The environmentalist Andrea González, who was part of the formula of the assassinated Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, will take his place in the elections on August 20, the Construye party reported this Saturday.
“The movement will replace the presidential binomial placing Andrea González as president,” the organization said in a statement.
González, 36, accompanied Villavicencio, 59, in his aspirations until gunmen shot him dead on Wednesday as he left a rally in northern Quito.
The new presidential candidate was an ally of the politician for several years, when the deceased worked as an investigative journalist before belonging to the National Assembly (2021-2023).
During his journalistic work, the assassinated candidate uncovered millionaire corruption scandals, including one that brought former leftist president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) to justice, being sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison.
Villavicencio was second in the intention to vote (13.2% of those surveyed), according to the firm Cedatos.
On August 20, González will face Luisa González, a supporter of Correa and who leads that poll with 26.6%, the indigenous leader Yaku Pérez and former vice president Otto Sonnenholzner and four other candidates.
“The name of the vice-presidential candidate will be announced in the next few hours and will be chosen from among the most trusted people who have shared the struggles of our comrade Fernando Villavicencio,” added Construye.
Before the decision, the movement had slipped the possibility that González would appear as a vice-presidential candidate on the ballot and assume power in the event of a victory.
The law allows parties to appoint a replacement for deceased candidates before the election.
On Sunday he must attend the presidential debate organized in Quito by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
González’s work has been focused on defending the environment. He is active in favor of the oceans, mangroves and against wildlife trafficking and deforestation.
The crime against Villavicencio, for which six Colombian gunmen were arrested and another was killed, shocked Ecuador. It is still unknown who ordered his death.
President Guillermo Lasso limited himself to saying that he was a victim of organized crime.
Ecuador lives in fear of drug cartels, some of them Colombian and Mexican who smuggle cocaine from Pacific ports to Europe and the United States.
Violence linked to drug trafficking shot up the homicide rate to a record of 26 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022, almost double that of the previous year.
AFP
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