A week and a half before early presidential elections in Ecuador, candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed after campaigning in the capital, Quito. Unidentified persons shot the 59-year-old as he got into a car on Wednesday. An ambulance crew confirmed Villavicencio’s death. Six suspects have been arrested so far. Another was killed in a shootout that followed the assassination.
The public prosecutor said in a tweet on Twitter that at least nine people were injured in the accident, including a candidate for the parliamentary elections and two police officers. At the same time, the authority warned of false news related to the crime.
„My sympathy and condolences go out to his wife and daughters. This crime will not go unpunished.” President Guillermo Lasso wrote on Twitter. According to the head of state, drug gangs are suspected of being behind the attack. „Organized crime has gone too far,” Laso said. „It will be punished with the full force of the law.”
The election must take place as planned
Laso declared a 60-day state of emergency and three days of national mourning in response to the attack. He also ordered the mobilization of the armed forces nationwide to protect citizens and the electoral process. The presidential election should take place on August 20 as planned.
Villavicencio ran as a candidate of the Constroy Movement for the highest office in the South American country, and according to some polls, Villavicencio finished second and had a good chance of reaching a possible run-off election. As an investigative journalist and member of Parliament, he has repeatedly criticized the rampant corruption in Ecuador. He is said to have been threatened several times by drug cartels.
Early presidential and parliamentary elections in Ecuador are made necessary after President Laso dissolved the National Assembly in the midst of impeachment proceedings against him for alleged embezzlement.
Ecuador is in a serious political crisis. The approval ratings of the government and parliament are very low. The once peaceful country is now suffering from a wave of violence. Last year’s homicide rate – 25 murders per 100,000 people – was the highest in the country’s history, surpassing even those in Mexico and Brazil. The government blames drug traffickers for the violence.