Uruguayan presidential election: the vote promises to be tight

Uruguayans elect their next president on Sunday in an open vote that could mark a return to power for the left-wing emblematic former president José Mujica or the continuity of the center-right coalition after five years in power.

Former history teacher Yamandu Orsi, from the left-wing Frente Amplio coalition, is up against a former veterinarian, Alvaro Delgado, from the same right-wing National Party as Mr. Lacalle Pou, a member of the coalition in power since 2020.

Mr. Orsi finished well ahead in the first round on October 27 with 43.9% of the vote, ahead of Mr. Delgado (26.8%), who nevertheless has the reserve of votes of Andres Ojeda, from the Colorado party (center-right), who came in third (16%).

Three polling institutes give Mr. Orsi the win, but closely followed by Mr. Delgado with whom the gap was narrowing in the last days before the vote, while 5 to 8% of those questioned said they were still undecided.

The vote is expected to be tight, as in 2019, when Mr. Lacalle Pou won with some 30,000 votes out of 2.5 million registered voters.

“If I win, I intend to invite candidate Orsi to have a mate tomorrow,” Delgado said, referring to the traditional South American infusion that is popular in Uruguay.

Orsi argued that he had the “governing capacity” needed to promote “the transformations that the country needs.” “We all agree on the need to make agreements,” he said after voting.

Whoever wins, there is no sign of a change in direction. Orsi has promised “a safe change that will not be radical” and Delgado has vowed to continue on the current path.

Both candidates have stressed the need to boost growth and reduce the budget deficit. They pledged not to increase tax pressure and promised to combat the growing drug-related crime.

Mr. Orsi wants to develop regional trade, while Mr. Delgado leans toward multilateral agreements.

“Today, we are voting for two different projects,” said the outgoing president, Mr. Lacalle Pou, after voting in the town of Canelones, 50 km north of Montevideo.

While Uruguay has a high per capita income, as well as lower levels of poverty and inequality compared to the rest of South America, employment and security have been placed at the center of the concerns of the 3.4 million inhabitants of the country with 12 million head of cattle.

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Ballots of candidates for the second round of the presidential election at a polling station in Montevideo, on November 24, 2024 in Uruguay © AFP – Santiago Mazzarovich

“For workers, the last five years have not been good at all. I'm on the street all day, and what worries me most is the insecurity,” Gustavo Maya, a 34-year-old gas canister salesman and Orsi voter, told AFP. “I see a lot of theft, more and more homicides, and few police officers,” he said.

For William Leal, a 38-year-old stonemason and Delgado supporter, the center-right is the best choice on the issue of jobs. “I want this government to stay because in the construction sector there was much more work than under previous governments,” he told AFP.

– Young and undecided, the key –

The left has bet on its tutelary figure, José “Pepe” Mujica, the former president (2010-2015) and ex-guerrilla tortured and imprisoned under the dictatorship (1973-1985), to return to power after the Tabaré Vasquez years (2005-2010, then 2015-2020) which had put an end to the hegemony of the right and the center-right.

Former President José “Pepe” Mujica after voting in the second round of the presidential election, November 24, 2024 in Montevideo, Uruguay © AFP – Santiago Mazzarovich

Despite his 89 years, his battle with cancer and difficulty getting around, Mr. Mujica has made numerous appearances and meetings to attract the vote of young and undecided people who seem to hold the key of the vote.

Luis Lacalle Pou, who in 2020 took over the paternal torch from Luis Alberto Lacalle, president from 1990 to 1995, cannot run again despite a popularity rating of 50%, because the Constitution prohibits running for a second consecutive term.

He promised an “orderly” transition in the most stable country in Latin America, with parties with a long history, clear identities despite their unions in coalitions and whose membership is transmitted within families.

Concurrent general elections in the first round saw the Frente Amplio win 16 of the 30 seats in the Senate and 48 of the 99 seats in the House of Representatives. deputies.

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