Pablo Caram, former mayor of Artigas, resigned from the National Party after being convicted of irregularities in the payment of overtime in the municipality. This Monday, Caram also resigned from his position as mayor, being replaced by Elita Volpi, who has been summoned as an investigator in a case of multimillion-dollar fraud in the same department.
Caram’s decision to leave the National Party was communicated to the president of the Nationalist Directory, Macarena Rubio, through a WhatsApp message, according to a source who spoke to the newspaper El País. The Electoral Court’s ruling, which disqualified both Caram and her original replacement, Valentina Dos Santos, from holding public office, was a determining factor in this decision.
Delgado is trying to set the tone for the National Party, in his quest to make the ruling political force vehement against corruption. There are many cases that have affected the government of Luis Lacalle Pou, many of them related to PN leaders or militants.
Delgado separates Caram from the National Party and takes distance
Candidate Álvaro Delgado, leader of the National Party, played a prominent role in trying to put out the fire left by the Caram corruption case.
According to political sources, Delgado asked the now ex-mayor to resign in order to channel the scandal through the appropriate channels. Caram’s resignation was finally confirmed after this direct request from Delgado.
Valentina Dos Santos, who was also strong in Artigas’ PN, was also involved in the local mayor’s overtime corruption scandal, and both are now disgraced in the party.
The new mayor of Artigas was also investigated
The new appointment of Elita Volpi as head of the Municipality of Artigas is not without controversy, and is already generating debate both in public opinion and within the PN.
Volpi has been investigated in a multimillion-dollar fraud case involving a Brazilian woman, Marina Brasil. In May 2024, Brasil was convicted of defrauding a Uruguayan rancher of $20 million, using the complicity of professionals from both countries to deprive her of an inheritance that included property, livestock and bank accounts.
However, prosecutor Hermes Antúnez closed the investigation against Volpi in December 2020, determining that her participation as a notary in the operation did not constitute a crime.
However, another prosecutor is reviewing the case at the request of criminal lawyer Jorge Barrera, who is defending Volpi and Dos Santos. Barrera has stated that “no new elements” have emerged in the investigation.
