End of an Era
Photograph of Uruguayan President-elect Luis Lacalle Pou. Photo courtesy of the European Pressphoto Agency.
On 24 Nov., Uruguay finalised its Presidential contest, in which opposition candidate, Luis Lacalle Pou, toppled the long-standing liberal government.
Mr Lacalle Pou narrowly defeated liberal candidate Daniel Martínez, from the Broad Front coalition, which has been in power for 15 years. Mr Pou's victory was extremely close, being determined by just 30,000 votes, according to the Financial Times.
The liberal coalition brought numerous reforms to Uruguay, including the legalisation of same-sex marriage and cannabis.
While he does intend to act tougher on crime and cut public spending, Mr Lacalle Pou has stated that he does not intend to undo most of the Broad Front's reforms, as reported by The Economist.
The power change in Uruguay is in stark contrast to the events in other Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, both of which are facing economic recession. Mr Lacalle Pou plans to manage government services, but not to cut them.
Mr Lacalle Pou stated, 'the welfare state is part of the DNA of this country—safe with us', putting many liberal voters, who feared he would act as a puppet of the right-wing, at ease.
The National Party is much more business-friendly than the previous administration. However, Uruguay has long been a bastion of social and economic stability in Latin America, so radical changes are not expected from the new president.
A large part of Mr Lacalle Pou's campaign was based around crime prevention, the top issue in this election. However, Mr Lacalle Pou also tapped into concerns about rising tax rates, national insecurity, and agriculture, according to Al Jazeera.
The Uruguay election comes during a period of activity in Mercosur, a South American trading bloc that Uraguay is a member of. The bloc recently announced a trade agreement with the European Union, that is being threatened by regional infighting and tensions over the Amazon Rainforest and the politics of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonoro.
Mr Lacalle Pou warned the international community of these growing tensions, saying 'the tensions are clear' and that he hoped 'pragmatism would prevail over ideology', as reported by Reuters.
While political tensions during the race were hight, Uruguay has not seen mass-protests since the results were announced. The political and social atmosphere of the nation has remained relatively stable, especially because Mr Lacalle Pou has remained to temperate in his speeches.
Many voters and politicians still fear that right-wing parties will take over Uruguayan politics. However, it seems that while the 15-year liberal dynasty has been toppled, Uruguay will remain the symbol for Latin American stability.
Sources:
Mander, Benedict. "Conservatives bring to an end 15 years of leftist rule in Uruguay". FT, Financial Times, 28 Nov. 2019,
https://www.ft.com/content/5280daf0-1209-11ea-a225-db2f231cfeae
"Power shifts in Uruguay, without much fuss". The Economist, The Economist Group, 29 Nov. 2019,
https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2019/11/29/power-shifts-in-uruguay-without-much-fuss
"Centre-right National Party candidate wins Uruguay election". Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera Media Network, 28 Nov. 2019,
Werner, Fabian. "Uruguay President-elect warns of tensions in Mercosur trade bloc". Reuters, Thomas Reuters Corporation, 02 Dec. 2019,