The president of the non-governmental organization, Uruguay Adelante, Santiago Pérez, has received a salary since July 2021 for holding that position, even though it is not allowed by law.
Uruguay Adelante is the NGO in charge of assisting the popular pots, under the management of the Ministry of Social Development.
The Statute of Civil Associations of Uruguay establishes in its article 26 (Special limitations) that “The quality of membership of any elective body of the institution is incompatible with that of an employee or dependent of the institution for any reason”, that is, the president of the NGO cannot be hired with a salary.
According to reported MVD News This Sunday, the sister of Santiago Pérez, who in turn is part of the direction of Uruguay Adelante, would also be receiving a salary.
The aforementioned was consulted by the media regarding this matter, and admitted that he was warned of this incompatibility, and claims to be working with a law firm “to correct that illegality”.
Subsequently, the same medium reported that both Santiago and his sister opted out of the NGO’s board of directors in order to maintain their salaries. He pointed out that last Friday a new board was defined without the two of them, which will be presented publicly without the two of them.
controversial organization
In the last week, the popular pots and picnic areas have been in the eye of the storm, because the Minister of Social Development, Martín Lema, instructed the Popular and Solidarity Coordinator to present statistical data on all the people who receive dishes, demanding number of people and portions distributed.
Uruguay Adelante receives direct economic transfers from MIDES for the purchase of food and its respective logistics and distribution, but it has been singled out for allegedly distributing food and meat in poor condition.
In August 2021, Brigitte Fernández, coordinator of a popular pot in Piedras Blancas, denounced that she had received from Uruguay Adelante chicken meat in poor condition, suppurating putrefactive substances, as well as vegetables in poor condition.
At that time, Santiago Pérez had come out to give his version of things, denying that those hens had come from his NGO, but Fernández replied: “Of course they are from Uruguay ahead and you know that even when I got up, they would come like that. I sent photos of everything here; They have to take charge.” Pérez spoke again to affirm that the hens were not in bad condition but that they only had “bile”, and offered that they be changed.
Already in September 2022, Brenda Bogliaccini, from the Popular and Solidarity Coordinator (CPS), told in an interview with the program Self Defense that since Uruguay Adelante there have been alleged pressures on the popular pots to get out of the CPS.
The referent also assured, as the group had done previously Solidarity.uythat in Montevideo almost 1.3 million portions of food are delivered per month, and that they are called to tell them “if you leave the network, if you leave the Popular and Solidarity Coordinator, we will give you more supplies.”
“They did that campaign several times. They did it on our network and they did it on other networks; a campaign of attack and of wanting to break the organized form. (…) They are going to deny it, because they have denied it, and we affirm it again, that happened many times and it happened again recently. This operation was for the pots to come out of the nets”, he stated.
“The pots were born as an action of popular solidarity in the face of a pandemic. We never imagined that two years later we would continue to have to respond to a need for hunger and food insufficiency,” said the leader, noting that there is fatigue and exhaustion.
