Only one week before the election, Fernando Villavicencio’s political party chose his prospective vice presidential candidate to take his place as the party standard-bearer. Villavicencio was Ecuador’s presidential contender and was assassinated on August 10.
Villavicencio’s Build party, or Construye in Spanish, said in a social media post, that Andrea Gonzalez would take the place of the deceased 59-year-old in the election on August 20.
Later on in the day on Saturday, the late candidate’s widow denounced the party’s replacement as being unconstitutional.
According to the party’s social media posts, “millions of Ecuadorians will accompany her in this purpose” and she will “guarantee the legacy” of Mr. Villavicencio.
According to the party, “the most trusted of those who have shared the struggles of comrade Fernando Villavicencio” will be the candidate for the vice presidency.
What we know about Villavicencio’s assassination:
Despite having his own government-provided security detail, Villavicencio, an ex-lawmaker and journalist with a history of uncovering corruption, was shot and killed last week after leaving a campaign event in the capital Quito.
Six suspects have been charged with the murder and are still in detention following a judge’s order to keep them behind bars till the investigation continues. All suspects are Colombian nationals who police allege have connections to criminal organizations.
Authorities moved a powerful gang boss, accused of threatening Villavicencio before his murder, to a maximum-security facility on Saturday.
These gangs have developed into a formidable foe because of the funding they receive from their new supporters abroad and the powerful weaponry they smuggle from the US through Mexico.
Late Villavicencio’s wife: state responsible
Villavicencio’s widow, Veronica Sarauz, told reporters on Saturday that she directly blames the Ecuadorian state for her husband’s death. She arrived at the news conference under the protection of an armed police escort and while donning a bulletproof vest and helmet. She said that the government still has a lot of answers to provide for everything that happened.
Gonzalez was chosen by the party, but Sarauz called the choice “arbitrary” and said it violated a rule that forbade the vice presidential candidate from resigning.
What will happen now?
The party’s stand-in candidates still require approval from the national electoral council. Villavicencio chose Gonzalez, an environmental activist who has never held public office, to be his running in the hastily scheduled snap election by outgoing President Guillermo Lasso.
Votes for Villvicencio will automatically shift to the party candidate despite the fact that ballots have already been printed.
Brief background
The 18 million-person country of South America has experienced an uptick in violence, including a dramatic rise in the murder rate, in recent years.
Prior to his murder, Villavicencio had been polling in the middle of a field of eight contenders. In addition to security, employment and immigration have become crucial campaign topics. His passing has shaken a country that, for the most part, has avoided the decades of drug-gang violence, cartel battles, and corruption that have plagued many of its neighbours. However, due to the expansion of the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, crime has dramatically increased in the country recently
The presidential candidate had believed in popular support and had said “You are my bulletproof vest”.
Mr. Villavicencio was one of just a few candidates to claim ties between organized crime and government officials in Ecuador during his campaign, which concentrated on corruption and gangs.
