Democracy riddled with bullets
Ecuadorians mourn slain presidential candidate
8/12/2023 4:28 am
A few days ago, the Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead. He was popular with voters, and a correspondingly large number of people attended his funeral service. There is an emotional speech there.
Hundreds of people attended a funeral service in Ecuador to say goodbye to promising presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was murdered on Wednesday. The event took place in a convention center in the north of the capital Quito. “The day before yesterday they riddled democracy with bullets, the day before yesterday they mutilated part of the fight against corruption,” Villavicencio’s campaign manager Antonio López said at the ceremony.
On the walls were large-format pictures of the former journalist who was allegedly shot dead by members of an “organized criminal gang”. “My power lies in the Constitution,” read a symbolic presidential sash draped over the coffin, which was covered with the Ecuadorian flag. Videos of the slain candidate’s campaign, who was polled second in the presidential election scheduled for August 20, were shown on a giant screen.
Six Colombians arrested
Former MP Villavicencio, who dedicated himself to fighting corruption, ran for the presidency for the first time. He was shot dead on the way to his car after a campaign rally on Wednesday night. Six Colombians were arrested after the attack. A seventh attacker was shot dead by security forces.
In the week before his death, Villavicencio had repeatedly complained about “serious” threats against him and his campaign team – and was therefore under police protection. Villavicencio said he received a threat from the leader of the criminal gang Los Choneros, who is currently in prison. The group is linked to organized drug trafficking.