NEED TO KNOW

Where No News Is Good News

URUGUAY

On Oct. 27, Uruguay voters will decide who they want to lead the country. They will also vote on two referendum questions that highlight the challenges the new president will need to address to unify the South American state.

Currently, leftist candidate Yamandú Orsi of the Broad Front appears to have an edge over conservative National Party candidate Álvaro Delgado.

After a primary election in June, Reuters noted that voters have grown tired of the current center-right agenda of incumbent President Luis Lacalle Pou, who can’t run for reelection because of term limits. That’s even though he successfully transitioned the country’s agricultural economy through the coronavirus pandemic, and the global disruptions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Uruguay’s economy is forecast to grow by 4 percent this year. But voters are worried about high homicide rates, a tattered social safety net, and their trade balance with China.

The two referendum questions on the ballot reflect some of these concerns.

As the Americas Society/Council of the Americas explained, the first referendum question would decrease the retirement age from 65 years old to 60. It’s an understandably popular idea, but many people in the Uruguayan political class are concerned that it might put too much pressure on the national budget.

The second ballot question would eliminate constitutional restrictions on nighttime police raids on private homes. Polls showed that many Uruguayans want to give police officers the authority to conduct these raids due to fears of drug traffickers and criminal gangs who have gained power in the country in recent years, reported Prensa Latina.

Drug gangs have been vying for control of the port in the capital Montevideo, driving up murder rates, World Politics Review wrote. Lacalle Pou oversaw a fall in the number of murders from 394 in 2019 to 383 last year, and incidents of theft and violent crime fell from 171,000 to 135,000 in the same time period. But voters want to see more dramatic drops.

On the campaign trail, Orsi has pledged to reduce child poverty and crack down on local organized crime. Delgado, a former chief of staff for Lacalle Pou, has touted his role in dealing with the coronavirus and keeping the economy on the right track.

But Delgado has also had to address concerns about a scandal involving Lacalle Pou’s bodyguard, Alejandro Astesiano, who is now in jail for spying on a labor union president.

The election is going to come down to swing voters, who comprise around 11 percent of the electorate, Merco Press reported.

Regardless of who wins, analysts say this “forgotten general election” is unusual in a region marked by violence, instability and authoritarian governments, underscoring how among such troubled lands Uruguay is a role model.

“Unlike other high-stake elections in the region such as those in Mexico or in Venezuela, the Uruguayan election has received almost no international coverage,” wrote researcher Alejandro Trenchi in the Diplomatic Courier. “But no news is good news. Uruguay’s robust institutions continue to reassure international observers and investors that whoever is elected will maintain the country’s political and economic system.”

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