Ecuador declares state of emergency following assassination of presidential candidate promoting anti-corruption
PBS NewsHourAug 02, 2023
The Facts
The political party of Ecuador's assassinated presidential hopeful Fernando Villavicencio announced on Sunday that his friend and close associate Christian Zurita will contest the Aug. 20 election.
Movimiento Construye had previously nominated vice-presidential candidate Andrea González to take the spot, but reversed this decision amid worries that her candidacy would be rejected by election authorities.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Democracy is on the ballot in the upcoming Ecuadorian election, as the country desperately needs to tackle organized crime. If the nation refrains from electing candidates representing authoritarian ideas both from the right and the left, then Washington must ramp up security cooperation with Quito to show that lawful methods do work against violent drug gangs.
Establishment-critical narrative
One must be disturbingly naive at best to believe that further US interference is what Ecuador needs after the killing of a presidential candidate who had long been a CIA asset. Though Villavicencio fabricated lies to boost the Russiagate invention and resolutely obstructed the impeachment of US-backed Guillermo Lasso, his candidacy had turned him into a liability for the Agency.
