{"id":280821,"date":"2024-10-25T12:38:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T04:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=280821"},"modified":"2024-10-25T12:38:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T04:38:22","slug":"uruguay-presidential-elections-teacher-vet-lawyer-vie-for-presidency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=280821","title":{"rendered":"Uruguay presidential elections: Teacher, vet, lawyer vie for presidency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MONTEVIDEO, Oct 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Voters in Latin America’s most stable democracy, Uruguay, go to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election pitting a left-wing history teacher against a conservative veterinarian and a
bodybuilding lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polls show security topping the concerns of voters in the tiny country of 3.4 million people, wedged between Brazil and Argentina and facing an increase in drug-related violence in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the number of reported robberies and incidents of cattle-rustling — Uruguay has more cattle than people — have fallen sharply under outgoing center-right President Luis Lacalle Pou, the murder rate remains high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pension system is also a key theme in the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day as the presidential election, Uruguayans are called on to vote on a controversial proposal from the PIT-CNT union to lower the minimum retirement age from 65 to 60 and to ban private pension schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts have warned that the proposal, which PIT-CNT says would cost $460 million a year but detractors estimate at more than twice that, could further damage the finances of a country still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic
and a record drought in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fiscal deficit stood at 4.4 percent of GDP in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three main presidential candidates have all said they will reject the plebiscite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacalle Pou is barred by the constitution from seeking a second consecutive five-year term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polls show history professor Yamandu Orsi, 57, from the center-left Frente Amplio (Broad Front) of cult former president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, leading the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They show Alvaro Delgado, a 55-year-old conservative veterinarian from Lacalle Pou’s National Party in second and telegenic lawyer Andres Ojada, 40, of the Colorado Party in third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, as expected, no candidate wins Sunday’s vote outright, the top two contenders will go into a runoff round on Nov 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orsi is a protege of the famously humble Mujica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was born in the countryside in a house with no electricity and campaigned as a man of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delgado has sought to woo rural voters by saying he is happier on horseback than in one of Uruguay’s ritzy beach resorts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he was mocked as a “caveman” on social media during the campaign for calling his running mate, former trade unionist Valeria Ripoll, a “hottie”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He later apologized, calling the remark a “mistake.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ojeda, a TV legal pundit and bodybuilding fanatic who compares himself to Argentina’s libertarian President Milei, caused a stir by recording a campaign ad in the gym, where he flaunted his toned physique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election has generated little excitement in Uruguay, which is one of the richest countries per-capita in Latin America and one of the most liberal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the campaigning for the presidential and concomitant parliamentary elections has taken place on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uruguay gained a reputation as a liberal mold-breaker under successive left-wing governments between 2005 and 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country legalized abortion and same-sex marriage and became the world’s first nation to allow recreational cannabis use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also blazed a trail in the greening of its economy, with over 90 percent of its electricity coming from renewable sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But high levels of violent crime in recent years have been a concern for voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second plebiscite held Sunday will ask whether the police should be allowed to carry out nighttime raids on homes in order to crack down on drug trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voters are expected to reject the measure. — NNN-AGENCIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MONTEVIDEO, Oct 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Voters in Latin America’s most stable democracy, Uruguay, go to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election pitting a left-wing history teacher against a conservative veterinarian and abodybuilding lawyer. Polls show security topping the concerns of voters in the tiny country of 3.4 million people, wedged between Brazil and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":280824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[208],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280821"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=280821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280825,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280821\/revisions\/280825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/280824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=280821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=280821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=280821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}