The presidential candidate unfortunately died, with gunshots raising slogans | Sports Center | Candidate

On August 9th, an election rally was held in the Anderson School Gymnasium in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.

At 18:20 in the evening, the event ended and presidential candidate Fernando Villavesensio walked towards his car under the escort of security personnel. Gunshots erupted, and three men wearing black clothes, masks, and hats shot at him as he entered the back seat of the car.

The video shows that the gunman fired at least 12 shots. A police officer quickly closed the door behind him, trying to protect him.

Gunshots rang out one after another, and the sports arena where the election rally was held was bloodstained on the ground. The scene was in chaos... Apart from Villavesensio, eight people were injured. The gunman took advantage of the chaos to escape and even drove over a police officer.

·The accident scene was a mess.

·People dodged around when they heard gunshots.

The police offered a reward of $100000 to apprehend the murderer. At present, the Ecuadorian police have arrested 6 individuals related to the case, and another suspect died from injury in a firefight with the police. More than 50 shell casings and one hand grenade were found on site.

·Villavesensio walked towards the vehicle under the escort of security personnel, but was suddenly shot.

Villavesensio, who was shot in the head, was quickly taken to the hospital but ultimately died. His supporters are crying outside the hospital - they will never have the chance to vote for their ideal president again.

·Supporters of Villavesensio are crying outside the hospital.

In March of this year, the National Assembly of Ecuador voted to impeach President Guillermo Lasso, accusing him of endangering national security and public administration. After the necessary procedures, the impeachment case will be submitted to the Constitutional Court for a vote.

Lasso stated that this was a "persecution" carried out by the opposition to smear the government, and on May 17th, he dissolved the National Assembly and announced the early start of the general election on the grounds of "facing a serious political crisis domestically.".

On the evening of May 23rd local time, the Ecuadorian National Election Commission, after consulting with more than ten political organizations, initially formulated a schedule for holding early elections, with plans to hold a new round of presidential and parliamentary elections on August 20th this year. If no one directly wins the first round of voting, the second round of voting will be held on October 15th.

·Villavesensio participated in an election rally before being shot.

59 year old Villavesensio. The proposed presidential campaign slogan is "combat corruption, rectify public security", currently ranking fourth in a poll of eight candidates.

He publicly stated in an interview that if he were to serve as the President of the Republic, he would strive to defeat the "kidnapping mafia of Ecuador", engage in radical struggles against the criminal economy, and end corruption in public and judicial institutions.

In addition, the country's prison system will be reorganized and special crackdowns and rectification actions will be carried out against criminal organizations and groups. To this end, he invited all political forces and citizens to establish a strong alliance to combat "political mafia colluding with drug trafficking and corrupt structures controlling the public sector.".

His campaign slogan is closely related to the situation in the country. Recently, the public security situation in Ecuador has continued to deteriorate, with crime rates such as theft, robbery, extortion, kidnapping, and murder continuing to rise, and drug trafficking groups taking advantage of this situation to cause chaos. According to statistics, there were 4450 homicide cases in Ecuador in 2022, almost doubling from 2021, but only over 300 were solved.

The latest poll in Ecuador shows that for the upcoming presidential election, the most pressing concern among the public is how to improve domestic security and order.

However, just 11 days before the presidential election, there was a violent attack on the presidential candidate. For Ecuador, which already faces security concerns, this is undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

·The Ecuadorian police have sealed off the shooting scene.

Lasso was one of the earliest people to respond to the assassination, expressing support and condolences to Villavesensio's wife and daughter, and expressing "anger and frustration" on his Twitter account: "Organized and premeditated crime has gone a long way, but the severe punishment of the law will fall on them."

Lasso urgently held a safety meeting, emphasizing the need to bring the culprit to justice and promising to investigate the incident to the end. At the same time, he declared a 60 day state of emergency in Ecuador, calling for the mobilization of armed forces to ensure the safety of citizens, national stability, and smooth elections.

·Lasso.

Regarding the unfortunate experience of Villavesensio, Otto Soneholzna, who is also a presidential candidate, also expressed heartache: "Our country has lost control." Louisa Gonzalez, the most popular candidate among presidential candidates, said, "Any political differences should be resolved in the ballot box, not through violence."

The Organization of American States also issued a statement stating, "This barbaric act is a trample on individual life, state power, and democracy."

Currently, several Ecuadorian presidential candidates have announced a suspension of their campaign activities. However, so far, the elections will still be held as originally planned on August 20th local time, and armed forces and police will strengthen security measures in all constituencies.

In fact, there seem to be early signs of the shooting targeting Biavesensio - since July this year, Biavesensio has received multiple personal threat messages, and the police have previously conducted an investigation. The latest threat occurred a few days before the assassination attempt. Villavesensio stated at the time that the leader of a local drug trafficking group was threatening him. Despite receiving a death threat, he still insisted on holding a campaign rally.

Villavesensio was born in October 1963 and worked for Petroecuado, an Ecuadorian oil company, before becoming a journalist. "Journalism has changed me, making me a good person and teaching me how to think." In 2017, he was elected as a member of parliament and entered politics.

Although he is accustomed to wearing suits, leather shoes, expressionless expressions, and even a little serious in public, in fact, Villavesensio privately enjoys rock music and poetry. He is a literary middle-aged man with big black framed glasses, always carefully fixing his hairstyle with hair gel, and even chooses the elegant lotus root pink color for his suits.

This presidential candidate, who was full of vitality and enthusiasm for life, ended his life before voting day came when he was shot three times in the head. Unfortunately, he was unable to personally deliver on his ambitious political manifesto.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that China condemns the attack and expresses condolences for the unfortunate assassination of Mr. Villavesensio. I hope that the Ecuadorian government and relevant parties can maintain the stability of the situation, and that the upcoming general election will be safe, stable, and smooth.

·Villavesensio in daily life.