A wave of assassinations of political candidates has marred Ecuador’s general election campaign in recent weeks, which observers in the Latin American country fear could escalate into an imposition by outside interests, including criminal ones, and a regression of human rights.
Cristiano Pinheiro de Paula, a researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History of the New University of Lisbon, told Lusa that Ecuador, on the eve of the early elections scheduled for next Sunday, “is plunged into chaos, hit by an astonishing wave of violence , counting, in a period of only five days, two assassinations of important political leaders”.
“The brutal crime wave that affects Ecuador has undeniable links to transnational drug trafficking, but it will not be the only cause and perhaps not even the most important reason for the crime wave that terrorizes the country,” the researcher assessed.
The attack against presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio (Partido Constructo) occurred during a campaign event on August 9, in a central and crowded area of Quito. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency but guaranteed early elections on Sunday.
On Monday, Pedro Briones, a member of the Revolución Ciudadana movement and one of the party’s leaders in Esmeraldas province, was assassinated in northwestern Ecuador.
According to Pinheiro de Paula, the two dead leaders were from ideologically opposed political camps: Briones came from a moderate left and Villavicencio was a representative of a center-right movement.
In July, Rider Sánchez, candidate for federal deputy for the Atuemos alliance, was also assassinated in Quinindé, in the province of Esmeraldas; In February, when Ecuadorians elected regional leaders, including mayors, there were 15 attacks on candidates and two murders.
This week, Amnesty International (AI) called on the Ecuadorian government to safeguard human rights in the country, after the murder of Villavicencio and the imposition of a state of emergency.
AI’s director for the Americas, Erika Guevara Rosas, stated that the non-governmental organization (NGO) is “extremely concerned about the current situation of violence in Ecuador, which is facing a sharp increase in its homicide rate, as well as a series of murders of candidates for public office in recent weeks”.
In the early elections on Sunday, the country’s president (who will complete Lasso’s term until 2025) and the 137 parliamentarians that make up the National Assembly will be elected, in addition to holding two referendums on mining and oil exploration.
Eight candidates are vying for Ecuador’s presidency, including Luisa González of the left-wing Revolución Ciudadana movement, who is leading in the polls.
The 60-day state of emergency declared in response to the murder of Villavicencio is the latest in a series of emergency decrees by the Ecuadorian president and entails the suspension of rights, including the freedom of assembly.
Authorities attribute what is considered the biggest security crisis in the country’s history to drug trafficking.
“Ecuadorian criminal groups have connections with their Colombian and Mexican counterparts, and Ecuador, after recent changes in the cocaine trade routes, has become an important center in the chain of production, refining and distribution of this drug, which Violence has broken out in the country. said Cristiano Pinheiro de Paula.
In Latin American countries, he added, drug trafficking “captures discontent and spreads sinister violence”, exploiting “contradictions and discontent” that “are recruited by external actors to, after being instrumentalized, promote their interests through the divide and reign strategy. , promoting separatism, regime changes, proxy wars, coups d’état and interference in electoral processes”.
“It seems unequivocal that one or more drug cartels are involved in the current terrible wave of political crime. However, other actors, including political rivals, companies and information agencies, could be playing a crucial role”, the researcher stressed.
The researcher also mentioned that Ecuador is still experiencing the consequences of the the war of laws – The use of juridical-legal maneuvers in substitution of the armed force, aimed at achieving certain objectives of foreign policy or national security – which has marked the political life of several Latin American countries.
Pinheiro de Paula said that the situation of former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) -sentenced to prison in Ecuador for corruption and who lives in exile in Belgium- is very similar to that of other current Latin American political leaders such as Cristina Kirchner, from Argentina; Pedro Castillo, from Peru; Evo Morales, from Bolivia; Fernando Lugo from Paraguay, Manuel Zelaya from Honduras; and the re-elected president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In an article published this week in the New York Times, analyst Will Freeman argues that the “polarization” in Ecuadorian politics “drew deep fissures between Correa’s supporters and his opponents, including Villavicencio” and after his assassination both sides traded accusations. due to the deterioration of the security situation.
“To move forward,” says the Council on Foreign Relations analyst, the various opposing camps “must unite around a common purpose: to investigate criminal groups’ ties to public office holders without trying to protect members of their own side”, overcoming “political attacks. divisions and place the country above the party”.
“Villavicencio’s death marks a turning point. But there is still time to act before the country follows the path that Colombia and Mexico took,” Freeman defended.
Source: TSF
