(MC25), Fernando Villavicencio, was violently assassinated in a political rally in Quito with three headshots. The main proposals from Villavicencio were to fight against the mass insecurity the country has been experiencing and against the present state of corruption from the police to the institutions. Current president Guillermo Lasso declared the State of Emergency the day after, and confirmed the presence of a
task force to help with the investigations. Five people have been convicted concerning the assassination, one of the starting points of a wave of violence that terrorize the population.
Economic cost of violence
The homicide of Fernando Villavicencio was not the first nor the last homicide of relevant politicians or leaders in the national territory. Less than a week later, Pedro Briones, leader of a regional political party in Esmeraldas, was also assassinated. While in July 2023, the mayor of Manta, Agustín Intriago, became another homicide victim, to mention a few of the victims. Crime in the country does not seem to slow down, and with it also the monetary impact. The
economic cost of violence increased over 76 percent from 2018 to 2023, reaching 19,7 billion U.S. dollars. The
economic impact per capita also increased, reaching around 1,595 USD per capita during that same year.
The increasing number of homicides
During a survey in June 2024, Ecuadorians stated that the
main problem of the country was crime, drug trafficking, and the situation with cartels with over 40 percent of the respondents. Other main issues were
corruption and
unemployment. The
number of intentional homicides in the South American country has surged from less than one thousand cases in 2016 to over 4,800 in 2022. That same year, Ecuador ranked second with the
highest homicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, above other countries such as Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, and Puerto Rico.
One femicide every 27 hours
Ecuador lacked the legal framework for femicides until August 10th, 2014. From 2018 to 2023, the
number of reported femicides increased almost four times to 321 cases, which represents the homicide of a woman on account of her gender approximately every 27 hours. Slightly lower than half of the
victims of femicides were killed by someone close to them, either a family member, a partner, or someone with a close relationship with the victim.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
