Pubdate: Sun, 26 Oct 2014
Source: Buenos Aires Herald (Argentina)
Copyright: 2014 S.A. The Buenos Aires Herald Ltd.
Contact: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/Contact
Website: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4898
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)

VAZQUEZ'S LEAD NOT ENOUGH TO CLINCH WIN

Uruguay Election Heading for Runoff, No Party Expected to Get Majority
in Congress

MONTEVIDEO -- Uruguayan voters decide today whether to give the ruling
coalition another term after a decade of strong growth and social
reforms, or turn to an opposition candidate who vows market friendly
policies but keeping "positive things".

Opinion polls ahead of the presidential election show young
center-rightist Luis Lacalle Pou forcing the governing coalition's
Tabare Vazquez, a former president, into a runoff vote in late November.

Vazquez, 74, brought the leftist Broad Front to power 10 years ago and
won praise from some businesses for his blend of pro-market economic
policies and social welfare policies.

His successor, outgoing President Jose Mujica, continued with the
model and his straight-talking, unpretentious style made him one of
the small nation's most popular leaders.

Mujica also legalized abortion and gay marriage, and last year made
Uruguay the world's first country to legalize the production,
distribution and sale of marijuana. However, both Vazquez and Mujica
failed to boost judgment of crimes against humanity commited by last
military dictatorship.

Uruguay's Constitution bars a president from holding two consecutive
terms in office so Vazquez returned to be the Broad Front's candidate.
He says his government, if he wins, will remain focused on improving
conditions for the most vulnerable in a country of 3.4 million people.

"Vazquez is going to be president again because Uruguayans don't want
to return to the past," said Analia Vernini, a 36-year-old dentist.

Lacalle Pou, 41, is the son of former president Luis Lacalle, although
he has sought to distance himself from his father's 1990-95 rule,
which was stained by botched privatizations and political scandal.

The latest opinion polls show Vazquez with the support of 43 percent
of voters compared with 31 percent for Lacalle Pou.

But that would leave Vazquez short of the 50 percent he needs for a
first-round victory and, in a runoff, Lacalle Pou could secure the
support of conservative Colorado Party candidate Pedro Bordaberry, who
has polled between 14-18 percent support. That would make the runoff
vote a tight one.

Voters also elect lawmakers today. Neither the Broad Front nor Lacalle
Pou's National Party are likely to win a majority in Congress, meaning
the next president will face a tougher time than Mujica in passing
laws.

End to Weed Experiment?

A keen surfer, father-of-three Lacalle Pou is viewed by supporters as
a fresh face for Uruguayan politics. With more socially liberal views
than previous National Party candidates, who could appeal to moderate
voters on both the left and right.

He has tapped into the simmering discontent felt by many Uruguayans
toward the extent of Mujica's social reforms. Almost two in three
opposed the ex-guerrilla's plan for the state to oversee the legal
production and commercial distribution of marijuana.

"Lacalle Pou is the young face of the National Party, but also of all
Uruguayan politicians," said 54-year-old teacher Susana Montero. "You
have to give him an opportunity, I think I will vote for him."

Lacalle Pou told reporter on Wednesday he would try to repeal much of
the ground-breaking marijuana law passed last December if he is
elected. He also said he would reverse Mujica's offer of asylum to six
Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

"Uruguay is heading towards a government of conviction rather than a
government of imposition," he told supporters on the campaign trail in
the western town of Paysandu.

Uruguay's US$55 billion economy has expanded an average 5.7 percent
annually since 2005. The government forecasts lower growth of three
percent this year, still outperforming neighbouring Argentina and Brazil.

The number of Uruguayans living in poverty has fallen sharply to 11
percent from more than a third in 2006.

Lacalle Pou says the Broad Front has benefited from a cyclical boom
and called policymaking in the last ten years "a lost decade."

He plans to put the brakes on inflation, now running at nine percent,
with spending cuts and tight monetary policy. He also promises tax
relief and a reduction in the fiscal deficit.
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MAP posted-by: Richard