Juan Francisco Camino *

Until a little over 15 years ago, Ecuador was an “island of peace”. In the 1980s, drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, organized crime and paramilitarism bled neighbors Colombia and Peru. For this reason, many have confirmed that this is an unprecedented case, and for some the question is why a small, economically vulnerable country, with a state dependent on raw materials, an unresolved border conflict and a fledgling democracy, could avoid violence. This country which, as Alexander von Humboldt well said between 1799 and 1804, lived in poverty in the midst of countless riches, slept among crackling volcanoes and rejoiced with sad music. It was just another South American country, perhaps irrelevant on the international scene, but peaceful.

Since the creation of the United Nations System, Ecuador has always advocated the peaceful resolution of disputes and, at least at the international level, has invoked institutional. It is a country that in the midst of its problems has always tried to develop democracy, which, although weak, imperfect and misled by caudilism, has tried to make its way among its Latin American peers.

Ecuadorian democracy has survived the death of the current former president, two wars, the kidnapping of the president at a military base, two El Niño events, two debt crises, the collapse of the financial system and dollarization. It was a country where, although one should be careful (as in any other Latin American country), one did not hear of car bombs, corpses hanging from bridges, extortion of small and medium-sized enterprises, assassinations of candidates for any electoral position. … popular or dismembered in prisons, much less politicians taking photos with drug dealers or nominating former members of criminal groups (such as the Latin Kings) for the National Assembly.

Ecuador has been a country with ups and downs, but one that has maintained control over a legitimate monopoly on violence. The institutions in charge of security had a high level of credibility and trust of citizens and, despite the shortcomings and needs of the people, there was still a social structure with activities in the neighborhood, where residents met at city festivals or in requests for the attention of their representatives.

The country where I grew up was by no means perfect, it was still unfair to those who had less, and at the end of the nineties, many compatriots had to emigrate to Spain, the United States or Italy, looking for opportunities, but with the hope of returning, buying a house and starting a job that would allow them to spend the rest of the day in their country.

There were political problems in that country, as in no other in the region, but there were no endangered candidates or assassinated authorities. The last assassination of a presidential candidate took place in 1978, when the enemies of the then democracy wanted to prevent him from returning to the country.

Today, these enemies have settled in Ecuador, and the recent assassination of the presidential candidate marked the before and after. Fernando Villavicencio denounced the threat of cancer from organized crime and was riddled with bullets at 17:30 in the north center of the capital and in conditions that raise suspicions about the lack of foresight of his security team, made up of police and private personnel.

That country no longer exists and many want to leave what is left of it. No one wants to live in the anxiety of not knowing if they will get home safely, if a stray bullet will end the life of a loved one, or if they will have to choose between paying the blackmail or moving on with their lives.

And that is that I grew up in a peaceful country, where there was no fear of going to the polls, where engaging in politics might not have been the best decision, but it didn’t cost you your life. Now I am surviving in the midst of violence that tries to impose its peace with fire, tears, and pain, and in the midst of a dying democracy, to which, who knows, someone will soon give the last rites. (OR)

Juan Francisco Camino is a professor at Equinoccial Technological University (Quito). He is a doctoral candidate at the University of Salamanca (Spain). Master of International Relations at the Institute for Advanced National Studies (Ecuador) and Political Science at the University of Salamanca.