y Placa system should be applied for the passage of light vehicles through the international pipeline.
Taxi drivers and owners of vans that offer the Tulcán-Rumichaca service and vice versa assure that they have not worked for 20 months and see the reopening announced by the authorities of both countries as positive.
A municipal income registry determines that 400 patents have been activated in recent months, corresponding to the same number of enterprises, especially in gastronomic services that offer a great diversity of national and international food.
Ecuador and Colombia announce that they will reopen their common borders on December 1
Christian Benavides, mayor of Tulcán, warns that the surprise measure announced by the presidents could affect several sectors and comments that he hopes that in the next few hours they can have meetings with chambers, unions and associations to know what their feelings are about this decision.
The official is concerned because the statistics on new outbreaks of COVID-19 in Colombia are high and believes that since the pandemic is still alive, the health issue should be taken with great responsibility.
“May God catch us confessed,” says the border authority, who decided to work immediately on a campaign called “Consume first here”, which seeks to make visible the gastrodiverse routes, commercial and enterprises of Tulca.
According to President Iván Duque, it will be an orderly, structured and well-targeted reopening to continue maintaining between the two countries all epidemiological controls that guarantee the safety of citizens.
Several economic actors maintain that the reopening should be authorized for January 2022, because December is a great economic opportunity. They believe that opening the border will be the chronicle for Tulcán’s businesses.
Genari Pozo, president of the Reactivation 04 Collective, which has been promoting a gradual and orderly reopening, says that the announcement catches them off guard because the avalanches of cars coming from various Ecuadorian cities in December on a shopping tour to Ipiales and Pasto will be repeated.
“If the reopening is total, it will be a failure and will generate chaos in Tulcán,” warns this merchant, who is concerned about what will happen with the controls of the more than 87 informal steps that are used after the closure of Rumichaca.
“The trails became schools for learning about crime, increasing not only smuggling, but also drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, extortion and assaults, strengthening transnational criminal organizations that now operate in these places.
Pozo indicates that it should be reported how the reopening will be and recognizes that small merchants are not prepared or have not received the training to formalize the trade they carry out between the two countries. He believes that customs authorities are in breach of binational trade agreements.
Pozo initially proposes the creation of a commercial pedestrian corridor, where small businesses will previously present the vaccination certificate, thus legalizing the entry of merchandise so that it does not have a negative impact on Tulcán.
Luis Fernando Villota, mayor of Ipiales, states that they are now awaiting the recommendations of the Ministries of Health and Defense. He announces that the articulation of the Colombian investigation teams will guarantee security at the border.
However, figures from the Ipiales Police show that violent deaths, extortion, human trafficking and vaccines increased this year, led by criminal organizations that predominate at border crossings in Colombian territory. (I)
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