Yamandú Orsi will be the next president of a Uruguay that yesterday gave a new example of democratic civility. After a close vote and when the official scrutiny still did not show any of the candidates as the winner, Luis Lacalle Pou and Álvaro Delgado congratulated the candidate for the Frente Amplio, who won by just over 90,000 votes.
After receiving congratulations from the current president and the losing candidate, Orsi gave a speech to the militants who celebrated the return of the Broad Front to the Government that it already occupied in the 2005-2020 period led by Tabaré Vázquez and José Mujica.
With a campaign focused on social justice, sustainable development and national unity, the standard bearer of the Frente Amplio managed to win the majority support of citizens, beating the official candidate Álvaro Delgado in a close process that forced a runoff to be held this Sunday after that on October 27 none of the candidates from the Frente Amplio, the National Party and the Colorado Party achieved an absolute majority.
“I want to be president of Uruguay. I went just for that without thinking about other plans. There is only one and that is what I am going towards. “I am going to be a militant all my life and I am always going to participate in political activity,” Orsi said on Sunday morning when he went to vote.
And his wish was fulfilled on a day in which the formula that he integrates with Carolina Cosse obtained 1,185,209 votes of the 2,277,566 cast, according to official data from the Electoral Court, which has already scrutinized 99.13% of the votes.
“I will be the president of national growth,” announced Orsi, who on March 1, 2025 will succeed Luis Lacalle Pou, of the National Party, in the Presidency.
And he added: “I am going to be the president who calls again and again for national dialogue to find the best solutions. Of course with our ideas, but also by listening well to what others tell us.”
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Presidents of Latin America congratulate Orsi on his victory
Convinced that he will be the president “who builds a more integrated society,” the leader of the Frente Amplio assured that he will not miss the opportunity to greet the members of the National Party.
“Today we are very happy, those of us who embrace these flags. Today those of us who recognize that we won were very happy. But let’s understand, citizens of my political force and those who accompany me, there is another part of our people who, like us a while ago, today have a different feeling,” he added.
In a message full of references to integration and dialogue, Yamandú Orsi, a History teacher born in a humble family in the municipality of Canelones, stressed that he will also take into account those who did not vote for him this Sunday, in order to build ” a better country.”
Shortly before, the Minister of the Electoral Court, Ana Lía Piñeyrúa, highlighted the civic behavior shown by citizens on a day in which no incidents were recorded.
After knowing the results, thousands of militants celebrated in different parts of Montevideo in the midst of intense rain. Cars with flags, families walking through the central area of the capital, fireworks and musical celebrations were part of the electoral landscape on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, several leaders rushed to congratulate the president-elect, including the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“I want to congratulate the Uruguayan people for the holding of democratic and peaceful elections and, especially, the elected president Yamandú Orsi, the Frente Amplio and my friend Pepe Mujica for today’s victory,” Lula wrote on social networks.
For his part, the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, congratulated the Uruguayan people for their civic commitment and reported that he contacted Orsi to “express his country’s commitment” to “continue collaborating” for the benefit of both nations.
Meanwhile, the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, also said that he called the new president of Uruguay and that they both talked about “how to move forward together, as brother countries.”
With information from EFE
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