Uruguayans will cast votes for the country’s next president, as well as lawmakers, next month In the presidential race, Yamandú Orsi of the leftist Broad Front coalition, is leading polls.

Uruguayans will go to the polls on Oct. 27 to select the country’s next president and vice president, as well as members of the country’s legislature. Polls show that opposition candidate Yamandú Orsi, a former mayor of Canelones and a member of the leftist Broad Front coalition, is in the lead, followed by Álvaro Delgado of the center-right National Party. Running in third place is media personality Andrés Ojeda, of the Colorado Party. What are the main issues that are important to Uruguayans in the upcoming elections? What plans are the leading candidates setting forth to address these issues? What events in the upcoming weeks might have the most impact on the election’s results?

Michael Shifter, senior fellow and former president of the Inter-American Dialogue: “Although some have commented that Uruguay has lost a bit of its luster in recent years due to spreading crime and corruption scandals, the country is still in better shape than other regional countries on critical aspects such as consensual, democratic politics and sound, macroeconomic management. Despite policy differences among the three leading candidates in the upcoming election, Uruguayans are not facing the stark choices that, say, Argentines and Mexicans faced in their recent elections. Uruguay is still characterized by political comity and policy continuity, with some changes on the margins. Polls show that insecurity is the leading issue in this election (there is a popular referendum that would permit nighttime police raids at homes). Uruguay is not immune from the penetration of transnational criminal organizations that have bedeviled many other Latin American countries. On this crucial question, Delgado, who favors use of the security forces, might have an edge over Orsi, whose approach to tackling the crime challenge emphasizes social policies. Delgado (with Ojeda’s support in an almost certain second round on Nov. 24) would try to build on the accomplishments of the popular outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou, whose management of the Covid crisis got high marks from most Uruguayans. One key difference between the two leading candidates is whether to undo the important social security reform (raising the retirement age) attained under the current administration, which will be tested in a second referendum. On the Venezuela crisis, Delgado is expected to be as forceful as Lacalle Pou, whereas Orsi will likely be more ambivalent, reflecting sharp political differences in his leftist coalition.”

Debbie Sharnak, assistant professor in the department of history at Rowan University: “So far, the Uruguayan election has gone under the international radar. However, in Uruguay, issues such as security and drug trafficking, poverty and unemployment, and the country’s commitment to social security, are animating debates. The Frente Amplio’s Orsi has been defining his campaign platform as a ‘humanist project’ that ‘aims to fight inequality,’ and proposals to fight child poverty have been a centerpiece of his campaign. Yet, he also proposes measures to fight organized crime such as developing a Comprehensive System to Fight Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking and creating a Special Task Force for highly dedicated criminal investigation. Nacional’s Delgado has proposed similar task force ideas to combat organized crime modeled on Italy, but his economic programs rests on reducing public employees (he says by 15,000) while creating new jobs (at least 60,000) through seeking trade liberalization with China and others. Yet, two referendums will be voted on simultaneously and are also a huge part of the political discussion. One has been spearheaded by the national umbrella trade union, the PIT-CNT, and deals with social security reforms including the elimination of private pension fund administrators, lowering the retirement age to 60 (after it was raised to 65 last year) and aligning minimum pensions with the national minimum wage. Delgado strongly opposes it. The other plebiscite would allow nighttime police raids. This appears to be a popular idea to combat drug trafficking but remains a controversial issue 40 years after the conclusion of the country’s dictatorship.”

Ignacio Bartesaghi, director of the International Business Institute at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay: “Although we are very close to the elections on Oct. 27, the electoral campaign has been characterized by a shallow debate. The candidates, who have just formally presented their government programs, have discussed in a somewhat superficial way the central issues of the country. In short, the polarization between the coalition currently in government and the opposition (Frente Amplio) has increased in recent months, and exchanges are limited to political messages, rather than substantive debate on proposals. The few debates that are taking place are on issues such as public security, social security reform (already implemented by this government, but subject to a plebiscite in the next elections led by the workers’ union closely linked to the left) and education. To a lesser extent, there is debate about state reform, economic policy and the political crisis in Venezuela, which has also been part of the electoral campaign due to the difficulty that part of the Uruguayan left shows when condemning the Maduro regime. Looking ahead to the first round, the candidates will continue to focus more on messages and gestures than on a serious debate regarding the proposals. So between now and October, no important milestones are expected beyond some political moves linked to new actors who have either joined or returned to politics.”

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