Uruguayans vote in presidential primaries with center-left opposition gaining ground

Uruguayans voted Sunday in primary elections that will determine the candidates for the presidential vote in October, in a day in which the center-left opposition is expected to gain ground amid concerns about inequality and public safety.

Polls reflect a cooling toward President Luis Lacalle Pou’s center-right coalition, despite his successful stewardship of the agricultural country of 3.4 million people through the COVID-19 pandemic and economic hardship following the war in Ukraine.

However, Lacalle Pou, 50, has struggled to fulfill his promise to win the fight against drug trafficking, which is damaging Uruguay’s reputation as a beacon of stability in turbulent South America.

The perception of a retreat in welfare state policies and growing corruption has also damaged his party.

This has allowed the centre-left Frente Amplio coalition, which governed between 2004 and 2015, to take an advantage over the main centre-right parties, according to the latest polls.

Opinion consultancy Cifra put support for the Frente Amplio at 47% in May, some 15 percentage points ahead of Lacalle Pou’s Partido Nacional, the largest force within the governing coalition, which as the broader conservative bloc combined holds about 43% of the vote.

About 10% of the population remains undecided, suggesting that the October election will be close.

Whoever then wins in the general elections on October 27, or more likely in a runoff in November, will have to confront high homicide rates, improve the social safety net, balance trade with the most important partner, China, and maintain an economy that is expected to grow 4% this year.

Lacalle Pou remains popular, but his cabinet has been tarnished by accusations of political espionage and corruption. He cannot stand for immediate re-election.

Lacalle Pou narrowly won the 2019 election by forging a “multicolored coalition” that includes the centrist Colorado Party. Álvaro Delgado, President Lacalle Pou’s candidate, intends to replicate this formula.

Delgado presents himself as the candidate of continuity, having served as Lacalle Pou’s chief of staff, and is the overwhelming favorite to obtain the presidential candidacy of the ruling National Party.

Several Colorado Party candidates have said they would unite behind the National Party candidate to prevent the center-left from returning to power.

The closest competition is within the Frente Amplio. Yamandú Orsi, mayor of Uruguay’s second-largest region and a teaching background, is expected to defeat Carolina Cosse, mayor of the capital Montevideo, where half of the country’s population lives.

Orsi’s experience and the support of former President Jose Mujica, an icon of the Latin American left, means he is better placed to secure the Front’s presidential nomination, analysts said.

“Uruguay is today a flat, insecure and unequal country,” Orsi told Reuters before the election, promising “a modern left” that would fight against the rates of “greater poverty and greater indigence.”

Polls opened at 8:00 a.m. local time and closed at 7:30 p.m.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and instagram.