In a poll with narrow margins, the “no” answer was victorious in a referendum this Sunday (27) in Uruguay with a little more than 20,000 votes, thus validating a package of laws presented at the beginning of President Luis Lacalle Pou’s term. .
The result of the consultation has been seen as a political thermometer for the country, which has seen the center-right return to power in 2020 after years of leftist governments.
“It can be clearly seen that they were not achieved [o número] of votes necessary for the repeal of the 135 articles”, President Luis Lacalle Pou said at a press conference, adding that this “is a past step, a law that remains firm”.
The referendum put to a vote 135 articles of the so-called Urgent Consideration Law (LUC), a draft of 476 proposals in all that was one of the main campaign slogans of Lacalle Pou – who, once elected, easily managed to pass Congress.
Led by the Frente Ampla (left), however, activists and politicians collected signatures to convene a plebiscite that would overturn part of the laws, seen as hardliners. In July last year, with 671,544 supporters reached, the election was made official.
The articles most criticized by the opposition are those related to public security. Among them, the doubling of sentences for crimes committed by adolescents or those convicted of drug trafficking and the imposition of obstacles to the release of detainees before the end of the established sentence.
Other points deal with political activity, such as one that, in the view of unions, limits the right to demonstrate and association.
The LUC can also create the Secretariat of Strategic Intelligence, to assist the work of the Ministries of Defense and the Interior, having access to confidential information without mandatory judicial decision “if necessary for the security of the country”.
Retired, former president José Mujica classified the LUC as an earthquake that threatens the institutional stability of the country.
The referendum has been seen as a test for the possible continuity of the so-called “multicolor coalition” in government. In the last elections, Lacalle Pou, from the National Party, allied with four other parties, including traditional rival Colorado and the far-right Cabildo Abierto – to which security agendas are very expensive –, to win the Frente Amplio.
The president closed the first year of government with a high popularity of 62%, mainly because of the management of the pandemic. Without harsh quarantines, with case tracking and large-scale testing in the most contaminated regions, he was able to keep much of the economy open. Uruguay was the country where face-to-face classes first resumed.
The vaccination campaign already counts 81% of the population with the first immunization cycle (two doses) and 62% with the booster. Today, however, his approval rating is 51%, according to the Factum institute – which, even so, is a high rate compared to other South American presidents.
