Centre-right candidate wins in Uruguay, ending 15 years of liberal rule

The presidential candidate of the centre-left coalition that has governed Uruguay for 15 years conceded defeat Thursday, four days after a close and contentious runoff election, as the nation joined others in the region in shifting rightward.

The concession ushers in Luis Lacalle Pou of the centre-right National Party as the country’s new leader. It also spells an end to the tenure of the Broad Front, a coalition of leftist and centre-left parties that oversaw the legalisation of abortion, same-sex marriage and the sale of marijuana.

Lacalle Pou’s rival, Daniel Martínez of the Broad Front, conceded even as the vote count continued Thursday. Martínez acknowledged on Twitter that the counting of provisional ballots would “not modify the trend” and said he would meet with Lacalle Pou on Friday.

Brazil, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia have also moved rightward to varying degrees, though Argentina recently elected a centre-left president. Venezuela’s leftist government is hanging on despite political and economic turmoil.

Lacalle Pou, 46, son of a former president, has vowed to unite the nation of 3.4 million people after the tight vote, a sentiment conveyed in his Twitter message thanking Martínez.

After the polls closed Sunday, Lacalle Pou expressed confidence he would come out victorious but vowed to wait for the final tally to call himself president-elect.

“Almost half voted for one candidate, and the other half plus a little bit for another candidate,” Lacalle Pou said. “Today’s result confirms that the next government can’t change one-half of the country for another. We must unite society. We must unite Uruguayans.”

That language marked a change in approach for Lacalle Pou, said Mariana Pomiés, executive director of Cifra, a local polling firm.

“That was about recognising that there is a large group of people who voted for the other side,” Pomiés said. “It was a recognition that there is an important group of people who see reality in a different way.”

Lacalle Pou did suggest Thursday that he would pursue a change in the country’s foreign policy, exchanging a friendly message on Twitter with Juan Guaido, Venezuela’s opposition leader, who has proclaimed himself the country’s rightful leader.

Uruguay had been one of the few countries in the region that did not recognise Guaido over the embattled Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. Lacalle Pou vowed to change that during his campaign, and Thursday he responded to a congratulatory message from Guaido by vowing to defend “democracies and human rights.”

Lacalle Pou won in the runoff election by drawing support from candidates who did not make it to the second round. He will now face the challenge of keeping them united despite their disparate ideologies at a time when several countries in the region are mired in protests and economic malaise.

© 2019 New York Times News Service