Uruguay's Left Returns to Power as Orsi Wins Runoff

Facts

• Uruguay's left-wing Broad Front alliance, which ruled the country for 15 years from 2005 to 2020, will return to power on March 1, 2025, after its presidential candidate Yamandú Orsi won a runoff election on Sunday.^[1][2]
• Considered a political heir to former president and leftist icon José 'Pepe' Mujica, Orsi secured 49.8% of the vote to defeat Álvaro Delgado of the National Party — part of outgoing Pres. Luis Lacalle Pou's conservative Republican Coalition.^[3][4]
• According to the country's electoral court, the difference between both candidates in absolute numbers was a little more than 95K votes. Turnout was at nearly 90% of the 2.7M eligible voters.^[5][6]
• Orsi had already finished first in the initial round on Oct. 27, securing 43.9% of the vote — far ahead of Delgado's 26.7%, but short of the simple majority required to avoid a runoff.^[6][4]
• He will govern with a two-member majority in the Senate — as Vice Pres. Carolina Cosse occupies the chamber's 31st seat — and with a hung Chamber of Representatives in which the Republican Coalition is the largest party.^[7]
• In October, Uruguayans also voted in two binding plebiscites — one to lower the retirement age to 60 years and raise pensions, and another to boost police powers to fight drug-related crimes. Both were rejected.^[8][9]

Sources: ^[1]New York Times, ^[2]BBC News, ^[3]Time, ^[4]Bloomberg, ^[5]Associated Press, ^[6]Buenos Aires Times, ^[7]AS/COA, ^[8]Reuters and ^[9]Financial Times.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by EL PAÍS English. After five years of conservative rule, voters have decided to bring the left-wing Broad Front back to power amid perceived economic stagnation. This outcome is even more remarkable against the backdrop of a populist trend that, in the past year, has seen Javier Milei elected in neighboring Argentina and Donald Trump elected in the US.
• Right narrative, as provided by Gateway Hispanic. As Uruguayans headed to polls to cast a vote for the next president of the country, they were also deciding which path the nation would take in the coming years — that of stability, security, and fiscal responsibility, or that of populist promises and soft-on-crime policies. Sadly, the country ended up choosing the latter.