President Declares State of Emergency in Ecuador
Following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, President Guillermo Lasso has declared a 60-day state of emergency in Ecuador. Villavicencio was shot dead during the night. According to polls, he had a good chance of reaching a possible runoff election.
After the deadly shooting of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador, President Guillermo Lasso has declared a 60-day state of emergency for the country. “The armed forces are now mobilized throughout the territory to ensure the safety of citizens, the peace of the country, and the free and democratic elections on August 20,” Lasso stated in an address broadcasted on the online platform YouTube. The vote for a new president will proceed as scheduled on August 20.
Prior to the declaration, Lasso convened the national security council. “This is a political crime that has the character of terrorism, and we have no doubt that this murder is an attempt to sabotage the electoral process,” Lasso said. He also declared a three-day national mourning period. “Ecuador is deeply affected”
Villavicencio’s campaign advisor, Patricio Zuquilanda, called on international institutions to take action against the growing violence in his country. “The Ecuadorian people are crying, and Ecuador is deeply affected,” he told the AP news agency. “Politics should not lead to the death of any member of society.”
Other presidential candidates also expressed shock over Villavicencio’s killing and called on the government to take action. “If they touch one of us, they touch all of us,” said leading left-wing politician Luisa González of the Revolución Ciudadana (Citizen Revolution) party. Candidate and former vice-president Otto Sonnenholzner declared, “We are dying, drowning in a sea of tears, and we don’t deserve to live like this. We demand that you do something.”
The European Union ambassador to Ecuador, Charles-Michel Geurts, expressed his horror over Villavicencio’s murder on Twitter. “Violence cannot prevail. Democracy, yes. The European Union fully supports security and peaceful elections in Ecuador.” Shots fired after campaign event
Journalist Villavicencio, who had fought against corruption in the country, was shot after a campaign event in the capital, Quito. According to authorities, at least nine other people, including police officers and another candidate, were injured in the gunfire.
The office of the Attorney General stated that a suspect was critically injured and apprehended at the scene and died while being transported to a hospital. President Lasso also confirmed that the police had safely detonated a grenade left behind by the alleged perpetrator. Assassination shortly before presidential election
The 59-year-old Villavicencio was one of eight candidates in the early presidential election. In recent polls, the centrist candidate was in second place with around 13% of the vote, trailing behind lawyer González. Earlier this month, Villavicencio had stated that he and his team had received threats.
Ecuador is currently facing a severe political crisis, with low approval ratings for the government and parliament. The country is also experiencing a wave of violence. The homicide rate of 25 killings per 100,000 inhabitants in the past year was the highest in the country’s history and even surpassed that of Mexico and Brazil. The government primarily attributes the violence to drug traffickers.