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Uruguay goes to the polls Sunday, November 24 for the second round of the presidential election, left being a loser: voters, disappointed, could tilt the country right. After 15 years of Frente Amplio's government, the country has only experienced growth and a drastic reduction in poverty.
From our correspondent in Montevideo,
Hermann Garcia has always voted for the Frente Amplio . But as the leftist administrations succeeded each other, he was more and more disappointed. So much so that a year ago, he began to campaign for the right and the Partido Nacional .
" We can not take it anymore, and we want the Frente Amplio to go away once and for all," says the 35-year-old Uruguayan. For all the voters who voted for the Frente Amplio for years, it was very disappointing to see that they held almost none of their promises. And many people do not want Uruguay to end like Venezuela .
► See also: Uruguay: an election campaign in a turbulent regional context
The lack of security in the mouth of all
At the forefront of unfulfilled promises, many disappointed voters cite security : the number of homicides and robberies has risen sharply in recent years in Uruguay. A reality that Hermann says he finds every day in Montevideo.
" These days in my neighborhood, it's scary to see this climate of violence, all those people who have fallen into drugs ," he continues. And there is no solution, neither in terms of security nor employment. Because rising unemployment leads to a chain reaction, which increases insecurity, poverty and inequality . Hermann is currently unemployed, as is more than 9% of Uruguayans, a figure that has been increasing in recent years.
Tax increase
The economic and fiscal policy of the left is also what drove Carlos Madeira to turn to the right. " The beginnings of Frente Amplio were brilliant, but they made a lot of mistakes ," says the retired entrepreneur. Taxes are too high here : we pay between 30 and 40 or 50% of taxes. It's impossible, impossible to run a business. The expenses of the Frente Amplio are monstrous. "
For the political scientist Antonio Cardarello, the issues of security and tax increases explain the difficulties of Frente Amplio , whose image has also been damaged by mismanagement and embezzlement.
In general, the expert believes that the achievements of the left during his last term, from 2014 to today, contrast with the record of previous administrations. " The first mandate of [current president] Tabaré Vazquez has been a great renovator : he has made profound reforms, such as health system reform, or the tax system reform. Then, Pepe Mujica's mandate was more focused on the acquisition of new rights , he analyzes. And for this third administration, the agenda has quickly exhausted : the promise to focus on insecurity has been a failure, and there is the feeling that the Frente Amplio raises taxes. Not to raise them was a campaign promise, but in fact, there was a rise. "
Wear of power
For the political scientist, if these same taxes allowed many Uruguayans out of poverty, people get used to acquired rights. " Having access to certain goods and services, improvements in one's personal economic situation to improve, being able to travel, having access to other consumption habits, all these people quickly appropriate and consider as a right , he explains. It started with the first government of Frente Amplio, it consolidated during the second. Now, after the third term, the question they ask is : what can you bring me on top of that? "
Increasing insecurity, economic slowdown, so many topics that the right has been able to exploit during the campaign. His candidate, Luis Lacalle Pou, is currently the winner in the second round of the presidential election, with 48% of voting intentions, six points more than his leftist rival Daniel Martinez.
Despite economic and social achievements, the wear of power may well send Frente Amplio in opposition on November 24.