Progressive Broad Front Wins Presidential Elections in Uruguay (+Venezuela’s Reaction)
Orinoco Tribune, November 25,2024 ─
On Sunday, November 24, Uruguay elected Yamandú Ramón Orsi Martínez as its new president. The victory brings the return of the progressive Frente Amplio (Broad Front) party to the presidency following its loss in 2020 after governing for 15 years.
Yamandú Orsi won in the second round of the elections with 1,196,798 votes (49.84%) over Álvaro Delgado, who obtained 1,101,296 (45.87%). The Broad Front’s president-elect will take office on March 1, 2025, replacing far-right President Luis Lacalle Pou.
The Broad Front candidate entered election day with a narrow lead, although several pollsters declared a “technical tie.” It ended a long but calm electoral campaign that included the party primaries on June 30 and the presidential and parliamentary elections on October 27.
In October, the Broad Front won a majority in the Senate and 48 of the 99 seats in the House of Representatives. This indicates the need to negotiate to pass laws in the lower house where the Broad Front needs two additional seats to reach the single majority.
The vice president-elect, Carolina Cosse, was the first to speak to celebrate the victory in front of the NH Columbia Hotel. She began singing “Tabaré, Tabaré” in memory of former president Tabaré Vázquez, “My heart is bursting out. You have our hearts,” she said joyfully. Cosse greeted the Uruguayans who did not vote for her party and said: “Today begins the path to the future of Uruguay, the path to hope.”
In his first speech, Orsi stated that he will “be the president who calls for national dialogue time and time again to find the best solutions. Of course, with our proposals, but also listening carefully to what others tell us.”
Who is Yamandú Orsi?
The new Uruguayan president was born on June 13, 1967, in the rural town of Santa Rosa. At age five, he moved to the regional capital of Canelones because his father became ill and could not continue working in the fields as a grape picker and seller.
Although politics were not discussed at home during the Uruguayan dictatorship, Orsi was drawn to figures such as Ernesto “Che” Guevara and became interested in them, which annoyed his parents.
He began to be politically active on the left and, in 1989, joined the Popular Participation Movement (MPP) founded by former president José “Pepe” Mujica.
In 2015, he was elected to succeed Marcos Carámbula as mayor of the Canelones municipality, a position he held from 2015 onwards. In the 2024 Broad Front internal elections, he was chosen as the party’s presidential candidate and resigned as mayor in March 2024.
In September of this year, Orsi commented on Venezuela: “The situation in Venezuela is indefensible… there is a very authoritarian regime… I believe there is a very authoritarian regime, and they fall into the categories that we usually describe as dictatorship,” he said.
For several decades, the Uruguayan Broad Front was a reference of the anti-imperialist left in Latin America. However, in recent years, its positions have tended to mimic those of the left in the North, supporting imperialism, foreign intervention, and the destruction of the labor movement’s achievements.
Venezuela’s reaction
Despite Orsi’s comments against Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro’s government issued a statement greeting the people of Uruguay following the celebration of the Broad Front victory.
In the statement published Monday, November 25, by Foreign Minister Yván Gil on Telegram, President Maduro extended his greetings and best wishes to President-elect Yamandú Orsi and Vice President-elect Carolina Cosse.
He also congratulated the Broad Front members for their victory over the neoliberal right in Uruguay.
Below is the full unofficial translation of the statement:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela salutes the electoral day in the Eastern Republic of Uruguay
On behalf of his people and government, the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, congratulates the Uruguayan people for the electoral day this Sunday, November 24, 2024, in the second round of the presidential elections.
The Bolivarian government wishes President-elect Yamandú Orsi and Vice President-elect Carolina Cosse its best wishes for this new phase in Uruguay, also acknowledging the militancy of the Broad Front who have achieved this important victory over the neoliberal right in the country.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses its willingness to advance a constructive agenda of respect, dialogue, and communication to advance South American unity.”
Similarly, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro sent a message of congratulations to the Uruguayan people:
“I congratulate the Uruguayan people for the election held on November 24, where they elected Yamandú Orsí, to whom I wish and predict the greatest success,” reads a post published by President Maduro on Instagram.
He also expressed his hope that Venezuela and Uruguay will maintain a relationship of respect and cooperation. “Let us move towards building a respectful and positive relationship of cooperation and shared support between our countries,” Maduro added in a gesture that analysts label constructive.