In the Uruguayan elections, conservatives place their hope in alliances

Álvaro Delgado, a 55-year-old former senator and Uruguay’s ruling conservative coalition candidate for president, is trailing his center-left rival in the polls, but he has one card up his sleeve: a third-place ally.

Delgado, who studied veterinary medicine and until recently was President Luis Lacalle Pou’s chief of staff, will face poll favorite Yamandú Orsi in the first round on Sunday.

The polls place Orsi well ahead, but not an absolute winner, which would mean a second round on November 24.

Third place would be occupied by conservative lawyer Andrés Ojeda, 40, who is gaining ground on the leaders with a vibrant campaign on social networks. He has pledged to support Delgado if he is eliminated from the race.

“That’s what partners always do…no matter what happens on Sunday night, back to back,” Ojeda told Reuters, adding that the Colorado Party was closely aligned with Delgado’s National Party and that they would join if necessary to prevent the center-left Broad Front from returning to power.

Delgado has presented himself as the candidate for continuity and stability. He wants to advance the current government’s objectives in terms of free trade agreements, including one with China, keeping taxes low and deepening the fight against organized crime.

“I want to be the president of certainties and of Uruguay that advances. I want to be president to continue the course that began with our Government,” Delgado told Reuters this week while campaigning in the interior of the country.

“What has been done by this Government allows us to dream bigger and be more ambitious so that Uruguay takes a leap and becomes the most developed country in Latin America,” he added.

Delgado proposes more video surveillance and a greater police force to reinforce security, one of the main concerns of voters. He must also confront accusations of corruption that have undermined the government’s popularity, despite a robust economy that is helping it.

The new replaces the old

Former head of the Uruguayan Central Bank Diego Labat, probable Minister of Economy if Delgado wins, said that the candidate had a lot of experience, great “negotiation capacity” and could establish relations between all political sectors.

“He has been behind all the big decisions during this government,” Labat told Reuters.

Political experts described Delgado as a “detail-oriented” and highlighted his track record in government. Voters cited his firmness, although they added that the party had not attracted voters in the same way that Lacalle Pou did in 2019.

In fact, Delgado has seen his percentage of support fall in polls in recent months, while Ojeda, considered the “new face” of Uruguayan politics, gained ground with policies on mental health, crime and child poverty.

Ojeda’s strength should work in Delgado’s favor if, as expected, he faces Orsi in a second round. But it could also backfire if Ojeda’s numbers continue to rise and leave him out of the second round.

“Our thinking is similar to the proposals of the National Party,” said Ojeda, who downplayed the left-right division, which is much less acute in Uruguay compared to many neighboring countries.

“I am the candidate who is in line with the new leadership of the region, which in fact, is not being from the left or the right,” he said. “Rather, it is about the new replacing the old.”

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