International
Uruguay goes to the polls this Sunday to elect president and legislators
About 2.7 million citizens will go to the polls this Sunday to vote for the president and legislators of Uruguay for the period 2025-2030, as well as to pronounce on two plebiscites.
At 8:00 local time (11:00 GMT) voting centers throughout the country will open and voters will be able to vote until 19:30 local time (22:30 GMT), although this could be extended by an hour in case there are still people lining up at the polling stations.
In this instance, in which voting is secret and mandatory, as set by the National Constitution, eleven political parties will seek the Presidency.
The candidates for the Presidency of Uruguay
These are the Broad Front (Yamandú Orsi), the National Party (Álvaro Delgado), the Colorado Party (Andrés Ojeda), the Open Council (Guido Manini Ríos), the Independent Party (Pablo Mieres) and the Radical Intransigent Environmental Party (César Vega).
Also, Sovereign Identity (Gustavo Salle), Popular Assembly (Walter Martínez), the Environmental Constitutional Party (Eduardo Lust), the Party for the Necessary Changes (Guillermo Franchi) and Republican Advance (Martín Pérez Banchero).
To become the successor of the current president, Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou, any of the candidates must get more than 50% of the valid votes. Otherwise, the two most voted will advance to a second round, which will take place on Sunday, November 24.
The formation of the Parliament will be defined
Beyond this, this Sunday’s instance will define the formation of Parliament for the period 2025-2030.
Each party will present in the elections its different lists made up of its candidates to integrate the Chamber of Senators (30 members) plus the Vice President of the Republic) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 members).
On the other hand, voters will vote on two plebiscites: one on social security and another on night raids.
Promoted by the PIT-CNT trade union center and supported by social groups, the first of these seeks to change the social security regime of Uruguay, which was changed by law in 2023.
The plebiscites
The amendment proposes – among other things – the equivalence of retirements and pensions to the national minimum wage, in addition to the possibility that both men and women can access retirement at 60 years of age instead of 65.
In turn, it seeks to eliminate the administrators of social security savings funds so that the Social Security system is managed exclusively by the State.
The second seeks to allow raids at night, which are currently prohibited by article 11 of the National Constitution. He emphasizes that the home is a sacred inviolable and that at night no one will be able to enter it without the consent of their boss.
With the campaign closures carried out days ago, Uruguay of about 3.4 million inhabitants is currently in electoral ban.
Prohibitions
Since Friday, October 25, the parties cannot carry out acts of proselytist propaganda, as indicated by Law 16,019, which was promulgated in 1989.
On the other hand, from this Saturday the sale of alcohol is prohibited, which cannot be carried out until the voting circuits are closed.
This Sunday, around 21:30 local time (00:30 GMT), the consultants are expected to announce their first projections of the results, while the Electoral Court will begin to upload them on its official website as they are sent from the polling stations.
After being known, the candidates will participate in events in the places where they will wait for them, while in the capital of the country there are already areas of celebrations.
International
Caravan of 1,500 migrants depart Mexico amid growing fears of U.S. border closure
A caravan of 1,500 migrants departed from Mexico’s southern border on Monday, defying statements from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who assured last week that such groups no longer reach the northern border.
The mostly Venezuelan group walked 26 kilometers for about 10 continuous hours, from Tapachula, the largest city on the border with Central America, to Huehuetán, where they split into two groups.
The larger group continued towards the municipality of Huixtla, while the second group stayed behind to rest in Huehuetán’s park.
The caravan also includes migrants from Colombia, Haiti, Cuba, Central America, and regions further away, including the Middle East.
Venezuelan Joswes Linares shared with EFE that they fled due to insecurity, kidnappings, and extortion, which is why they prefer traveling in groups for safety.
Linares explained that they are hurrying due to the incoming presidency of Trump, who last week warned that another migrant caravan was heading towards the U.S.
“We fear that he will close the border, because the asylum appointment takes six to seven months. Some are lucky, but it would be worse for us to wait,” he stated. “We are going to cover about 1,000 kilometers.”
International
ICC prosecutor urges Venezuela to release political prisoners and children detained
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan urged the Venezuelan government, led by President Nicolás Maduro, to release minors and civilians detained for “political reasons.”
“After this year’s elections, I insisted in my communications with Venezuela and in public statements about the need to protect the rights of civilians, including children, who should be released if detained for political reasons or for peacefully protesting,” Khan said on Monday during his speech at the annual meeting of ICC member countries.
Khan emphasized that the ICC’s independent investigations into Venezuela “remain active,” and warned that Venezuela’s lack of action could hinder progress in the principle of complementarity. “I have not seen the concrete implementation of laws and practices in Venezuela that I had expected. The ball is in Venezuela’s court. The route of complementarity is running out,” he cautioned.
International
José Mujica apologizes for “crude” comments about Cristina Kirchner, urges peronist renewal
Former Uruguayan President José Mujica acknowledged on Monday that his comments about Argentina’s ex-president Cristina Kirchner, made during an AFP interview, were “crude” and “not at all diplomatic.” Mujica criticized Kirchner for not stepping aside to allow new generations to lead but reiterated the need for renewal within the Peronist movement.
“The terminology was not diplomatic at all—it was crude,” Mujica told the Uruguayan newspaper La Diaria. He was referring to remarks about Kirchner, who served as president from 2007 to 2015 and as vice president from 2019 to 2023.
“There’s old Kirchner in Argentina, still leading Peronism. Instead of becoming an elder advisor and letting new generations take over, no, she’s still meddling. How hard it is for them to let go of the cake! Damn it!” Mujica had said in the AFP interview published last Friday.
Mujica, an 89-year-old former guerrilla fighter and global leftist icon who served as Uruguay’s president from 2010 to 2015, emphasized to La Diaria that he respects Kirchner, describing her as “a phenomenon,” with “tremendous subliminal weight,” and “an admirable and exceptional woman.”
However, he doubled down on his call for renewal within Peronism. “I think that major figures—and there’s no greater figure in Peronism than Cristina Kirchner—should use their influence to explore, identify, and promote new generations,” he stressed.
Mujica’s comments to AFP about Kirchner generated significant media attention, though he told La Diaria that “no one has said anything” to him about it because people are familiar with his blunt way of speaking.
This isn’t the first time Mujica’s remarks about Kirchner have sparked controversy. In April 2013, while serving as president of Uruguay, he was overheard saying, “That old lady is worse than the one-eyed man. The one-eyed man was more political; she’s more stubborn,” referring to then-President Kirchner and her late husband, former President Néstor Kirchner, unaware his microphone was on before a meeting in Uruguay.
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