Uruguayans went to the polls for the run-off presidential election on November 24, to choose between the continuity of the right-wing National Party with candidate Álvaro Delgado or the return of the center-left Frente Amplio (Broad Front) coalition with candidate Yamandú Orsi.
With 100% of the votes counted, Orsi and his vice presidential candidate Carolina Cosse won with 49.84% (1,196,789 votes) against Delgado’s 45.86% (1,101,296 votes).
Eighty-nine percent of the 2.7 million eligible voters participated in the election. Many analysts predicted that Frente Amplio would not be able to clinch a win in the second round given that, in the previous election, the right-wing managed to rally other parties in favour of the right-wing candidate, President Lacalle Pou.
However, this time the trend changed. Orsi’s social democratic discourse of rescuing public institutions managed to convince more voters than Delgado’s neoliberal proposals, seen as a continuation of the unpopular Pou.
Before the official results were announced, Pou publicly congratulated Orsi, acknowledging his electoral defeat. “I called Yamandú Orsi to congratulate him as President-elect of our country and to place myself at his disposal to begin the transition as soon as I consider it appropriate,” he said.
The president-elect, making a speech of conciliation with the political forces of the right, told his supporters: “[I want to give] many thanks to all who have made this campaign an exemplary [electoral] campaign … We achieved triumph … But there is another part of our people today with another feeling. Those people will also have to help us build a better country. We need them too.”
As the region faces a moment of uncertainty with the return of a hyper-aggressive United States administration under Donald Trump, the ascension of another progressive leader to the executive was widely celebrated by leaders across the region.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva wrote: “This is a victory for the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil and Uruguay will continue to work together in Mercosur and other forums for fair and sustainable development, peace, and regional integration.”
Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, posted on her X account: “The Broad Front returns to govern by the will of the Uruguayan people that once again demonstrates its democratic and progressive vocation.”
President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, added her congratulations, claiming that Orsi’s victory “reaffirms the progressive and democratic trend in Latin America”.
Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, also greeted the new president highlighting the possibility of a democratic political change: “A big hug to Yamandú, the new president of Uruguay. This triumph reflects the will for unity and change of the Latin American people.”
Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, joined in the congratulations: “We express our willingness to deepen the bilateral relations and brotherhood between both countries.”
Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela, said: “I congratulate the Uruguayan people for the elections held this November 24, in which they elected Yamandú Orsí, to whom I wish and predict the greatest success. Let’s move towards constructing a respectful and positive relationship, of cooperation and shared support between our countries. A big Bolivarian hug to the Broad Front and our Uruguayan brothers!”
[Abridged from Peoples Dispatch.]