Ballot in Uruguay: What do the candidates propose?

Some 2.7 million Uruguayans go to the polls this Sunday to decide their future president in the second electoral round. The candidates are Yamandú Orsi, from the Broad Progressive Front; and Álvaro Delgado, from the National Party, a political force to which the current president, Luis Lacalle Pou, belongs.

In the first round, held on Sunday, October 27, Orsi was the most voted with 43.85%, but he did not reach the required absolute majority (50%+1 of the votes), so a ballotage was necessary, in which he faces a coalition formed by the other parties, with the ruling party Delgado as a reference, who in the first round obtained 26.82%.

What do the candidates propose?

In the case of Yamandú Orsitheir 48 government proposals They are based on three main axes: economy, social protection and public security.

The presidential candidate for the Frente Amplio in Uruguay reflects his focus on the care of life in proposals for inclusion, social justice and human rights. Proposes financial subsidies for initial and primary education; and increase the amount of food cards and vouchers for low-income families.

It also proposes the creation of the First Home Plan, which seeks to facilitate access to mortgage credit; the implementation of collective housing for older adults; and simplification of procedures for housing cooperatives.

The Frente Amplio has historically expressed itself in favor of gender policies, such as the equal marriage law and the decriminalization of abortion. In his particular case, Orsi has a more general discourse, focused on inclusion and social justice. Another of the points strongly raised in its platform is the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking.

Alvaro Delgadofor its part, presents proposals linked to social policies, with a general approach oriented towards social and economic development.

Regarding the family and a decent life, the National Party candidate proposes strengthening health, education and housing policies. It also promotes inclusion and support for families most in need.

One of the concerns that the candidate exposes in his government program is the fact that “the Uruguayan population is shrinking and aging.” Given the decrease in the number of births – in 2023 a total of 31,381 were registered – it proposes “the protection of motherhood” through initiatives aimed at promoting the rights, health, and economic security of women and of their families.

Also on its government horizon is the promotion of “gender equality”, understood as “that women and men are in equal conditions to

fully exercise their potential in all aspects of life.”

Abortion and euthanasia

The decriminalization of abortion in Uruguay was approved in 2012, the third country in Latin America to adopt a measure of this type.

Since then, the number of abortions in the country has increased, except in 2019 and 2020, when a decrease was recorded. In 2023, the highest number was recorded (10,898 abortions), and in the decade 2013-2023, 106,000 cases accumulated, according to The Country. Neither of the two presidential candidates has commented specifically on the issue.

In the case of euthanasia, after the project was approved in the Chamber of Deputies in 2023, its treatment was stopped in July 2024 in the Senate, since the ruling party voted against a motion by the Frente Amplio that intended to discuss it in the Chamber with a “serious and urgent” nature.

Orsi was surprised about it: “I thought this was going to come out, but I don’t want to speak without being informed,” he told Telenight Uruguay.

The link of the candidates with the Catholic Church

Uruguay has been a secular country since the Constitution of 1918, which states that as a nation it does not profess any religion. Christmas and Easter are not officially celebrated there. According to the latest report of the Latinobarómetro Corporation 2023, within the region, Uruguay is the country with the lowest percentage of Catholics (36.5% in 2023) and the least religious (47.2% do not profess any religion).

Regarding the religious affiliation of each of the candidates, Yamandú Orsi was raised Catholic but today declares himself an agnostic. In one interview With the Argentine journalist Alejandro Fantino he said: “I am very respectful, the truth is, I have learned to greatly value, over time, the weight and value that belief or the world of religion has,” he said.

“I am one of those who think that there is something… I was an altar boy, I remember the prayers, all of them. I was going with my old lady. I have a lot, not only respect, but over time you come to appreciate that there is a part of the human being that from politics or philosophy (…) we have not known how to dimension.”

On the other side, Delgado has admitted to going “to mass from time to time. He was more assiduous before. Sometimes, I go with the family on Sundays. I also pray alone before going to sleep. It is more of a personal bond, one of gratitude than of asking,” the portal states. Search.

In recent months, the candidates had dialogues with the local Church through the Archbishop of Montevideo and Primate of Uruguay, Cardinal Daniel Sturla.

After the meeting with the cardinal, Alvaro Delgado highlighted the “vocation of service to the community” that the Catholic Church has, “beyond faith, the Christian and Catholic vocation,” pointing out the work in the educational and social areas, with mothers in vulnerable situations and people deprived of freedom.

“I believe that the State in many places has to be present, not necessarily executing: many times it has to outsource and especially in institutions that have a lot of experience, a lot of vocation, and that – in addition to commitment and expertise – put something into it. that is non-transferable, that is love,” he expressed.

In this regard, Cardinal Sturla shared: “The problems are common, and what we also raised is how the Church is a good partner of the State, in the sense that in so many aspects the Church develops a fundamental task: in the educational issue, in the social issue, in the issue of caring for the most vulnerable people, very positive experiences in addictions… then you can see how we really collaborate and can collaborate even more”

At your turn, Yamandú Orsi He stated that from their space they share “100% the central concerns of the Church” because they are “an essential part of the life of Uruguay.” The Catholic Church, he noted, “is in the same neighborhoods where our people move.”

“Childhood, addictions, rehabilitation, the situation of mothers who are heads of household,” he listed, “are the same concerns,” he said, raising “the need for real articulation” within the framework of a society that “tends to fragment” and produces “the distance between the State and some central actors.”

Cardinal Sturla pointed out that from the Church they brought to the candidates “the proposals of situations that concern us Uruguayans and that concern the Church in the educational issue, in the issue of addictions, prison pastoral care, the issue of family, life , the defense of life and women, vulnerable women”, and valued the service of politics as an instrument for the common good.