Buenos Aires, Aug. 29, (dpa/GNA) – The replacement presidential candidate for murdered Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador has said he will leave the country for a while after receiving a string of death threats from gangs.
“I’ve never been afraid, but the circumstances aren’t the same as they used to be,” Christian Zurita told Ecuavisa TV on Monday.
“I have personal security. I have to wear a bulletproof vest and a steel helmet at all times. That’s not what I expect from life. I have to take some time out for myself.”
Before leaving, however, he says he will finish a book he wrote with Villavicencio and lay the political foundation for his party’s elected MPs.
Zurita, who is a journalist, replaced Villavicencio as a candidate for the Construye (Build) movement and stood in the first round of voting on August 20.
Villavicencio, an opposition candidate, was shot dead on August 9 after a campaign event in the country’s capital, Quito in a brutal assassination that shocked the country.
The Ecuadorian government blamed organized crime for the killing.
Despite the murder, Villavicencio remained on the ballot and ended up in third place. He had campaigned to eliminate corruption in Ecuador, which, up until recently, had been known to be a relatively peaceful country.
Several criminal gangs have now threatened Zurita with death.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) have issued a resolution calling on the Ecuadorian authorities to ensure Zurita’s personal safety.
On October 15, left-wing politician Luisa González from the camp of ex-president Rafael Correa, who has been convicted of corruption, and banana entrepreneur Daniel Noboa will compete in a run-off election.
GNA