Presidential candidate of Ecuador assassinated! Who Was Fernando Villavicencio?

Fernando Alcibiades Villavicencio Valencia was a politician from Ecuador. Not only this, Fernando Villavicencio was also a journalist and a trade unionist. Born on October 11, 1963, the man ran in the 2023 general election for the president of Ecuador. In the year 2021, the man served as a member of the National Assembly. He continued serving until the legislative body dissolved on May 17, 2023. On August 9, the man passed away in an assassination.

Early Life

The man was born on October 11, 1963, in Alausi, Ecuador. At the Cooperative University of Colombia, he studied journalism and mass communication. While working at the National Assembly, Villavicencio met Veronica Sarauz, who later became his spouse. The couple was blessed with five children.

Post college, in the year 1995, the man became the founder of the Pachakutik Party. He then joined Petrocuador the very next year, initially as a social communicator, but then became a trade unionist until the year 1999. It was then that the government of Jamil Mahaud fired him. With the help of settlement post his firing, the man opened a pizzeria jointly with his brother.

 His career as a journalist

It was with EI Universo in Guayaquil that the man commenced his journalism career. At the time of his investigative career at EI Universo, he became critical of multiple governments. This included the government of Gustavo Naboa, whom Villavicencio alleged of corruption. During his journalism career, Villavicencio faced a lot of criticism. Moreover, his credibility was also questioned several times, because of the conservative funding of the newspaper.

His career in politics

At the time of the National Assembly session in the years 2013-2014, the man served as a parliamentary assistant to Clever Jimenez. At this time, both Villavicencio and Jimenez accused the President, Rafael Correa with charges of ordering an armed incursion at a hospital at the time of a police revolt in the year 2010. Jimenez was thus sued for libel by Correa, while Villavicencio was sentenced to prison for a period of 18 months. The man went to Washington, D.C., and sought aid from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. However, to his great disbelief and sorrow, as soon as he came back to Ecuador, he already had an arrest warrant. The man did not turn himself in. Instead, he hid in the Amazon region till the expiration of the sentence.

In the year 2023, Villacencio's tenure at the National Assembly ceased with the dissolution of President Guillermo Lasso's National Assembly. Before the dissolution, Villavicencio was frowned upon by multiple Assembly members as he obstructed the impeachment process of Guillermo Lasso.

Cause of Death

It was at 18:20 (ET) on August 9, when Villavicencio was shot dead in the head while he was entering a vehicle. This happened shortly after a campaign rally at Colegio Anderson concluded in Quito. As per the reports, at the time of the attack, the gunman also threw a grenade. However, the grenade failed to detonate. The man was then rushed to a clinic nearby where he was declared dead. During the incident, nine other people also got injured. At the time of the assassination, the man was guarded. During the shootout, a suspect in the offense was also killed. Villavicenco was 59 years old. The assassination incident took place less than fourteen days prior to the general elections.