Fernando Alcibiades Villavicencio Valencia was a politician, trade unionist, and journalist from Ecuador who ran for president in the 2023 general election. He was a member of the National Assembly from 2021 until the legislative body was dissolved on May 17, 2023.
Prior to entering politics, he worked as an investigative journalist in Ecuador, exposing corruption and violence. Villavicencio, a critic of former President Rafael Correa, was exiled in Peru due to legal concerns stemming from his vocal criticisms of the Correa administration. He was imprisoned for several months before the charges were withdrawn in February 2018.
Villavicencio was elected to the National Assembly in 2021 after running unsuccessfully for the position in 2017. He launched his presidential candidacy for next year’s general election in May 2023.
Villavicencio was assassinated on August 9, 2023, after a campaign event in Quito.
Early life
Villavicencio was born in Alaus, Ecuador on October 11, 1963.He studied media and communication at Colombia’s Cooperative University. Verónica Sarauz, whom he met while working at the National Assembly, was his wife. They had five kids.
After graduating, he helped create the Pachakutik Party in 1995.He joined Petroecuador in 1996 as a social communicator and then as a trade unionist until 1999, when he was ousted by Jamil Mahuad’s regime. He and his brother built a pizzeria with the proceeds from his firing.
Early career
Villavicencio began his journalism career in Guayaquil with El Universo. During his time at El Universo, he was critical of many governments, including Gustavo Noboa’s, whom he accused of corruption. Because of the newspaper’s conservative sponsorship, most of his work was criticized, and its legitimacy was called into question.
Cynthia Viteri and Villavicencio leaked classified documents to Wikileaks in 2015, revealing that Ecuador was utilizing an Italian corporation to run a surveillance program that spied on journalists and political opponents, as well as Julian Assange in the embassy. According to the New York Times, stolen conversation logs from 2015 demonstrate that Assange and his inner circle were aware of the materials, which Wikileaks did not disclose.
Political career
Villavicencio worked as a legislative aide to Cléver Jiménez during the 2013-2014 National Assembly term. During this time, Jiménez and Villavicencio accused President Rafael Correa of ordering an armed raid at a hospital in September 2010 during a police uprising.
Villavicencio was sentenced to 18 months in prison after Correa sued him for libel. He proceeded to Washington, D.C., to seek aid from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, but when he returned to Ecuador, he was already wanted. Instead of surrendering, he hid in the Amazon until his sentence expired.
When he announced his parliamentary candidacy for the 2017 general election, his campaign was initially barred due to his legal issues. He was free to restart his campaign after the charges were dropped, but he lost the election. Following his defeat, he was imprisoned on allegations of insult and espionage for criticizing the Correa administration. He went to Peru and, while there, the allegations against him were withdrawn in February 2018.
Villavicencio campaigned for the National Assembly again in 2021, this time as a member of the Honesty Alliance, and won a seat for the national constituency. Villavicencio claimed in September 2022 that he was the subject of an assassination attempt when his Quito home was purportedly attacked with gunshots.
His service in the National Assembly ended in May 2023, when President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly. Prior to the collapse, some Assembly members chastised Villavicencio for impeding Lasso’s impeachment procedure.
2023 presidential campaign
Villavicencio announced his candidacy for president of Ecuador in the 2023 election shortly after the National Assembly was dissolved. He emphasized the country’s escalating corruption, violence, and environmental protection. During his campaign, he referred to Ecuador as a “narco state” because of the increase in gang-related violence.
He chose environmentalist Andrea González as his running mate in June 2023.The Villavicencio-González ticket filed its candidacy under the Movement Construction Alliance on June 10, and the National Electoral Council (CNE) recognized it two days later. Nonetheless, his nomination was rejected on June 16 due to a lack of information; nonetheless, the matter was remedied and his candidacy was re-approved four days later.
Assassination
Villavicencio was shot in the head while exiting a vehicle shortly after ending a campaign rally at Colegio Anderson in Quito’s northern outskirts on August 9, 2023. The gunman also threw a grenade during the attack, but it did not ignite. Villavicencio was taken to a local clinic and pronounced dead. He was 59 years old at the time. During the incident, nine other people were injured, including a police officer. Villavicencio was under guard at the time of his death. During a gunfight, a suspect in the assassination was killed.
Shortly after his death was confirmed, videos of the attack began to circulate on social media. Villavencio was seen entering a vehicle as multiple bullets were fired, with witnesses screaming. Villaviencio’s party also claimed that four armed individuals raided their Quito offices on the day of the assassination.
Villavicencio’s wife, Verónica Sarauz, stated after the assassination that his security team had failed. Andrea González, Villavicencio’s running mate, announced that a roadway in his hometown of Alaus will be dedicated in his honor.
Villavicencio’s murder took place less than two weeks before the general election. A day before his murder, Villavicencio filed a report with the Justice Ministry concerning an unnamed oil company. There are no other details available concerning the report. According to the Washington Post, his assassination occurred during a period of rising gang violence in the country. During his presidential campaign, Villavicencio received many death threats, including one from the Sinaloa Cartel, the most recent of which was a week before the shooting.
Villavicencio’s killing was confirmed by President Guillermo Lasso, who stated that the “crime will not go unpunished. “Lasso had requested a security meeting with officials in Quito’s Palacio de Carondelet following the attack. Presidential candidate Jan Topi used Villavicencio’s assassination as an excuse to take action against the country’s escalating violence. Other presidential contenders expressed their condolences and condemned the incident, including Yaku Pérez, Xavier Hervas, Otto Sonnenholzner, and Luisa González.