Editorial: Political assassinations expose Ecuador’s fragility

Villavicencio was not just any political candidate. He was a journalist and a former legislator who had exposed the corruption of past governments. — AFP

DEMOCRACY does not end in one day. Corruption, autocratic leadership and weak institutions gradually eat away at it. But things can get worse fast, as Ecuadorians learned recently when a presidential candidate was killed in a sicario-style execution.

The assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, 59, on Aug 9 exposed the fragility of this endangered South American democracy of more than 17 million people, where drug cartels have made inroads in the last decade. Killings, extortions and kidnappings are on the rise, with no end in sight.