NEW YORK — The event that was organized by the City of New York together with the Consulate of Ecuador to celebrate the first cry for independence of the South American country, was canceled the same Thursday hours after the cold-blooded murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, victim of shots by suspected hitmen as he left an electoral rally in Quito.
The event that was scheduled for 1:15 pm at Bowling Green Park to raise the Ecuadorian flag will be postponed until a new date is announced. “Our team at MOIA, @NYCMayor, @globalnyc, @MayorsCAU, @CEcuNewYork regret to inform you that today’s flag raising to celebrate Ecuador and Ecuadorian New Yorkers has been canceled and will be postponed. Please check back for a new date.” , the message reads.
The announcement occurs when the president of Ecuador, the conservative Guillermo Lasso, decreed this Thursday the state of emergency at the national level for 60 days after the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
In a message to the nation after a long meeting of the State Security Committee, Lasso ratified that the extraordinary general elections will be held on August 20, as planned, but with a deployment of the military throughout the national territory as part of the Exception status.
“Given the loss of a democrat and a fighter, the elections are not suspended. These have to be held, and democracy has to be strengthened. This is the best reason to go vote and defend democracy, life and integrity of the Ecuadorian family and the future of the country,” said the president.
As a result of the security crisis that Ecuador is going through due to the rise in crime and the violence of organized crime, a state of emergency had already been decreed since the end of July, also for 60 days, in the provinces of Manabí and Los Ríos, as well as as in the municipality of Durán, in the metropolitan area of Guayaquil.
The declarations of states of emergency, which in addition to the deployment of soldiers on the streets to support the work of the Police imply the suspension of some fundamental rights such as freedom of assembly and the inviolability of the home, have been a recurring measure by Lasso to appease spikes in crime.
For more than two years the news of murders at the hands of hit men or massacres carried out by criminal gangs have become a regular trend in Ecuador, a situation that the Government links mainly to organized crime and drug trafficking, which has become strong in the coastal zone of the country.
The president, who also decreed three days of national mourning for the loss of Villavicencio, affirmed that the attack “is a political crime that acquires a terrorist character.”
“We do not doubt that it is an attempt to sabotage the electoral process. It is not a coincidence that it occurs a few days before the first presidential round,” Lasso said.
“To those who seek to intimidate the State, we are not going to back down, the State is firm and democracy does not give up in the face of the brutality of this murder. We are not going to hand over power and democratic institutions to organized crime, even if it is disguised as political organizations “, he added.
Rafael Pujols with the details.
What happened
Lasso explained that the attack occurred around 6:15 p.m. local time (23:15 GMT) “and caused a confrontation between the police officers who were protecting Fernando Villavicencio and the assassins,” among whom one died from injuries, after being captured.
“The assassins, to cover their escape, threw a grenade that did not detonate in the street and was later destroyed through a controlled detonation,” said the head of state.
“The investigations continue and we will apply all the rigor of the law so that those responsible for materials and intellectuals pay with the maximum penalty,” he added.
The president thanked the expressions of solidarity and international support and appreciated the presence in the elections of observation missions from organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the Organization of American States (OAS).
For her part, the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Diana Atamaint, reiterated that “the dates of the elections scheduled for August 20 remain unchanged, in compliance with the constitutional and legal mandate, as well as all the activities on the schedule electoral”.
For this, “the Armed Forces and the National Police will redouble the security in all the electoral precincts, so that all the elections are carried out with guarantees.”
