The bishops emphasized that “democracy guarantees that the management of the present and future of a country is subject to the will of the people and not to the egotistical desire of a few.” Thus they stressed the importance of “everyone’s participation.”
Referring to the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on Aug. 9, the bishops said that “with astonishment we have seen how murderous violence marred this electoral process with blood, but today Ecuador has overcome fear.”
“The polls have closed. In each vote, for one candidate or another, there is an act of political responsibility and above all the expression of a dream,” they said.
“There are no winners or losers when what matters is the Homeland, expressed in the pain and suffering of our native peoples, of our children and young people, of our elderly and people with disabilities, of those who have left Ecuador looking for a better future in other countries and of those who struggle every day to put bread on the table with effort and sacrifice,” they observed.
“There are neither winners nor losers when what matters is the person and his dignity and the commitment to defend it in every decision and action above capital, the state, or any structure or system,” they noted.
The bishops’ conference urged those who have been elected to “boldly confront the big problems” that Ecuadorians have, including poverty, insecurity, unemployment, deficiencies in health and education, drug trafficking, and corruption.