The candidate for president of Uruguay for Frente Amplio, Yamandu Orsidefeated the ruling party’s candidate, Alvaro Delgadoand became the elected president of Uruguay. His victory means the return to power of the left-wing coalition, which had governed between 2005 and 2020 with Tabare Vazquez (in two periods) and Jose Mujica.
The Frenteamplista, a son of grocers from the department of Canelones and a history teacher, He reaches the Presidency with the main political support of Mujicathe leader of the Popular Participation Movement (MPP) and one of the most popular political leaders in the country. Before running for president, He was mayor of Canelones for two periods (2015-2024) and, previously, general secretary of the departmental government.
In this way, he defeated the president’s political dolphin Luis Lacalle For. During much of the administration of the current president, Delgado was his secretary of the Presidency – a position similar to that of the chief of staff – and a trusted man of the head of state.
In the October elections, the Frente Amplio was the party with the most votes with 44% over the 27% that its opponent in the runoff, Álvaro Delgado, had. However, the sum of the parties that make up the ruling bloc was 47%, a figure that showed that the country was divided into two almost perfect halves. The weeks before the runoff, therefore, the climate was one of total uncertainty about the result.
The three times that the Frente Amplio governed Uruguay, it did so with parliamentary majorities. However, for the first time this will not happen. The left-wing coalition has 16 senators (17, if Vice President Carolina Cosse is added), but it has 48 deputies and needs 50 to get the bills it promotes approved.
The October results, therefore, leave Orsi facing a challenging government: he will have to convince at least two deputies outside the Broad Front bloc for his proposals to be successful. in Parliament.
This is why a good part of the electoral campaign towards the runoff was based on the negotiating skills of both candidates. And this was repeated during election day. “The essence of politics is agreements,” Orsi said. after voting in the city of Canelones. At lunch time, the candidate met with another former mayor of Canelones, the Frente Amplista Marcos Carámbula. He, one of his political references, highlighted the candidate’s “capacity for dialogue and agreements.”
Before the October elections, Orsi had announced to Gabriel Oddone as his Minister of Economy if he reaches the government. And some statements by the designated Secretary of State put him in an uncomfortable situation. One of his comments was to avoid saying that the left would not increase taxes if it came to government. This discussion was settled, in part, by the candidate during the presidential debate. There he flatly ruled out an increase in taxes in his next government.
For the government that begins next March 1, Bears will propel install a system against drug trafficking, incorporate 2,000 new police officers and adapt taxes to the new global tax context. In addition, his administration will promote social dialogue to establish a new social security reform, which will seek to restore the retirement age to 60 years (the government of Luis Lacalle Pou raised it to 65).
During Sunday’s session, both Lacalle Pou and Orsi spoke about the transition. The president said that he hopes to start it as soon as possible and, after voting, he said that he would invite whoever was elected to a meeting at the 9th hour in the Executive Tower. “Naturally decisions will have to be shared,” he said.
Lacalle Pou also made public the invitation to the next president to the summit of the Mercosur which will take place on December 6 in Montevideo.
