Uruguay’s presidential election heads to second round, pension reform defeated, Reuters report
Written by Lucinda Elliott
MONTEVIDEO/TREINTA Y TRES (Reuters) – Early polls after Uruguay’s presidential election on Sunday suggested leftist candidate Yamandu Orsi was ahead of his rival, Alvaro Delgado, who may need a runoff in November to win. – end of headshot.
Uruguay’s race between two centrists bucks the Latin American trend of sharp left-wing divisions, with significant overlap between conservative and liberal grand coalitions weighing on the outcome.
If no presidential candidate receives more than 50% of the vote on Sunday, the second round will be held on Nov. 24.
The nation of about 3.4 million, known for its beaches, legal marijuana and stability, also voted for its vice president and members of parliament.
Votes are also being counted for two referendums – one on pension reforms that will reduce the retirement age by five years to 60 and the other on improving the police’s ability to fight drug-related crime.
Uruguayans appeared to reject the pension reform, two early exit polls showed on Sunday, allaying fears among investors and politicians that it could damage the economy. According to local pollsters Cifra and Equipos Consultores, 61% of eligible voters rejected the proposal, compared to 39% who voted in favor of him.
The security poll also failed, according to Equipos Consultores, receiving less than 40% support.
The vote in the small South American nation saw left-wing Broad Front candidate Orsi, the pre-election favourite, running against progressive challenger Delgado. Behind them was a young person with extensive experience in social media, Andres Ojeda, who was speaking to reporters outside his local gym on election day.
As polling stations closed on Sunday, hundreds of Broad Front supporters in the capital Montevideo, where residents have historically supported the left, gathered on a platform overlooking the city’s waterfront to await the results.
Maria Gonzalez, 61, who voted for Broad Front, said that people are “very needy” and said that the current government has failed to solve problems related to housing, education and health care.
Orsi said the Broad Front came to the election “with more energy,” speaking to reporters Sunday morning at a polling station. “I’m from the neighborhood, I’m from this city and I feel proud to be Uruguayan.”
In Treinta y Tres, a rural region in eastern Uruguay that has traditionally voted, 60-year-old farm worker Ramon Silveira, who voted for Delgado, said: “I want to continue the past five years.”
Although security is an area where the ruling coalition can improve, Silveira hoped that with more time in government, crime rates would decrease.
TYPES
However, a quiet day of voting was overshadowed by tensions between two binding petitions – one to overhaul Uruguay’s $22.5-billion private pension system and lower the retirement age and allow nighttime police raids.
This pension reform proposal has received criticism from politicians in various areas who say it could harm the economy.
Laura Mesa, a 35-year-old chef, favors a lower retirement age. “We work all our lives. Retirement years should be short so we can enjoy them!” he said from a polling station in Treinta y Tres.
But Jesus Collazo, 22, wasn’t so sure. He said: “I agree with other aspects such as lowering the retirement age, but I keep thinking: What are they going to do to get all this private pension money back? Are they going to make us pay tax?”
Uruguayans are also voting on whether to lift constitutional restrictions on nighttime police raids targeting people’s homes as a way to combat drug-related crime, a growing concern among voters. Both referendums require a majority vote.
“We have to take control of our security,” Orsi said at a campaign rally this week, pledging to get tough on crime.
The ruling conservative coalition is struggling to defend its security record, but hopes the economic breakthrough – with both employment and real wages now rising – may be enough to convince voters to choose continuity over reform.
“I am sure that all the work that we have done and that we have to do will go well,” said Delgado when voting opened on Sunday.
