Police cover presidential candidate Christian Zurita, of the Construye Movement, as he marks his ballot in early elections in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, August 20, 2023. Zurita’s name was not on the ballot, but he replaced Fernando Villavicencio, who was killed while at a campaign rally days before the contest. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Security forces escort presidential candidate Christian Zurita, of the “Movimiento Construye”, after he voted in early elections in Quito, Ecuador, on Sunday, August 20, 2023. Zurita’s name was not on the ballot, but he replaced Fernando Villavicencio, who was assassinated in a campaign act more than a week before the elections. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Wearing a bulletproof vest and ballistic helmet, presidential hopeful Christian Zurita, who was named to replace the recently assassinated Fernando Villavicencio, speaks during his closing campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, presidential hopeful Christian Zurita of the Construye movement, who was named as a replacement for slain candidate Fernando Villavicencio, has his clothing adjusted at a campaign closing ceremony in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, Aug. 17. of 2023. Early elections on August 20 were called after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in May to avoid impeachment against him. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, presidential hopeful Christian Zurita, left, and his partner Andrea González, right, with Gloria Valencia, center, mother of slain candidate Fernando Villavicencio, present themselves to their supporters at the closing ceremony of the campaign in Quito, Ecuador, on Thursday, August 17, 2023. The early elections on August 20 were called after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in May to avoid impeachment against him . (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Thus, in a scene of an extreme security exercise, the candidate Christian Zurita voted on Sunday, who has captured the attention of the special presidential elections in Ecuador after replacing the candidate Fernando Villavicencio assassinated a few days ago in a process marked by violence and citizen fear.
In an image never seen before in the Andean country, Zurita arrived at the polls on Sunday escorted by more than a dozen police and military agents, who prevented any interaction with supporters.
In addition to a helmet and bulletproof vest, a black armored blanket covered him while he voted inside an electoral precinct. The government explained that this protection shield for the candidate responded to threats received. According to Zurita, he had the same level of risk as his predecessor Fernando Villavicencio, profiled at 95%.
The Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, affirmed that “reinforced security” was imposed on Zurita, after he received a message of intimidation on social networks on Saturday night sent by a user identified as Cartel Jalisco NG who warned “Cristian trembles ”.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted Zurita and other members of the Construye movement precautionary measures on Sunday due to their situation of risk. The body asked the Ecuadorian State to adopt measures to safeguard his life and personal integrity and so that he can carry out his journalistic work and activities without intimidation or threats.
Villavicencio was riddled with bullets on August 9 as he left a political rally in a school north of Quito and for which six Colombians are in pretrial detention on suspicion of participating in the crime. Another of the criminals died after an exchange of bullets in the place with the police
Zurita’s candidacy was approved by the National Electoral Council just 24 hours before the campaign closed and until then it prohibited him from using electoral promotional funds, which put this candidate at a disadvantage.
“I have assumed this under extreme circumstances, in the darkest moment of this country,” Zurita said at the closing of the electoral campaign, in an event that he also attended in the midst of a strong security device and in which he only participated for a short time. time due to exposure level.
Zurita shared with Villavicencio a passion for investigative journalism. They met in university classrooms and it was there that they forged a 25-year friendship and permanent collaboration in the professional field.
The journalist worked closely in Villavicencio’s presidential campaign, which is why he accompanied him the afternoon of his assassination. He himself warned of the attack on his social networks. “Urgent. Hitmen shoot Fernando Villavicencio ”, he wrote on the X account, formerly called Twitter, and only 12 minutes later he posted: “They killed my friend ”.
In 2019, they wrote the book Arroz Verde together, which, according to their review, is a compilation of journalistic reports that denounced a network of bribery in the contracting of large public works during the Correa government and that nourished the investigation of the Prosecutor’s office that led to a criminal process for which the ex-president was sentenced to eight years in prison, which prevents him from returning to the country and participating in politics.
Zurita also founded the investigative journalism portals Mil Hojas and periodismodeinvestigacion.com.
In addition, he obtained recognitions such as the National Journalism Award in 2009 and 2019 and the Jorge Mantilla journalism award in 2010 and 2019. The latter together with Villavicencio and another Ecuadorian journalist. He has a career of more than 30 years in different media.
Upon assuming the candidacy, Zurita said that he received a legacy that he intended to enforce. “That is why I am here, to fulfill some dreams, for not allowing the destruction of a project, above all to never silence the name of a fighter,” he added.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
