In Uruguay, Yamandu Orsi elected president, the left returns to power – Libération

The left returns to power in Montevideo. Opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi won the presidential election in Uruguay on Sunday, November 25. According to the final official results, the candidate of the left-wing coalition Frente Amplio won with 49.8% of the votes against 45.9% for his center-right opponent Alvaro Delgado, man of outgoing president Luis Lacalle Pou, in power since 2020. Horns and cries of joy resonated in the capital, stronghold of the Frente Amplio, and thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the victory of Yamadu Orsi.

“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,” promised the president-elect. Alvaro Delgado, a former vet from the right-wing National Party, quickly conceded defeat, saying “greet” Yamadu Orsi on behalf of “all the actors of the (governmental) coalition” who supported him.

The election of Yamandu Orsi, who will take office on March 1, marks the return of the left to power after a previous fifteen-year sequence under Tabaré Vazquez (2005-2010 and 2015-2020) and José “Pepe” Mujica (2010 -2015). At 89 years old and despite declining health, the latter spared no effort to put his great popularity at the service of Orsi, a 57-year-old former history professor who, like him, came from a modest rural background. .

A “change” that will not be “radical”

In this country of 3.4 million inhabitants wedged between Argentina and Brazil and considered a haven of peace and stability in South America, Yamandu Orsi, a moderate leftist, assured that his victory augured a “change” who will not “not radical”. During the campaign, Orsi and Delgado insisted on boosting 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. Yamandu Orsi also wishes to develop exchanges on a regional scale.

“I would like to congratulate […] President-elect Yamandu Orsi, Frente Amplio and my friend Pepe Mujica”, the president of neighboring Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “It’s a victory for all of Latin America and the Caribbean”he noted. Other Latin American leaders welcomed Yamandu Orsi's victory, such as the ultraliberal Argentinian Javier Milei who a message from the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulating the president-elect.

Outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou was unable to run again despite a popularity rating of 50%, because the Constitution prohibits running for a second consecutive term. He promised a transition “ordered”. On October 27, concurrent first-round parliamentary elections saw the Frente Amplio win 16 of the 30 seats in the Senate and 48 of the 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. During his campaign, Yamadu Orsi stressed that this result offered his camp the conditions to “carry out the transformations that the country needs”.