Uruguay General Election, October 26, 2014

[Peeperkorn]

The Primaries:

PARTIDO FRENTE AMPLIO (Broad Front)



- Coalition of social democratic and socialist parties.
- Pre candidates are ex President Tabaré Vázquez (oncologist, center) and Constanza Moreira (chairwoman of Social Sciences College in Universidad de la República).
- Not your tipical south american leftist party. Bush and Vázquez were good friends against Argentina and ALBA.


PARTIDO COLORADO (Red Party)



- Historical urban, anticlerical party, with a mix of social democrats and liberals.
- Its ideology is the "batllismo", a pseudo socialist and anticlerical movement from the first half of the XXth century.
- Main candidate is Pedro Bordaberry, son of a dictator, but very far from his father's ideology (in fact he's a good friend of Vázquez and President José Mujica). He was an excellent minister of industry and tourism.
- Main challange comes from José Amorín. center-left inside the party and not a real menace.


PARTIDO NACIONAL (National Party, also known as White Party).



- Conservative party, very popular in small towns and the countryside. It was government from 1958 to 1966 and from 1990 to 1995.
- Has two tendencies. One is the neoliberal wing, with the son of former President Lacalle as a leader; the other, a populist wing with Larrañaga (governor of northern province of Paysandú) as candidate.








TODAY WE HAVE:

Uruguayan Senate: 16 from Frente Amplio, 9 from Nationalism, 5 from Coloradism.

Uruguayan Deputies: 50 from Frente Amplio, 30 from National Party, 17 from Colorado Party, 2 from Independent Party (social christianism).

[Peeperkorn]

LA SITUACIÓN ACTUAL (CURRENT SITUATION):

- President is José Mujica, an ex guerrillero tupamaro. As he promised, he can talk about the virtues of Chávez and Castro, but at the end he supports the normal liberal democracies in the continent and  feels more comfortable with the moderates like Dilma Rousseff.

- In Economy, Uruguay follows an orthodox view where only the main services are owned by the State (a plebiscite for selling the public business was defeated 75 to 25 in 1992).  It defends an "aperturist" commercial policy with NAFTA and EU.

- Frente Amplio had their first defeat at the regional elections of 2010, when they lost very important "departamentos" (provinces) like Salto or Paysandú:


- The most notorious triumphs of the left were in social issues, where they received support from part of the Colorado party: abortion, gay marriage and marijuana legalisation.

[Platypus]

Uruguay gives me hope for Latin American democracy. Even the bad guys are good guys.

[Tender Branson]

New poll:

44% Frente Amplio (-3.5)
25% Partido Nacional (-3.5)
14% Partido Colorado (-2.7)
  2% Partido Independiente (-0.4)
  4% Others/blank/invalid
11% Undecided

http://www.equipos.com.uy/noticia/intencion-de-voto-para-las-elecciones-presidenciales-fa-lidera-con-44

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_general_election,_2009#Parliamentary_elections

[freefair]

Uruguay gives me hope for Latin American democracy. Even the bad guys are good guys.

The only militancy is militant reasonableness,

[Antonio the Sixth]

Is Pepe Mujica running for reelection? He's probably the best country leader currently, and it'd be sad to see him go.

[Edu]

Is Pepe Mujica running for reelection?

He can't.

[Hatman 🍁]

Time to drop term limits?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Is Pepe Mujica running for reelection?

He can't.

[Niemeyerite]

Is Pepe Mujica running for reelection?

He can't.

We're stuck with his predecessor. I'd like his wife to run.

[Peeperkorn]

Well, the left has lost a lot of votes, something surprising.


Right now, after the primaries, candidates are:

Frente Amplio (center-left), former President Tabaré Vázquez.



Jingle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwoBrxYXFj8

National Party (right), Luis Lacalle Pou. Son of Lacalle (1990-1995), his ideas are kind of weird (for example, he supports marijuana legalisation).



Jingle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmmpXrkcExs

Colorado Party, Pedro Bordaberry. former minister of industry and tourism. Son of the dictator of 1973, he despised his father ideas and he's like the centre in this election.



Jingle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPfkSBIASfU

[Peeperkorn]

Last polls show: 43% Vázquez, 34% Lacalle Pou, 15% Bordaberry.

This will make an uncomfortable scenario for the left, winning the president but losing the parliament. Vázquez has already say that he would look for agreements with the left of the national and colorado parties.

[Peeperkorn]

Is Pepe Mujica running for reelection?

He can't.

We're stuck with his predecessor. I'd like his wife to run.

Vázquez was a great president. That's why Mujica won.

[politicus]

The ultra short thread title looks oddly dated between the new type of titles. It should be "Uruguay general election - October 26, 2014", or something like that.

[Niemeyerite]

Is Pepe Mujica running for reelection?

He can't.

We're stuck with his predecessor. I'd like his wife to run.

Vázquez was a great president. That's why Mujica won.

I'm not saying he wasn't, he was. But I prefer Topolansky.

[Velasco]

In any case, you'll have to consider that Pepe Mújica is a great president if Vázquez wins the next election. I watched Mújica in a somewhat old TV documentary last night where he was admitting that he is literally nothing without Lucía Topolansky. It's a way to declare his love for her.

[Peeperkorn]

[Peeperkorn]

We will have a parliament of center right and a president of center left (after the ballottage).

[Antonio the Sixth]

Shame

[RodPresident]

FA is paying for not passing torch to new generation. Unlike 4 years ago, Blancos were able to renew, with a photogenic candidate. If FA had put a guy in 50s or 40s, they would have that on bag.

[NewYorkExpress]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/27/uruguay-election-idUSL1N0SL03F20141027

Uruguayans will be facing a runoff between former President Tabare Vasquez (Who seems to have gotten somewhere between 44 and 46 percent of the vote) and and Legacy Candidate Luis Alberto Lacille Pou (Who appears to have earned somewhere between 31 and 33 percent of the vote). A third candidate, Pedro Bordaberry and his approximately 14 percent share of the vote have already endorsed Luis Alberto.

The Runoff will be held on November 30, 2014.

[Famous Mortimer]

Old question, why wasn't Mujica's wife Vazquez's running mate? Is there bad blood between Mujica and Vazquez?

[Vosem]

Uruguay gives me hope for Latin American democracy. Even the bad guys are good guys.

My ideology is totally different from yours -- and I still have to agree with this. Mujica and Vazquez are what Latin American leftist leaders should aspire to be like

[Famous Mortimer]

Also, what's the status of the legislature?

[ag]

Also, what's the status of the legislature?

Very tight. Seems like it could even be a draw, with FA at exactly half the seats.