Uruguay swears in conservative leader

The 15 years’ left-wing leadership under the Broad Front coalition has ended in Uruguay as the country ushered in a conservative government.

The centre-right National Party’s Luis Lacalle Pou was inaugurated on Sunday 1st March, 2020 after defeating the Broad Front’s Daniel Martinez in an election.

According to analysts, the frightening economic situation and other crises confronting the country are responsible for Uruguayans’ swerve to the right.

Standards of living and crime rates are terribly high and many voters leveraged their electoral power to seek solutions to the deficit .

“They believed tougher measures were in order to stop gang and drug-related crimes from spreading,” said political analyst Oscar Bottinelli.

Uruguay has also become one of the most expensive countries in Latin America to live.

“Uruguayans pay 30 percent more for a litre of gasoline, then Argentines, Brazilians and Chileans,” said economist Ignacio Munyo.

Pou, a 46-year old lawyer and son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle (1990-1995), has the support of five centre-right parties, including his National Party, as well as a majority in Congress.

His coalition wants to cut government spending and liberalise the energy sector, in order to tackle the country’s fiscal deficit.

Last year, the deficit increased to 4.8 percent of the gross domestic product, making it the highest deficit in 30 years.

“Pou plans to make most changes during his first year as president and has included them all in a 400-article bill,” said political analyst Daniel Chasquetti.

But his proposals, without angering trade unions, middle-class Uruguayans and the opposition, may prove to be an uphill battle.

“Uruguayans are very divided,” said Ximena Abitante, a teacher in Montevideo.

“Almost half of the country still supports the Broad Front,” he added.