Abdón Calderón Muñoz (20 January 1924 – 9 December 1978) was an Ecuadorian politician and economist. He was the founder of the

Alfarista Radical Front The Alfarista Radical Front (, FRA) was a centrist liberal party in Ecuador, founded in 1972. One of its best known figures was former acting president Fabián Alarcón. The party was named after the most prominent liberal politician in Ecuadori ...

. He was a candidate for

president of Ecuador The president of Ecuador (), officially called the constitutional president of the Republic of Ecuador (), serves as the head of state and head of government of Ecuador. It is the highest political office in the country as the head of the exec ...

in the 1978 general election shortly before his assassination.

Life

Calderón Muñoz was born in Milagro, Ecuador. He was married to Rosita Prieto and had four children. Calderón Muñoz spent most of his career in

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

. In 1961, Calderón Muñoz was elected to the council of the

Guayaquil Canton The Guayaquil Canton, officially the Municipality of Guayaquil, is a canton in the center of the Guayas Province in western Ecuador. The canton was named after its seat, the city of Guayaquil, the most populous city in Ecuador. Political divisio ...

and was elected council president in 1962. In 1970s, he was a critic of the dictatorship of Guillermo Rodríguez during the

Supreme Council of Government The Supreme Council of Government () was a military junta which, ''de facto'', exercised the role of head of state and head of government of the Republic of Ecuador from 1976 to 1979, being considered the last military dictatorship in the history ...

Death

On 29 November 1978, Calderón Muñoz was shot several times at his home in

. The culprits were two hitmen, with one of them being identified as Guillermo "Plin" Mendez. While he survived the attack, he was transported to the United States in Miami, Florida to treat his injuries; however he died from complications of his injuries on 9 December 1978, aged 54. He would be the last presidential candidate to be assassinated until

Fernando Villavicencio Fernando Alcibiades Villavicencio Valencia (; 12 October 1963 – 9 August 2023) was an Ecuadorian journalist, trade unionist, and politician who ran for president of Ecuador in the 2023 Ecuadorian general election. He served as a member of the ...

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calderon Munoz, Abdon 1924 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Ecuadorian politicians 20th-century Ecuadorian economists Assassinated Ecuadorian politicians South American politicians assassinated in the 1970s Politicians assassinated in 1978