Presidential Elections in Uruguay: It Is Not Enought to Talk of Change

By Pablo Jofre Leal – Oct 15, 2024

On October 27, the presidential and parliamentary elections of Uruguay will be held, with mandatory voting for 2.78 million voters.

The victory will go to the presidential candidate who receives 50% plus 1 votes. If this is not achieved, there will be a runoff on November 24 between the two candidates who received the highest votes. This will likely be Yamandú Orsi from the Broad Front (FA) and Álvaro Delgado from the right-wing Multicolor Coalition. It is probable that the election will go to runoff, given the difference, which although noticeable between Orsi and Delgado, makes it difficult for Orsi to reach 50% plus 1 in the first round, considering the range of alternatives available: 11 candidates and their respective vice presidencies (1). As for the parliament, 30 senators and 99 deputies will be elected.

In this context, the sustained growth in support for the FA candidate, Yamandú Orsi, who opposes the current right-wing Uruguayan government and belongs to the Popular Participation Movement (MPP) of former President José Mujica, one of the parties that constitute the FA, is a strong indicator of the demand for change and transformation in the daily life of the Uruguayan people. The most likely possibility is that the FA will return to power and be able to repeat a cycle of governance, which had governed the country for two decades and will clearly chart a transformative path.

The concept of “Change,” which, although tarnished, is urgently needed in Uruguay. This is because under the administration of the current right-wing president, Luís Lacalle Pou, his development promises have not been fulfilled. This reality is not unfamiliar in Latin America, where what is part of government programs often remains buried under documents on desks, in the form of laws, attempts to advance reforms, etc. that ultimately end up frustrating the aspirations of the citizens. With this, the demands for new winds resurface, as well as granting new opportunities to those sectors that had been ousted from power, as is the case of the Broad Front.

Beyond the chronic use of the concept of change and failing to fulfill the pledges made, the Uruguayan population demands a modification of the country’s political, economic, and social landscape. They want advancement in matters of respecting their rights to education, public financing of public health at levels that guarantee access and opportunity, especially desired by those who do not have sufficient means to access private services and require state protection. They also want more and better jobs as a condition for improving their lives.

The latest polls place Yamandú Orsi above the candidate of the National Party, the right-wing Álvaro Delgado by more than five points on average. In general, the various polls by consulting firms allows the following analysis. When asked which party or candidate they would vote for, in the last week of September, 43% responded that they would vote for Orsi, 21% for the National Party, 15% for the Colorado Party, 3% for Cabildo Abierto (conservative), 1% for the Independent Party (social democratic), 1% for Identidad Soberana (extreme right), and Popular Unity (to the left of the Broad Front). In addition, there are 5% of blank votes and 10% of undecided voters.

Let us keep in mind that in these elections we have—as part of a global trend—the presence of far-right groups, which in the case of Uruguay are linked to retired military personnel and civilians who were part of the last Uruguayan military dictatorship (1973-1985) and who are fundamentally grouped into the Cabildo Abierto party, which has no possibility of victory but which represents the emergence of this type of anti-democratic movements that take advantage of the system. The leader of Cabildo Abierto is former general and former commander-in-chief of the army, Guido Manini, criticized for his denialist statements regarding the crimes against humanity in the dirty war against the Uruguayan people under the civil-military dictatorship and for his intentions to impose a discourse of forgetting those crimes.

Cabildo Abierto is affiliated with the Union of Democratic Organizations of America (UnoAmérica) (2) whose funding comes mainly from US entities linked to the Republican Party and Zionist groups. It is an evident paradox, having been part of dictatorships but calling itself democratic, a line not foreign to what Lacalle Pou’s own government has been in terms of a close alliance with Washington regarding regional and global positioning. The “great achievement” of the Uruguayan president has been the trade integration with the United States, clearly on a path contrary to the Global South, which is moving towards ideas and practices of multilateralism. Uruguay is going against the grain and strengthening ties with the hegemonic power.

Public opinion expresses fatigue in the face of inaction and clear inefficiency in solving the country’s problems by Lacalle Pou, and this explains the hope placed in Yamandú Orsi and the growth of his popularity, as evident from the approval indicators for the upcoming elections. The government program of Orsi, a professor born in the department of Canelones, one of the 19 departments of Uruguay, contains constructive and innovative proposals for addressing the quality of life issues in the Uruguayan society.

The main axes of Orsi’s program are plans in the economic, social, and security aspects, which require strong measures to address these needs, along with the necessary funding for public health, education, and salary increases to offset the decline in the purchasing power of the Uruguayan population. There is the promise of expanding the technical and professional staff in schools, hospitals, as well as the police forces. Altogther there are 48 diverse proposals aimed at alleviating the manifest deficiencies left by the Lacalle Pou government (3).

The main slogan of the FA candidate is “let honesty govern,” which brings to the forefront the need to improve transparency levels, eliminate the vices of public and private sector corruption, and effectively improve the Uruguayan society’s perception of politics. “We are not here to promise anything that cannot be fulfilled. Therefore, in order to change, we must commit to honesty,” emphasized Orsi, highlighting the scandals and corrupt practices within Lacalle Pou’s government (4).

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In a more specific analysis of his proposals, the idea of economic growth stands out, but with social inclusion (first axis). Orsi promises “A prosperous and open country, with a strong commitment to innovation, technological development, and the efficiency of public administration.” According to the FA candidate, the government must position itself “on the side of those who produce, those who carry out scientific innovations, and those who invest.”

According to Orsi, in the social sphere (second axis), efforts should be made for the welfare and protection of the citizens. “We need to reform the social protection system with a special focus on children to ensure that no child, adolescent, or young person is left out or feels that Uruguay has turned its back on them and left them without opportunities,” he notes. “It is honest to acknowledge that today the State is not taking care of its people and there is a Uruguay where very few celebrate and many suffer.”

The third axis of his prgram is public safety. The candidate considers it necessary to confront organized crime and appeals for social integration. “We must prioritize security above disputes,” he opines. “Security is a human right and therefore we must act urgently, reclaim the territories that we do not control, restore peace in the neighborhoods.” In this regard, the defense of human rights in prison matters is part of the left-wing candidate’s program in light of the deaths of dozens of inmates in fires in penitentiary facilities.

As in several Latin American countries, the issue of security intersects with the demands of Uruguayans who note that under Lacalle Pou’s government, the number of prisoners has increased to 16,000 and the homicide figures by the end of September 2024 surpassed the total for the year 2023. According to the Uruguayan sociologist Rafael Paternain, “Violence, crime, and insecurity have modified the characteristics and intensities of security policies. Surveillance, control, and targeting have expanded in most better-off areas, but they have also been restructured in territories with higher levels of socioeconomic vulnerability.” (5)

In Uruguay, as well as in much of the world, we cannot go on accepting that we talk about change without being truly capable of delving into solutions, the consolidation of acquired rights, and achieving those rights we deserve.

It is not possible to continue thinking that merely voting in some type of election in our so-called representative democracies, every four or five years, exempts us from the right to demand the effective achievement of our dreams and aspirations. The Broad Front, in Uruguay, may have another opportunity to make long-postponed goals a reality and advance in objectives that, more broadly, are framed within the context of the Global South’s struggle for multilateralism, for a world that breaks away from a declining but still dangerous hegemonic power.

Notes
(1) Broad Front Party: presidential candidate: Yamandú Orsi, vice presidential candidate: Carolina Cosse. National Party: presidential candidate: Álvaro Luis Delgado, vice presidential candidate: Shirley Valeria Ripoll Fraga. Colorado Party: presidential Candidate: Andrés Ojeda Spitz, vice presidential candidate: Robert Silva García. Cabildo Abierto Party: presidential candidate: Guido Manini Ríos, vice presidential candidate: Lorena Quintana. Sovereign Identity Party: presidential candidate: Gustavo Alberto Salle Lorier, vice presidential candidate: María Elvira Canoniero Castagnola. Independent Party: presidential candidate: Pablo Andrés Mieres Gómez, vice presidential candidate: Mónica Gabriela Bottero Tovagliare. Popular Assembly Party: presidential candidate: Walter Gonzalo Martínez Maruca, vice presidential candidate: Andrea Revuelta Segredo. Constitutional Environmentalist Party: presidential candidate: Eduardo Lust, vice presidential candidate: Luján Criado. Radical Intransigent Ecologist Party: presidential candidate: Cesar Enrique Vega, vice presidential candidate: Sergio Jorge Billiris García. Party for Necessary Changes: presidential candidate: Guillermo Franchi, vice presidential candidate: Virginia Vaz. Republican Advance Party: presidential candidate: Martín Pérez Banchero, vice presidential candidate: Daniel Isi Quepfert.

(2) Upon reviewing the foundations associated with UnoAmérica, evidence emerges that all of them depend on US government agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and similar organizations based in the United States and Europe. UnoAmérica, like the Libertad Foundation, is associated with the Heritage Foundation, the one whose members drafted the Santa Fe Documents one, two, three, and four, among others, with such disastrous consequences for Latin America. https://archivo.prensa-latina.cu/2023/05/15/de-la-operacion-condor-a-la-fundacion-unoamerica-macri-y-bullrich

(3) https://www.m24.com.uy/conoce-las-48-propuestas-de-gobierno-que-presento-yamandu-orsi-y-que-abarcan-los-planos-economico-social-y-de-seguridad/

(4) By the start of 2023, scandals began to emerge involving the government, even President Lacalle Pou’s inner circle. The head of the presidential guard ended up in prison for influence peddling, two ministers had to resign because they were linked to the issuance of a passport that allowed a drug lord to evade capture in a foreign country, a key senator from the ruling party was tried for the exploitation and sexual abuse of minors after being explicitly supported by Lacalle Pou, the president of the National Party had to resign after it was revealed that he boasted about influencing some prosecutors, and a mayor and a deputy from Lacalle Pou’s party had to resign due to irregularities and abuse of power. His government partners were not free from problems either. https://nuso.org/articulo/frente-amplio-uruguay-yamandu-orsi-elecciones/

(5) https://brecha.com.uy/el-horror-y-nosotros/

Pablo Jofre Leal is a Chilean journalist, writer, and international analyst, with a Master’s in International Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid. He is a specialist in topics related to Latin America, the Middle East, and the Maghreb. He is a contributor to several international news networks: HispanTV, Russia Today, Telesur, www.islamoriente.com, AnnurTV, Resumen Latinoamericano, La Haine, Rebelion, Radio and Diario Electrónico of the University of Chile, El Ciudadano. He is the creator of the website www.politicaycultura.cl. He has authored the books Dignity Lives in the Sahara and Palestine: Chronicle of the Zionist Occupation.

(Telesur)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/DZ