The president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, voted this Sunday (24) with his children in the second round of the presidential elections, in the city of Canelones.
“I will be close to the people, I will be involved in political activity,” Lacalle Pou, from the National Party, told the press after voting.
The Constitution of Uruguay does not allow immediate re-election, which is why Lacalle Pou could not be a candidate in the electoral dispute between, and for
Lacalle Pou was elected senator for the National Party in the first round held last October.
“Within 97 days I will be close to the people, I will be in political activity and I will be where the people believe best. I’m an elected senator, so that’s where I should be,” he told the press after voting in the Canelones department.
In this sense, he explained that the assessment of his government will be made when he formally hands over the presidential sash, and that he aspires for his mandate to be measured “by freedom”. He stressed that this final phase of his administration will continue working on different tasks.
“December 6th is the Mercosur Summit. Well, naturally the president-elect should accompany us and, also before going to this summit, see how the next government intends to continue, obviously”, he said.
Furthermore, he highlighted that today in his country “two different projects” are being voted on in which, in both cases, he will communicate with the elected candidate to begin the transition of the next government, which will take office on March 2nd.
However, Lacalle Pou said that this will be the “last day” on which there will be a “single” government, referring to the fact that from Monday (25) there will also be an elected government.
“Personally, of course, a lot of things have happened in these years. But I’ve always said, the most important day of a government isn’t the first, it’s the last”, he noted.
In this context, he stated that the first day can be “a hope” or an “expectation” while the last is an assessment for some that, in his opinion, will be positive for some and not for others.
