Uruguay Elects a New President

There was quite a party Sunday night as thousands of Frente Amplio supporters took to the streets in Montevideo to celebrate the win of their presidential candidate, Pepe Mujica.


The results of the runoff followed pretty much just as the pre-election polls predicted. Mujica, the ex-guerilla fighter won 53 percent of the votes, beating out his opponent, Luis Lacalle.


Only minutes after Mujica was officially announced the winner of the election, a torrential downpour soaked the crowds gathered along the rambla. That didn't seem to bother anyone. In fact, soaking wet FA enthusiasts took to 18 de Julio (Montevideo's main street) celebrating the win of their party in a long victory march. Flags, fireworks, and Frente cheers abounding.


Mujica ended his short speech on election night with a phrase from Uruguay's national hero, Artigas, "ni vencedores ni vencidos"(There are neither victors nor those who have been defeated) in order to leave party differences aside and unite Uruguayans together under the new democratically elected leader.

Election Results

Excitement is in the air. Even though Uruguay's presidential elections were yesterday, we still don't know who will be president next year. None of the candidates won a majority (50 percent plus 1 vote) to win the first round of elections, which means there will be a "balotaje" (runoff) in November.


Pepe Mujica from the Frente Amplio got 47.5% of the votes, Luis Lacalle from Partido Nacional (or Blanco) got 28.5%, Pedro Bordaberry from the Colorados got 16.7%.

I happened to make it to both the Frente Amplio and Partido Nacional celebrations in Ciudad Vieja. Kudos to the Frente for more fun-ness. Their supporters were a bit more in number and animation. People were chanting, waving flags, jumping, painting faces, parading down the street, and watching fireworks. They expected a big win last night, and were slightly disappointed to have to wait till the runoff to vote Pepe again. The Colorado celebration was a little more low-key, largely reflective of their typical demographic. I'm excited to see if the November 29th election will be a close one or not.


As with the presidential vote, neither of the 2 referendums (to annul the amnesty law or to let Uruguayans living abroad vote) got a majority either which means neither of them will pass. I am actually really surprised that the amnesty law will remain intact. It seemed like public sentiment swayed toward repealling the law, yet it only received a 47.36% yes-vote. I suppose visibility isn't always the most accurate indicator of voting behavior. Seems like most Uruguayans want to keep the past in the past, even if it means leaving a few human rights violations go unpunished. If the law were repealed there would be a BIG mess to sort out. (A mess just as problematic as not repealing the law? We'll never know.)

Election Day

Today is election day in Uruguay!

After months and months of campaigning, we shall finally see which party wins the election. Lately, there have been rallies all over Montevideo for each of the different political parties, and volunteers handing out brochures like crazy. I don't think I'll miss receiving 20 pamphlets after a short two-block walk down 18 de Julio.


It appears that there will be no clear winner in the election today. The race is largely between the two frontrunners, Pepe Mujica, former Tupamaros guerrilla fighter and part of the current ruling party, the Frente Amplio, and Luis Lacalle, former president and representative from the Partido Blanco. Elections in Uruguay are compulsory so everyone has to vote or face undesirable consequences.

In addition to selecting a president and a new legislature (through the system of a bunch of really long lists labeled with a number) Uruguayans will also vote on two "plebiscitos," namely whether to repeal the 1986 amnesty law and whether to allow Uruguayans living abroad to vote.


There have been many signs, graffiti, pins, shirts, posters, and whatnot encouraging people to vote "si" to annul the "Ley de Caducidad" which granted amnesty to those accused of human rights abuses during the dictatorship.

I am so excited to see the result of the election. The future of Uruguay will be decided today.

Political Rally

I was surprised to find the principal street of the city closed down last week for a political rally. The street was blocked off to vehicles and a large stage was set up in the middle of the road. Imagine the one of the major parties in the US shutting down the main road of a city. Ha. No way. There would be a public outrage. I asked a man from Uruguay about the practice of blocking off the streets and he said, well look at who is in control of the government. The Frente Amplio is in power now, so if the Frente Amplio wants to have a rally in the middle of the street, why not?


In June, primary elections are going to take place in Uruguay known as the internas. This election will decide which candidate is going to represent each party in the general election. The candidates seem to be out in full force campaigning.

The front runner for the far left, Frente Amplio party, Jose Pepe Mujica, made an appearance at the rally in Salto and gave a rather lengthy speech. I was impressed that he spoke without a teleprompter, podium, or notes. Not many politicians can do that in our day and age.

I found it interesting when Mujica shared his stance on English language education in Uruguay. He is a firm proponent of promoting English acquisition because it is the language of technology, and if Uruguayans want to excel in technology, they must learn English. I don't think everyone feels that way, but obviously, most, if not all of the people I work with support English language education--it's more or less my purpose for being here--to promote mutual understanding among cultures and to support English language instruction in Uruguayan educational institutions.


I am excited to follow the elections in Uruguay, although its much more difficult having to understand the process first, get caught up on the issues, figure out the Spanish, and follow the reports. Nonetheless, there is nothing like coming off an election in the US, only to experience another one without the usual four years wait.