2024-08-03 08:42:19
Last Saturday, June 29, 2024, Ecuador learned the news that a young second lieutenant of the Armed Forces was found dead in her bedroom, in the Selva Brigade 19 Napo, in Orellana. As the hours passed, it was learned that it was not an accident, but rather the femicide of Aidita Pamela Ati Gavilanes. It was inevitable to remember María Belén Bernal, who was murdered inside the Police Higher School, in Pusuquí, Quito, in September 2022.
Despite the outrage, claims and reparation measures that the State offered at the time, A femicide was repeated inside a public force institutionEach case has its own particularities and differences, but there are also great similarities, such as the esprit de corps that characterizes the Armed Forces and the National Police, which takes precedence over the families’ demand for justice.
However, the femicide of Pamela Ati has had less impact on public opinionAn example is the social media trends, where the case of the second lieutenant does not appear among the main topics of digital conversation; while with María Belén Bernal, the trend lasted for several days.
The femicides of Pamela Ati and María Belén Bernal have several similarities
After the femicide of Pamela Ati there was a first statement from the Ecuadorian Army reporting the death by apparent asphyxiation due to airway obstruction. There was no initial talk of violent death.
Later, the institution said that it would provide the Prosecutor’s Office with the necessary facilities for the investigation. The next day, in a third and final statement, it was reported that 18 members of the Armed Forces were arrestedfor eight hours, to investigate the case.
Finally, it was learned that the Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted four officers for the alleged femicide of Pamela Ati.
Today we know more clearly how the events occurred, along with official information. The second lieutenant participated in a farewell lunch and then, together with the 18 people initially detained, he consumed homemade liquor at the river maintenance center. According to the versions collected, the four officers took Ati to his bedroom.
The next day, a colleague of Pamela’s found her body in the bedroom, however, only three hours later the family of the second lieutenant was informed of her death.
At the same time, from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Women and Human RightsBrief statements were also issued that did not provide further information, only expressing rejection of the incident and a commitment to collaboration. The second State portfolio activated the Immediate Response Committee, but the results of this effort have not been reported.
In the case of Maria Belen Bernal There was also information trickling in from the police institution and the Ministry of the Interior. In fact, it was the alerts and complaints from her mother, Elizabeth Otavalo, that gave an account of the victim entering the Police Higher SchoolThe first response was to call a press conference, which was cancelled minutes later.
Just as Otavalo denounced the lack of clarity in the investigation into his daughter’s death, the young lieutenant’s father is experiencing the same thing. Initially, he was told that his daughter had drowned in her vomit, and he had to undertake a long and tortuous journey, six hours, from Quito, to find out that there was a signs of violence.
The autopsy showed bruises on the face, neck, arms and genital area, indicating signs of an apparent rape.
Another similarity between the two cases is that there were disciplinary infractions. In the case of the National Police, the murderer, German Caceresentered the school facilities in an obvious state of intoxication, and had previously participated in a meeting with cadets, that is, his students. Meanwhile, in Armed forcesthe consumption of alcohol took place inside the Army compound. In other words, in both cases it is evident that there is no effective control over the discipline of the uniformed personnel.
For Geraldina Guerra, a women’s rights activist and representative of the Aldea Foundation, the clearest similarity is that «Violence is naturalized in the structures of Ecuador’s protection and security institutions»He explains that police and military personnel are agents called to protect and prevent crimes, so it is even more worrying that these crimes occur within their facilities.
He also explains that the response should be towards complete openness to transparency, when the opposite occurs.
Why has Pamela Ati’s femicide not had the same impact as Bernal’s?
María Belén Bernal is, without a doubt, a name remembered in the history of the feminist struggle in Ecuador. Dozens of protests, publications on social networks, journalistic reports and the indignation of thousands of people made this case mark the collective memory.
Now, with Pamela Ati, despite the similarities of the cases, society’s response is not the same.
Caroline Ávila, a university professor and expert in communications, says that it is likely that the case will gain greater relevance in the following stages of the investigation. However, she believes that the main reason for the same impact is in the handling of public relations of the Armed Forces, which is different from that of the National Police.
Added to this is the fact that the Armed Forces, historically, have greater social acceptance than the Police. Ávila points out that this is an important element, but that The case has not even reached the mass of society with impact.so that it influences public opinion.
Geraldine Guerra believes that there is a perception that the case is not being discussed forcefully because it is believed that it is an institution that cannot be touched and that there is a spirit of corps, which prevents the clarification of the facts.
Ecuavisa.com learned that in certain chats of members of the Armed Forces, including wives of officers, messages circulate alluding to institutional unity and the denial of the release of the names of the officers investigated for the femicide.
Another factor was Elizabeth Otavalo’s activism. Ávila explains that the advocacy exercised by María Belén Bernal’s mother was key to making the case visible and to articulate civil society organizations, as well as the agitation on social networks.
You may be interested in: The María Belén Bernal case: what comes next?
The president of the Aldea Foundation says that feminist organizations have come together to demand a response of “truth, justice and reparation” from the State.
“We are fully active throughout the country and through social media,” says Guerra. He says that they have supported Pamela’s family from day one and that a sit-in was held in Orellana.
In the case of María Belén Bernal, there was a greater repercussion against the authorities because there were inappropriate statements by the then Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, and former President Guillermo Lasso.
Now, with Pamela Ati, the institutions are silent. No authority has made any statements to the press.