Christian Zurita | |
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Born | Christian Gustavo Zurita Ron 4 April 1970 |
Education | Central University of Ecuador |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, politician |
Political party | Movimiento Construye |
Christian Gustavo Zurita Ron (born 4 April 1970) is an Ecuadorian journalist and politician who was a candidate for president of Ecuador in the 2023 general election. He was selected as Fernando Villavicencio's replacement on the Movimiento Construye ticket following his assassination. Prior to his presidential candidacy, he was an investigative journalist based in Quito.[1]
Zurita was born in Quito, Ecuador.[2] He graduated from the Central University of Ecuador.[2]
Zurita worked with Fernando Villavicencio as an investigative journalist who focused on the corruption of the Ecuadorian government during the presidency of Rafael Correa.[2]
Main article: 2023 Ecuadorian general election |
On 9 August 2023, Zurita was present when Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in Quito.[3] He was one of the first officials to confirm Villavicencio's death.[3]
Following the assassination, Movimiento Construye was tasked to name Villavicencio's replacement. The party initially selected Andrea González, Villavicencio's vice-presidential running mate, to replace him.[4][5] However, due to uncertainties regarding the legality of that decision, Zurita was selected instead on 13 August.[6]
Since Zurita was unable to file his candidacy prior to a deadline set National Electoral Council (CNE), he was not eligible to participate in the only debate in the election.[1] His campaign focused on anti-corruption and anti-violence.[7] He did not make it to the second round of the election.