Explainer-Why has Ecuador become so violent?

FILE PHOTO: A view of the rally site where Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed at a campaign event in Quito, Ecuador August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro/File Photo

(Reuters) - Ecuador was reeling on Thursday from the slaying of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio the night before, less than two weeks before elections were to take place.

The killing of Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and drug crime that have beset Ecuador, underlines a deteriorating security situation in much of South America.