On Monday, September 18, Luisa González, presidential candidate of the left-wing Citizens Revolution Movement party (RC) in Ecuador, denounced an attempt on her life and filed a complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office in the capital Quito.
González reported that on August 30, a plan to attack her was averted after the authorities arrested several people who had weapons and ammunition in their possession at a political rally of the RC in which she was going to participate. In a statement at a public hearing, one of the arrested men confessed that he was carrying three grenades in his backpack which he was planning to detonate at the rally to attack González. An audio extract of his confession was leaked last week and circulated on social networks.
Following the disclosure of evidence of the failed attempt on her life, González, together with her running mate Andrés Arauz and dozens of other RC members and supporters, went on Monday to the Attorney General’s Office to file a formal complaint and demand a speedy investigation into the crime.
Former president and RC founder Rafael Correa first reported about the failed attempt on González on August 31. Hours after two car bombs exploded in Quito and the alleged perpetrators were arrested by the police, Correa posted the screenshot of his chat with an unidentified official who had warned him that “the weapons found on [one of the arrested] guy were to kill the candidate Luisa.” The person attached a photograph of a man sitting in what apparently was a courtroom and added he was found with grenades and had asked for police protection because he feared for his life.
An investigation had already been opened into the case. With the formal complaint, González has demanded speed and transparency in the investigation. She reported that she had also requested the Attorney General’s Office to allow her to be a part of the investigation against the detainees.
González said that she was forced to take formal action because there had been “no progress in the investigation.” She also said that neither the government of outgoing President Guillermo Lasso nor the National Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI) had made the necessary proceedings for the detainees to appear before the Attorney General’s Office and clarify “what they wanted to do” and “who is behind” the attack.
“The trials are not clarified, they don’t allow them to come to testify, the SNAI doesn’t bring them. The cases are not advancing,” said González.
González is the winner of the first round of presidential elections in Ecuador. She said that with the complaint, she not only intends to “safeguard her life” and shed light on the plan aimed at physically eliminating her, but also draw attention to the impunity in the country, which is experiencing a wave of unprecedented violence and organized crime that has brought homicide rates to record levels.
“This is the impunity that we are experiencing. It is the impunity that makes us feel insecure and that leaves criminals free so that they can do whatever they want,” she said.
González also reported that given the gravity of the situation, she has accepted the support of the Armed Forces to guarantee her safety during the campaign rallies, and that she would continue to wear a bulletproof vest.
González will face Daniel Noboa of the right-wing National Democratic Action (ADN) alliance in the runoff election on October 15. She has promised to address the security crisis in the country by reinvesting in and strengthening institutions and entities in charge of managing security. She has also promised to address the root causes of violence, such as poverty and inequality, and vowed to increase public spending and revive large-scale social welfare programs and public infrastructure projects.
NUESTRAS VIDAS ESTÁN EN RIESGO.
He presentado una denuncia en @FiscaliaEcuador para exigir la celeridad de la investigación y que comparezcan los implicados en el posible atentado contra mi vida.Esta es la impunidad que estamos viviendo como ecuatorianos ¡No más inseguridad!… pic.twitter.com/UjyCyOAJWx
— Luisa González (@LuisaGonzalezEc) September 18, 2023
