Referendum in Uruguay: polling stations closed and counting begins

Uruguay lived quietly on the voting day of the referendum against the Urgent Consideration Law (LUC), the star project of the executive of Luis Lacalle Pou (center-right), after the unusual tense exchange of messages between the campaigning sides. Those who choose the “Yes” option are in favor of repealing the 135 articles of the LUC and those who vote for “No” seek to keep them.

Electoral Court sources indicated that 99% of the circuits (voting stations) operated without difficulty, so it is expected that there will be no problems with the results.

In this consultation, the fourth of its kind in post-dictatorship (1973-1985) and separated from presidential elections, which has been interpreted as a kind of rejection or support for Lacalle Pou, the main leaders of the ruling party and the opposition cast their votes amid greetings from their followers on a sunny day.

The Uruguayan president voted shortly before noon in Canelones (south), the department (province) in which he was a legislator and where he lived until he won the 2019 elections. “We arrive here with a law that has many articles, many of which were amended in Parliament, many of which were voted in Parliament by all political parties; and these 135 articles remain that today, in an instrument of direct democracy, citizens have to say whether they remain in force or not,” Lacalle said.

The president is the main driver of Law 19.889, which he displayed as a flag during the campaign that led him to the Presidency and which was enacted in July 2020, just three months after the start of his term (2020-2025).

The LUC is an extensive rule of 476 articles, classified as an 'omnibus law' due to the variety of issues it covers and was urgently dealt with in Parliament, which was widely criticized by the opposition, since it occurred in the first months of the covid-19 pandemic.

While Lacalle Pou has highlighted the improvements achieved in public safety, education, labor - mainly in the right to strike and the regulation of picketing - in the regulation of adoptions or in financial freedom, social and political organizations consider that the 135 articles under discussion violate important rights of the Uruguayan population.

The most early riser was former President José Mujica, who appeared after 8.00 (11.00 GMT) at his polling place.

The president between 2010 and 2015 for the Broad Front (left) played down the weight of the referendum and pointed out that this Monday the world will continue to “circle”, whatever the outcome. Mujica told the press that “there is no victory or defeat” on this day, because the referendum “is a civic step, of maturity that the country takes”, and he was very critical of Lacalle Pou's participation in defending the 'No' to the repeal of the 135 articles.

Another former Uruguayan president, Julio María Sanguinetti (1985-1990 and 1995-2000), leader of the Colorado Party (PC, center-right), one of the five members of the government coalition, pointed out that his role in the campaign for 'No' was like that of footballer Luis Suárez in his likely last performance at the Centenario Stadium.

“I have done this campaign with joy, with great conviction and I am more or less like Suarez in the Centennial. As the protagonist, I think this is the last one,” he said in reference to Uruguay-Peru last Thursday, which gave the Celeste qualification to the Qatar World Cup and was the most sure last presence in Montevideo of that team's referents, such as Suárez, Edinson Cavani or Diego Godín.

Sanguinetti expressed his wish that “the law should not be repealed” and commented that, if this is the case, “the Government will be ratified”.

Some 2.7 million citizens were called to vote until 7.30 pm (22.30 GMT) to decide whether or not to repeal these 135 articles.

The 'Yes' is promoted by social and political organizations, including the trade union central, the PIT-CNT, and the Frente Amplio, a left-wing coalition that ruled Uruguay between 2005 and 2020, following a multi-month campaign of attracting signatures (up to 25% of the necessary census), which led to the holding of this referendum.

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