{"id":3693,"date":"2025-03-04T12:28:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3693"},"modified":"2025-03-04T12:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:28:05","slug":"uruguays-new-leftist-president-takes-office-facing-a-financial-balancing-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3693","title":{"rendered":"Uruguay\u2019s new leftist president takes office, facing a financial balancing act"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) \u2014 Yamand\u00fa Orsi, a telegenic left-leaning former mayor and history teacher, took office as Uruguay\u2019s new president<\/a> on Saturday, at the helm of a government that has pledged to strengthen the social safety net<\/a> while reversing years of economic stagnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inauguration of Orsi<\/a>, 57, marks the return of Uruguay\u2019s Broad Front \u2014 a center-left mix of moderates, communists and hardline trade unionists \u2014 after a five-year interruption by the country\u2019s outgoing conservative president, Luis Lacalle Pou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers erupted as Orsi recited the oath of office before Congress on Saturday in Uruguay\u2019s capital of Montevideo. Outside the chamber, in the city\u2019s main square, thousands of Uruguayans watching his swearing-in on giant screens shouted in support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A civilized race<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ceremony came three months after Orsi\u2019s presidential victory in a remarkably civilized election race<\/a> between two moderates, praised as an antidote to the polarization<\/a> gripping the region. In his speech, he took a dig at growing disillusionment with democratic norms across Latin America, which has resulted in a shift to the right, from neighboring Argentina to El Salvador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all know well that we have to treasure our democratic construction in times where exclusionary logic and expressions of distrust in traditional politics proliferate,\u201d Orsi said in his inaugural address before a gathering of domestic and foreign leaders at the legislative palace in Montevideo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He declared: \u201cLet us always be adversaries, but never enemies. And let us distance ourselves as far as possible from cynicism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The night before the ceremony, Orsi dined in Montevideo with his like-minded regional counterparts, including Brazil\u2019s President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, Colombia\u2019s Gustavo Petro and Chile\u2019s Gabriel Boric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The friendly scene cemented Orsi as the latest in the region\u2019s swath<\/a> of allied left-wing leaders \u2014 many of whom have struggled in recent years to combat rising inequality and stalling growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Uruguayans saw Orsi as the nostalgia candidate<\/a>, recalling the Broad Front\u2019s 15-year rule between 2005 and 2020. During that time, the coalition presided over a historic cycle of economic growth that reduced poverty and cemented the country\u2019s pro-business reputation. The coalition also launched pioneering social reforms that won Uruguay international acclaim, including the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems emerge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But in 2020, emerging problems like creeping inequality and surging crime ushered in Lacalle Pou\u2019s center-right government on promises of reforming the bloated state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, public frustration over the persistence of those problems helped bring Lacalle Pou\u2019s tenure to an end, as an anti-incumbent wave swept across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cautious campaigner, Orsi \u2014 the former mayor of Canelones, an oceanfront district known for its cattle ranches and high-tech \u2014 vowed to implement \u201csafe change\u201d for Uruguay\u2019s 3.5 million people.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he faces a difficult balancing act \u2014 between satisfying the demands of his more radical leftist constituents, which have called for unwinding some of the previous government\u2019s cost-cutting measures, while boosting competitiveness to spur much-needed economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe country needs to recover a path of growth that generates not only a greater quantity but also quality of work,\u201d he said. \u201cThat allows a floor of salary dignity and, with it, a better distribution of income.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a fractious coalition, experts say many of Orsi\u2019s positions will become clear only after he takes office and is forced to make hard policy choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \u2018watch-and-see attitude\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe business community is taking a watch-and-see attitude until it\u2019s clear whether Orsi is in charge or whether his more aggressive leftist base is in charge,\u201d said Uruguayan economist Arturo C. Porzecanski, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Orsi doesn\u2019t come out on top and measures that set the clock back get passed, then that will dim the economic outlook for the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping a tight budget will make it difficult to meet expectations of the unionists that promoted a controversial referendum to increase pensions and reverse the former government\u2019s decision to raise the legal retirement age from 60 to 65.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orsi acknowledged the challenge in his speech, saying: \u201cA lot of dialogue, an outstretched hand and the ability to understand the different sensitivities expressed by our community will be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last fall, Uruguayans shot down the proposed pension overhaul. Many praised the vote\u2019s outcome as a rare, level-headed rejection of budget-busting populism that has long beset the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But union leaders \u2014 and their supporters, like Orsi\u2019s Communist labor minister \u2014 have continued to press their demands, challenging Uruguay\u2019s investor-friendly reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe diagnosis is concerning when it comes to workers and their commitment to resolving disputes,\u201d Labor Minister Juan Castillo said last week, as powerful trade unions called a mass strike and multinational Japanese auto-part maker Yazaki shut down operations in Uruguay, citing high labor and production costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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