Fernando Villavicencio’s vice presidential candidate, who was assassinated after meeting with voters in Quito, will run for president in his place in the August 20 elections.
The announcement was made by the Build Movement. In a statement, they said that Villavicencio had chosen Andrea González to “replace the president in case of absence” and so the leadership of the movement decided to bet on her as a candidate for the presidency as well.
The name of the vice presidential candidate will be announced in the coming days and will be chosen from among the “most trusted” people of the candidate who was shot dead on August 9.
Andrea González, 36, is a political activist and a technology management engineer from the University of the Pacific. She was an ally of Villavicencio for many years, since he worked as an investigative journalist before joining the National Assembly (2021-2023).
During his journalistic work, the assassinated candidate revealed several corruption scandals, including one that brought to trial former left-wing president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), who was granted political asylum in Belgium and eventually sentenced to eight years in absentia. .
On the day of Villavicencio’s death, González had written on social media that he was speechless. “Our brave president has been taken from us. I am heartbroken. Ecuador does not deserve to lose you like this,” she tweeted.
Villavicencio was one of three candidates polled to come second in the run for president, all behind favorite Luisa González.
Source: DN
