Ecuador election: 'I'm wearing a bulletproof vest 24 hours a day'

Andrea González present wears a bulletproof vest 24 hours a day.

A week ago, her Construye party's statesmanlike campaigner successful the Ecuadorean predetermination this Sunday, Fernando Villavicencio, was changeable 3 times successful the caput aft a run rally successful the capital, Quito.

Ms González, 36, volition stay the party's campaigner for vice-president, arsenic the moving mate of Christian Zurita. He is simply a writer who has investigated corruption - arsenic Fernando Villavicencio had.

"I'm not letting Fernando's bequest die," Ms González told the BBC's Newshour programme.

"To maine it's incredibly idiosyncratic and hard to not beryllium capable to accidental goodbye to my friend. I'm wearing a bulletproof vest 24 hours [a day]," she said.

Mr Villavicencio, 59, a writer and subordinate of Ecuador's nationalist assembly, was changeable arsenic helium near a run rally successful the superior past Wednesday - 11 days earlier the statesmanlike election.

One attacker was killed successful an speech of occurrence with police, portion respective others escaped.

His decease shocked a federation that has mostly escaped the decades of drug-gang violence, cartel wars and corruption that has blighted galore of its neighbours. Crime has, however, changeable up successful caller years, fuelled by the maturation of Colombian and Mexican cause cartels.

Mr Villavicencio's run focused connected corruption and gangs, and helium was 1 of lone a fewer candidates to allege links betwixt organised transgression and authorities officials successful Ecuador.

"We are astatine the brink of becoming a narco state," Ms González said.

"We are wholly definite that this is simply a governmental assassination, much than the gangs and the organised crime. There's a governmental feeling successful this, there's a governmental volition successful this," she added.

"Three days earlier the statement and Fernando intelligibly said helium had precise delicate accusation that was going to alteration the mode these elections were turning. That accusation ne'er got to light."

Ms González, whose vocation has chiefly focused connected biology issues, said that these levels of unit had go normalised successful Ecuadorean politics.

Initially her enactment wanted her to win Mr Villavicencio arsenic statesmanlike candidate, but aboriginal enactment officials decided to support her arsenic moving mate and chose Christian Zurita arsenic the replacement. They feared she could person been disqualified, arsenic she was already registered arsenic vice-presidential candidate.

As the ballot papers had already been printed, Fernando Villavicencio's sanction volition stay connected the ballot.

"Any 1 of america is exposed to this level of violence," Ms González said.

"Taking your kid to schoolhouse is already a precocious risk. Every clip you halt astatine a postulation airy you are exposed to getting changeable oregon having a weaponry adjacent to your car.

"The level of unit that Ecuador is experiencing has ne'er been seen before."

But she says this volition not halt her attempts to execute what her mentor had dreamed of.

"I consciousness a batch of value connected my shoulders," she said.