The President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pouconsidered that the victory of the NO this Sunday in the referendum that put into debate the repeal of 135 articles of the law of urgent consideration (LUC) is a “stage passed” and the regulations remain “firm”. The initiative is a fundamental piece in the administration of the center-right coalition government in Uruguay.
He said this at a press conference at the Executive Tower in Montevideo, where he assured that the LUC is “an instrument that gives more rights, more freedoms and more guarantees.” Likewise, throughout the conference he focused on the fact that the government he heads is committed to dialogue with the opposition and therefore claimed Parliament as “the place where a synthesis of the different opinions is made.”
“The law of urgent consideration was a commitment for the country, it is a law designed for the good of all Uruguayans, we are convinced that it is an instrument that gives more rights, more freedoms and more guarantees,” he emphasized.
In addition, the president argued that starting this Monday they will pay attention to the issues “that are urgent” such as education, social security reform, settlements or international relations.
“Stage overcome, tomorrow we continue with the same optimism, the same desire, with a coalition that has shown firmness in diversity”he emphasized in reference to the five political parties that make up the government coalition.
With 99.1% of the votes scrutinized by the Electoral Court, the NO – together with the blank votes that also add up for this option – obtains 51.2%, while the YES accumulates 48.8%. For the articles to be repealed, it was necessary for this last option to add more than half of the voters.
Political victory of the opposition
Two hours before Lacalle Pou spoke, the promoters of repeal of the articles gave a press conference. Trade unionist José Olivera said that citizens should feel “proud” of the vote.
From the Broad Front, Senator Mario Bergara assessed that the The result is “a political victory” for the opposition and social organizations that promoted the referendum. “At least half the country does not see well that it is legislated based on this type of so rude laws”, said the legislator.
Regarding the result, Lacalle Pou stressed that it was “almost a carbon copy” of the second round of the 2019 national elections when he won the presidency and stressed that “nothing should change” regarding his administration.
“I am not an analyst. We are convinced of the direction we are taking, no one believes they own the truth, but we are convinced of a project, we began to govern with a pandemic and now with a war and we have not departed from our program of government, then the people will judge, meanwhile we have a mandate to fulfill,” he concluded.
LUC
The LUC contains 476 articles and is the summary of the main measures of the government coalition that led Lacalle Pou to preside over the country. That rule reflects the “Commitment to the country” signed by the National Party, the Colorado Party, the Open Council, the Independent Party and the People’s Party, prior to the second round of November 2019, in which Lacalle defeated the leftist Daniel Martínez.
Of the law, the Broad Front (left) and social organizations questioned 135 articles and gathered the necessary signatures to call the referendum that took place this Sunday.
The management of fuel prices, the limitation of the participation of teachers in educational decisions, the regulation of the right to strike, the eviction of people who rent without guarantee, the relaxation of money laundering controls, changes In the adoption procedure, number portability (which allows you to change your mobile phone company without losing your number) and several regulations related to security are some of the points most questioned by the Broad Front and social organizations.
Of the 19 departments that make up the country, the Yes option won in Montevideo and Canelones, where the Broad Front governs, and in Paysandú, whose mayor is from the National Party (President Lacalle Pou’s community). In the rest, the No option won. In some departments such as Rivera and Artigas (in the north of the country, on the border with Brazil), the victory was by a wide difference: 74% to 25% and 68% to 32%, respectively.
From the Regional News Agency