The assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has shaken Ecuador and shone a spotlight on Latin America’s growing problem of political violence.
Villavicencio, a crusading anti-corruption journalist, had pledged in his campaign to go after drug cartels whose rivalry has turned the Andean nation into one of the world’s most violent places. The murder at a rally yesterday just 11 days before the election, in which he was seen as a serious contender to make a runoff, plunges the contest into turmoil.
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President Guillermo Lasso declared a 60-day state of emergency today and called on the military to ensure security for “free, democratic elections” on Aug. 20.
The killing exposes how quickly Ecuador has been engulfed by crime linked to narcotrafficking. This is all too common in Latin America and the Caribbean, which accounts for 35% of the world’s homicides despite having less than 10% of its population.
Much of the violence is fueled by record production of cocaine, fentanyl and other destructive hallucinogens, which permeates into politics, business and everyday life. The fight between criminal gangs for market and logistics routes means dozens of local politicians are murdered every year, particularly in Mexico and Brazil. Most of the low-profile cases go unresolved.
Public demand for tough-on-crime policies from political leaders is rising as a result, with El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele being the prime example. He used emergency powers to jail tens of thousands of alleged Salvadoran gang members.
Villavicencio, who was under police protection because of death threats, had insisted “we won’t make pacts with the mafia.”
The death of such a high-profile figure recalls the peak of cartel violence in Colombia in the 1980s and early 1990s when four presidential candidates were killed.
The tragedy in Ecuador underscores the risks and challenges for leaders across Latin America of breaking the drug-fueled power of organized crime. — Juan Pablo Spinetto