Written by Lucinda Elliott
MONTEVIDEO/TREINTA Y TRES (Reuters) – Voters in Uruguay, famous for its beaches, legal marijuana and stability, went to the polls on Sunday in an election contest between allies opposed to the apartheid politics of many other Latin American countries.
The nation of 3.4 million people was voting for its next president and lawmakers, with pollsters predicting a November election. The country will also decide in a referendum on pension reforms that will reduce the retirement age by five years to 60 and another that will increase the power of the police to fight drug-related crime.
But unlike the sharp right-wing divide in Argentina, Brazil or Mexico, Uruguay's political scene is free of tension, with major clashes between successive conservative and liberal grand coalitions taking a sting out of the results.
The vote in the small South American nation saw centre-left Broad Front candidate Yamandu Orsi, the pre-election favourite, take on incumbent Alvaro Delgado. Behind them was a young person with extensive experience in social media, Andres Ojeda, who was speaking to reporters outside his local gym on election day.
Maria Gonzalez, 61, was voting for Broad Front because she said the people are “very needy” and said the current government has failed to solve problems related to housing, education and health care.
Polls showed Orsi in the lead, but indicated that no presidential candidate could receive more than 50% of the vote, meaning a runoff will be held on November 24 between the top two finishers on Sunday.
Orsi said the Broad Front came to the election “with more energy,” speaking to reporters Sunday morning at a polling station. “I'm from the neighborhood, I'm from this city and I feel proud to be Uruguayan.”
In Treinta y Tres, a rural region in eastern Uruguay that has traditionally voted, 60-year-old farm worker Ramon Silveira voted for Delgado. “I want the practice of the past five years to continue,” he said.
Although security is an area where the ruling coalition can improve, Silveira hoped that with more time in government, crime rates would decrease.
Polling stations open at 8 am (1100 GMT) and close at 7:30 pm local time, with results expected two hours later.
There was a lot of tension in the two binding courts, and on Sunday. Another asked whether Uruguay's $22.5 billion private pension system, which has drawn criticism from politicians across the board, could hurt the economy.
Laura Mesa, a 35-year-old chef liked: “We work all our lives. Retirement years should be short so we can enjoy them!” he said from a polling station in Treinta y Tres.
Jesus Collazo, 23 years old, was not so sure about the reform proposal: “I agree with some aspects such as lowering the retirement age, but I keep thinking: What will they do to return all this private pension money?” Are they going to make us pay taxes. ?”
Uruguayans will also vote on whether to lift constitutional restrictions on nighttime police raids targeting people's homes as a way to combat drug-related crime, a growing concern among voters. Both referendums require a majority vote.
“We have to take control of our security,” Orsi said at a campaign rally this week, pledging to get tough on crime.
The ruling conservative coalition is struggling to defend its security record, but hopes the economic breakthrough – with both employment and real wages now rising – may be enough to convince voters to choose continuity over reform.
“I am sure that all the work that we have done and that we have to do will go well,” said Delgado when voting opened on Sunday.
