Uruguayan presidential hopeful for the Nacional Party, Luis Lacalle Pou, center, celebrates in his headquarters after being elected candidate for his party, in Montevideo, Uruguay, June 30, 2019 (AP photo by Matilde Campodonico).*
Will Uruguay Be the Next South American Country to Pivot Right?
After over a decade in power, a leftist party is damaged by corruption allegations. A weakened economy and parlous public finances add to public disaffection. Mounting fears over street crime fuel a sense of crisis. Challengers on the right, promising a clean-up and a crackdown, capture public attention—and eventually the presidency.
The same broad-strokes scenario has played out over the past 18 months across much of Latin America, notably in Argentina, Chile and Brazil. And with under a year until presidential and congressional elections in October 2019, a similar story—albeit with characteristic understatedness—is unfolding in Uruguay, the Southern Cone’s final outpost of the “pink tide” that swept left-wing leaders to power in the early years of this century. ...