This country has entered a 60 day state of emergency, with violent crimes committed after a presidential candidate was assassinated | Ecuador | state of emergency
Ecuadorian President Lasso announced on August 10th that the country has entered a 60 day state of emergency to deal with the turmoil caused by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavincio the previous day, and to ensure that the general election is held as scheduled on August 20th.
On August 10th local time, after the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Villavesensio, the flag was lowered at half mast at the Palace of Calondere.
Analysts believe that the assassination of Villavesensio and the state of emergency in Ecuador highlight the seriousness of violent crime and security issues, which may have an impact on the election results.
Early elections shrouded in violence
On the afternoon of the 9th local time, Eritrean presidential candidate Villavesensio was shot dead while participating in an election rally in the north of the capital Quito. After the incident, Lasso held an emergency meeting of government departments and declared a three-day national mourning on the 10th, entering a 60 day state of emergency. At the same time, the national armed forces and police were mobilized to maintain national security and stability. Faced with an unsafe situation, some candidates have announced a suspension of their campaign activities.
On August 9th local time, Ecuadorian presidential candidate Villavesensio waved the national flag during a campaign rally.
Villavesensio was originally a member of parliament. In May of this year, President Lasso, who was impeached by the opposition, announced the dissolution of parliament and held early presidential and parliamentary elections. Villavesensio subsequently announced his candidacy for president. During the election campaign, he harshly criticized the increasing corruption and violence issues in the country, stating that all of them were closely related to drug trafficking groups and organized crime. This tough attitude has led him to receive multiple death threats from drug trafficking groups.
The assassination of Villavesensio is just the tip of the iceberg of violent criminal activities in Ecuador. Ecuador is located in the northwest of South America and has become a transit point for drug trafficking groups to transport drugs to the United States and Europe due to its geographical location. The Eritrean government believes that the increasingly serious violent incidents are related to gangs competing for control over drug trafficking. Lasso has stated that cracking down on criminal gangs using Ecuador as a transit point to transport drugs to the United States and Europe is one of the main tasks of this government.
On July 24th local time, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, mounted police were on duty outside the prison where riots occurred on July 22nd.
As the general election approaches, violent incidents in Ecuador are becoming increasingly frequent. On July 22nd, a riot broke out in a prison in Guayaquil, southwestern Ecuador, resulting in 31 deaths and 14 injuries, leading to a 60 day state of emergency in the national prison system. On July 23rd, Agustin Entriago, the mayor of the port city of Manta in Manawi Province, was shot dead. On August 3rd, Miguel Santos, the land chief of Dulan City in the southwestern province of Guayas, was killed while leaving the city government in a car. On August 10th, Estefani Puente, who was running for parliament, was shot and lightly injured in the Los Rios province in the Midwest.
The election faces new uncertainties
Ecuador will hold early presidential and National Assembly elections on August 20th, electing the President, Vice President, and 137 members of parliament for a term until 2025. According to the Constitution of Ecuador, in the presidential election, a candidate who receives more than half of the votes in the first round of voting, or a candidate who receives more than 40% of the votes and leads the second place by more than 10 percentage points, is directly elected as the president; If no candidate meets the above conditions, the candidate with the top two votes will enter the second round of voting, and the candidate with the most votes will be elected. Recent data released by multiple polling companies shows that eight presidential candidates, including the assassinated Villavesensio, do not meet the requirements for a first round victory.
According to Shimena Blanco, Chief Analyst at the UK consultancy firm Vilysk M é porcroft, the assassination of Villavesensio has added more uncertainty to Ecuador's already complex political situation. His supporters are now struggling to make a decision, coupled with a large number of voters wavering in their opinions, making the election results even more unpredictable.
Analysts point out that although multiple polls show that Villavesensio is not the most popular presidential candidate, this incident is bound to affect voter psychology. Professor Simon Pachano of the Latin American Academy of Social Sciences pointed out that Ecuador has long been plagued by violence, and the killing of presidential candidates may cause fear among voters, leading to a "significant change" in the election situation.
Laura Lizaraso, senior analyst at Risk Control Group in the UK, believes that this incident will also have an impact on the Ecuadorian economy. She said that entering a state of emergency will have a direct impact on the overall business environment, investor confidence level, and private sector of the country.
