Uruguay moves back to the left. Yamandu Orsi, leader of the opposition coalition Frente Amplio (“Broad Front”), was declared winner of the second round of the presidential election held on Sunday, November 24, ahead of the candidate of the National Party (center right), Alvaro Delgado, whose government coalition has ruled the country since 2020.
According to the official results communicated by the Electoral Court, on 94.4% of the ballots counted, Mr. Orsi obtained 51.88% of the votes (1,123,420 votes) against 48.12% (1,042,001 votes) for Mr. Delgado. Nearly 90% of voters went to the polls in this country of 3.4 million inhabitants, where voting is compulsory.
“I will be the president who calls again and again for national dialogue to find the best solutions, of course by following our vision, but also by listening very carefully to what others tell us”reacted Yamadu Orsi during a speech to his supporters. “We must understand that there is another part of our country which today has different feelingshe added. These people will also have to contribute to building a better country, we need them too. »
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“Today, the Uruguayan people have chosen who will occupy the presidency of the Republic”recognized, for his part, Alvaro Delgado, saying ” greet “ Mr. Orsi on behalf of “all the actors of the coalition [gouvernementale] » who supported him in the second round. Alvaro Delgado served as secretary of the presidency, before launching a campaign whose slogan was “Re-elect a good government”.
An entry into office on the 1stis mars 2025
Yamandu Orsi, 57, a former history teacher from a working-class background, will take office on 1is March 2025, when he will succeed Luis Lacalle Pou, of the National Party, who, according to the Constitution, could not run for a second consecutive term. When he was elected in 2019, he ended fifteen consecutive years of rule by Frente Amplio.
“I called Yamandu Orsi to congratulate him as the elected president of our country,” wrote the outgoing president, on the social network “would put himself at his service and begin the transition as soon as[il le jugera] timely”.
Yamandu Orsi finished well in the lead in the first round on October 27 with 43.9% of the votes, ahead of Mr. Delgado (26.8%), including the reservoir of votes from Andres Ojeda, of the Colorado party (center right) who arrived in third position (16%), was not enough to win.
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No “radical” change
Mr. Orsi's victory, however, does not augur any sign of a change of direction, the president-elect having promised, when he was still a candidate, “a sure change that will not be radical”. During the campaign, MM. Orsi and Delgado insisted on reviving growth and reducing the budget deficit. They pledged not to increase the tax burden and promised to fight against increasing crime linked to drug trafficking. Mr. Orsi also wants to develop exchanges on a regional scale, while Mr. Delgado leaned towards multilateral agreements.
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The left had relied 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 Vazquez years ( 2005-2010, then 2015-2020) which put an end to the hegemony of the right and center right. Despite his 89 years, his fight against cancer and difficulty getting around, Mr. Mujica increased his appearances and meetings to attract the vote of young and undecided people who seemed to hold the key to the election.
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“I would like to congratulate (…) President-elect Yamandu Orsi, Frente Amplio and my friend Pepe Mujica for their victory in today’s elections”reacted, on X, the president of neighboring Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “This is a victory for all of Latin America and the Caribbean”he noted.
Concurrent general elections on 1is round saw the Frente Amplio win sixteen of the thirty seats in the Senate and 48 of the 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
