Javier Virgilio Saquicela Espinoza (born 8 July 1972) is an

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians ( es, ecuatorianos) are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collect ...

lawyer and politician who has been serving as the President of the National Assembly of Ecuador since May 2022. He served as mayor of

Azogues Azogues () is the capital of Azogues Canton and of Cañar Province in Ecuador. The population of Azogues is approximately 40,000. Azogues is located at 2,518 meters above sea level (8,261 feet), its population is of 39,848 inhabitants, its avera ...

between 2014 and 2019.

Early life

Saquicela was born on 8 July 1972, in the Ecuadorian city of

. He completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown, while higher education was carried out at the

University of Cuenca The University of Cuenca (Spanish: ''Universidad de Cuenca'') is an Ecuadorian university located in Cuenca. University of Cuenca is the principal university of Azuay Province. The university was officially founded in 1867, being the first unive ...

, where he obtained a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

Political career

Saquicela entered politics in 2004, representing Pachakutik and was elected as a

councilor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for Azogues. He ran as a candidate for the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

of the province of Cañar in the 2009 local elections, but was defeated by Santiago Correa of the

PAIS Alliance PAIS Alliance is a centre-left social democratic political party in Ecuador. In 2016, it had 979,691 members. Founded by Rafael Correa in April 2006, the party soon found success amid the "pink tide" period in Latin America. The party's early pe ...

. Saquicela ran as a candidate of CREO in the 2014 local elections, and was elected mayor of

. In the 2019 local elections he ran for re-election but was defeated by Romel Sarmiento of the Social Christian Party. After his tenure as mayor, he became

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

of Cañar. Saquicela ran as a candidate of MDS in the 2021 general elections and was elected as a national assemblyman representing the province of Cañar. He joined the

parliamentary caucus A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...

of CREO. He was proposed as first vice president of the National Assembly by Whashington Varela, a national assemblyman of the

Patriotic Society Party The Patriotic Society Party ( es, Partido Sociedad Patriótica, PSP), formerly the January 21 Patriotic Society ( es, Sociedad Patriótica 21 de Enero) is a populist and personalist political party in Ecuador, led by former army colonel Lucio Gu ...

. On 15 May 2021, he was elected first vice president of the National Assembly, with a majority of 71 votes in favor out of 137. In his inauguration speech, he said; "We are here to legislate and oversee for the benefit of ordinary people in this country, to think a little less about the political class and more about them who have been abandoned. We are here to give governance to the President of the Republic and for justice to be impartial." He also expressed support to the independent assembly members and thanked them for their support. Saquicela became the president of the National Assembly of Ecuador on 31 May 2022 after a motion to dismiss

Guadalupe Llori Esperanza Guadalupe Llori Abarca (born 1962) is an Ecuadorian politician who was prefect of Orellana Province. She is a member of the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement. She served as President of the National Assembly of Ecuador from Ma ...

was approved, with a majority of 81 votes in favor out of 137. He pledged to defend the institutionality of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saquicela, Virgilio Living people Mayors of places in Ecuador Presidents of the National Assembly (Ecuador) 21st-century Ecuadorian politicians 1972 births