Ecuador murder brings violence to the forefront

The blatant murder of a presidential candidate who campaigned against organized crime and the shooting of another local political leader bring into focus violence in Ecuador which has rocked the South American country in recent times.

Fernando Villavicencio, 59, was one of eight candidates running to succeed President Guillermo Lasso in elections slated for Aug 20. A critic of corruption and organized crime, he was shot dead as he was about to get into an SUV after his speech on Aug 9.

The Villavicencio shooting brought into sharp focus a surge in crime in Ecuador in the past few years. President Lasso declared a 60-day state of emergency after Villavencio's killing. But on Aug 14, Pedro Briones, a local leader of Revolucion Ciudadana, the party of former president Rafael Correa, was shot dead in the northern province of Esmeraldas, The Associated Press reported.

"Ecuador is experiencing its bloodiest era," said Luisa Gonzalez, a front-runner in Sunday's special presidential election and member of the same party.

Analysts say the country is in a spiral of violence driven by a combination of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the influx of thousands of migrants and the growing influence of drug cartels.

Government statistics suggest 2022 was the most violent year ever recorded in the country. The murder rate hit 551 for every 100,000 inhabitants, with 4,539 violent deaths recorded. And 2023 could be even worse. In the first half of this year, 3,568 violent deaths were recorded in Ecuador, compared to 2,024 in the same period of 2022.

A week before his death, Villavicencio had accused a criminal organization known as "Los Choneros", which reportedly has links to organized crime groups around the world, of issuing death threats. However, it remains unclear whether Los Choneros or its rival organization, "Los Lobos", is behind the murder.

Six Colombians were detained on Aug 11 in connection with Villavicencio's murder. The seventh died while in custody hours after being arrested on the day of the murder.

The Villavicencio murder "will put violence at the center of the debate and will bring to light problems that were not so obvious before," Daniel Bonilla-Calle, an international affairs analyst, and professor at CEIPA University in Medellin, Colombia, told China Daily.

'Lack of governance'

"The lack of governance is obvious, which will affect official candidates. The electoral battle will be quite competitive, and voters will be lost in similar speeches."

Both Colombian and Mexican drug cartels "are greatly redefining business across the value chain. In addition, social indicators have not been very positive in recent years, which is a breeding ground for the situation to worsen," Bonilla-Calle said, pointing out that 70 percent of the trade moves overland.

"Insecurity, violence, prison massacres, gang clashes and inequality gaps have impacted people's lives," said a report by Ecuador's Working Group on Refugees and Migrants, a subgroup on gender-based violence and trafficking of humans.

Hundreds of inmates have been killed across the country, media reported. In July, the mayor of Manta City, Agustin Intriago, was killed in broad daylight.

Overcrowding and a lack of crime prevention have led to a wave of violence, according to Claudia Garzon, a criminologist, psychologist and former commissioner of penitentiary pacification who spent six months visiting prisons throughout Ecuador.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.