Political violence marred Mexico’s elections this 12 months. And in Venezuela’s presidential race, protests accompanied a contested result and widespread allegations of electoral fraud.
However in Uruguay on Sunday, a way more muted presidential election unfolded.
Positioned on the southern Atlantic coast, north of Argentina, Uruguay was one in all a number of Latin American nations holding high-stakes presidential elections this 12 months.
And in contrast to a few of its counterparts, critics say Uruguay serves as a mannequin for democratic stability within the area.
Sunday’s election was a run-off, pitting the highest two presidential contenders from the October 27 common election in opposition to each other.
The early favorite was Yamandu Orsi, the candidate for the left-wing Broad Entrance coalition. Within the October vote, he notched 44 % assist — properly in need of the 50 % wanted to keep away from a run-off.
Coming in second place on October 27 was Alvaro Delgado of the ruling Nationwide Occasion, a conservative group.
Whereas he solely obtained 27 % of the vote within the first spherical, he’s more likely to profit from the 20 % of voters who solid their poll for the third-place candidate, fellow conservative Andres Ojeda of the Colorado Occasion.
Each Orsi and Delgado superior to Sunday’s run-off with sturdy assist, making the end result a nail-biter.
Orsi, a 57-year-old historical past trainer, has the assist of former President Jose Mujica, a former leftist insurgent fighter who survived torture beneath Uruguay’s navy dictatorship within the Seventies and ’80s.
Mujica has since change into a beloved determine on the left: He was dubbed the “world’s poorest president” throughout his time in workplace, from 2010 to 2015, for his humble life-style.
Orsi’s Broad Entrance coalition was in energy till the 2019 election, which noticed the rise of the conservative Nationwide Occasion. It was the primary conservative victory in nearly 15 years.
However outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou is prevented by regulation from looking for a second consecutive time period. Operating as an alternative for his occasion is the 55-year-old Delgado, a former veterinarian.
Each Delgado and Orsi have emphasised strengthening Uruguay’s financial system.
Orsi, who campaigned with the slogan “We all know methods to obtain”, has emphasised measures to lift wages for low-income staff. Delgado, in the meantime, has targeted on streamlining Uruguay’s paperwork and forging commerce offers with companions like China.
Each males have pledged to respect the outcomes of the election and work collectively, irrespective of the end result.
“We should worth what we have now: democratic coexistence,” mentioned the top of the Broad Entrance coalition, Fernando Pereira.
In the meantime, Ojeda — the third-place candidate knocked out within the first spherical of voting — remarked to native media in regards to the calm accompanying Uruguay’s election.
“If I had introduced a foreigner right here and I didn’t inform him that there was an election, he wouldn’t have seen,” Ojeda mentioned.
