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.
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