The decision was shared by the president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint, through X, formerly called Twitter: “Unanimously and based on the report submitted to our consideration, we qualified the presidential candidacy” of Christian Zurita.
For its part, the Construye Movement also published in X the qualification of the candidacy and added: “As Fernando (Villavicencio) said: now to choose between the country and the mafia.”
A day earlier, on Tuesday, August 16, the Revolución Ciudadana movement from Correista had challenged Zurita’s candidacy. In the document presented to the National Electoral Council (CNE) it was argued that Zurita “is currently affiliated with another political organization.”
However, in its decision, the CNE indicated that it “denied the objection filed against the nomination, because the candidate is not affiliated or adhered to any political organization.” And he added that “consequently, the qualification of the candidacy was approved, after verifying compliance with the requirements.”
Meanwhile, Zurita spoke to the foreign press on Thursday and said that he has the same danger profile as Villavicencio, who, he assured, was killed for what he planned to do and not for what he said.
“Security is due to the fact that I have the same danger profile as Fernando Villavicencio, because the threats were always going for everyone. They have already shown us that they can. And he was killed not because of what he said, but because of what he planned to do. This (government) plan is based above all on what we plan to do. I have been clear and emphatic because it is clearly established in the government plan. It is there that it is pointed out that there must be a process of purge of the National Police in its leadership, “said the now presidential candidate of the Construye Movement.
Regarding the challenge of correísmo, the Construye Movement previously said in X that they sought to silence them and published a document dated August 13 in which Zurita notified the CNE about a false record that showed him affiliated with a different party, for which he requests its annulment. .
Zurita also spoke in X at that time and described the challenge as “totally false.” The candidate reiterated that he is not affiliated with any other political movement. “We await the response of the CNE for the confirmation of our candidacy, with the hope that no more obstacles will arise in our path,” he wrote.
Following Villavicencio’s death in an armed attack in northern Quito on August 9, Ecuador’s Movimiento Construye party, of which he was the assassinated candidate, chose Zurita to replace the assassinated politician, reversing a decision from the previous day. In the first instance, the party said that Villavicencio’s candidate for vice president, Andrea González Náder, would be the replacement candidate, but after a series of twists and turns, it chose the journalist specializing in corruption, organized crime and drug trafficking for the nomination. .
Zurita shared the journalistic office with Villavicencio and in recent months had been working on his political campaign until, after the attack that ended his life, he agreed to take his place in the race for the presidency.
Ecuador is scheduled to hold its first round of extraordinary elections on Sunday, August 20.
Political violence and insecurity haunt Ecuador
The brutal murder of Villavicencio, a candidate openly critical of corruption and a former investigative journalist, has shocked the country ahead of crucial presidential and legislative elections to be held on Sunday. It has also drawn international attention to the powerful criminal organizations driving the violence that is ravaging Ecuador.
The alleged shooter died in police custody, according to authorities, while six Colombian citizens were detained in connection with the murder. The suspects are members of organized criminal groups, Ecuador’s Interior Minister Juan Zapata said, citing preliminary evidence.
The root of this political violence is that Ecuador is a transit point on the cocaine route from South America to the United States and Europe, Jan Topic, one of several candidates running for president, told CNN. According to him, the gaps in the borders make it easier for transnational drug cartels to operate in the country.
The dire situation represents a sea change from a decade ago, when Ecuador was known as a relatively safe country in the region. According to figures from the Ecuadorian National Police, the homicide rate in 2016 was 5.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. By last year, it had shot up to 25.6, a level similar to Colombia and Mexico, countries with long histories of drug cartel violence.
In addition to Villavicencio, other politicians have fallen under bullets this year. This Monday, Pedro Briones, an official of a local left-wing party, was shot dead in the province of Esmeraldas, according to authorities. Last month, Agustín Intriago, mayor of Ecuador’s sixth-largest city, Manta, suffered the same fate while talking to a young athlete on the street. And in May, candidate-elect Walker Vera was assassinated just before he was to take office from him in the city of Muisne, Esmeraldas province.
Now, foreign organizations such as Mexican cartels, Brazilian urban gangs and even the Albanian mafia are collaborating with Ecuadorian criminal groups, fueling the conflict, according to analysts. A report released in March by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime claimed that “Balkan traffickers and members of Italian criminal groups have set up shop in Ecuador to establish supply lines to European markets.”
The fight against crime has been high on the political agenda ahead of early elections this year, and even more so since Villavicencio’s assassination. In the last week, political candidates have been quick to insist on their approach to the problem.
