QUITO, ECUADOR – It was business as usual on the streets of the Ecuadorian capital, as people made their way to work and students headed to school just hours after one of the country’s presidential candidates was fatally shot after a campaign rally.
But it was hard to ignore the newspaper headlines, radio banter, and murmurs in cafes across Quito as the killing of Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday sent shockwaves across this small South American nation.
The killing came less than two weeks before general elections in which rising violence and crime have been the central issues.
Once considered one of the safest countries in the region, Ecuador has seen a massive spike in violence in recent years, largely driven by rival drug-trafficking groups fighting over territory, according to experts. The nation also has grappled with political instability, growing inequality, and a poverty rate of more than 25 percent.
Homicides have more than tripled in Quito over the past three years, the coastal cities of Guayaquil and Esmeraldas have been ranked among the region’s most dangerous, and brutal and deadly prison riots have broken out on a regular basis.
The rising crime has forced citizens to take extra precautions, but many here say the assassination of Villavicencio in a crowded street is a sign of worse times ahead. “We’re not safe anywhere,” a taxi driver who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity said on Thursday morning.
But President Guillermo Lasso has said the elections on August 20 will continue as planned, placing the country under a two-month state of emergency, putting more soldiers on the streets, and vowing to bring Villavicencio’s killers to justice.
Al Jazeera spoke to people in Quito about their reactions to the presidential candidate’s killing, the upcoming elections, and what future they see for Ecuador.
Kimberley Michelle Brown 