With 49.8% of the votes, Yamandú Orsi defeats Álvaro Delgado and marks the return of the Frente Amplio to power after three years of conservative government
Uruguayan left-wing opposition candidate Yamandú Orsi of the Frente Amplio declared victory in the second round of Sunday’s presidential elections, beating Álvaro Delgado of the ruling conservative National Party.
“I will be the president of national growth, the president of a country that advances,” said Orsi, according to a statement from Frente Amplio.
“Let’s embrace the idea that Uruguay is one.”
Delgado conceded defeat on Sunday night and congratulated Orsi on his victory in a statement on Facebook.
“Count on us in building the agreements that Uruguay needs to continue moving towards development,” he stated.
With 99% of the votes counted, Orsi obtained 49.8% of the votes, against Delgado’s 45.9%, according to the The Countrywhich highlighted that more than 90 thousand votes separated the candidates.
With the victory, the Broad Front, which governed the country for three consecutive terms between 2005 and 2020, returns to command of Uruguay.
President Luis Lacalle Pou, of the National Party, called Orsi even before the official confirmation to congratulate him on his victory.
In a statement, Lacalle Pou stated that he made himself available to the president-elect “to begin the transition as soon as he deems it appropriate.”
Under Uruguayan law, the president cannot run for consecutive five-year terms.
Orsi campaigned with the aim of improving the economic situation of the South American nation, where the population pointed to the economy and public security as their main concerns, according to consultancy Cifra.
The president-elect’s party has focused on macroeconomic stability while seeking to improve income distribution, according to the The Country. The Frente Amplio intends to promote investments and increase productivity in a country where economic growth in the last decade has been around 1% per year.
“I will be the president who calls for national dialogue again and again,” Orsi told his supporters in his victory speech on Sunday night. “The message cannot be other than to embrace the debate of ideas.”
With information from El País and UPI*
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2024/11/25/esquerdista-yamandu-orsi-derrota-conservadores-e-assume-uruguai/
