In recent hours, Uruguayan politics has been caught up in a deep internal debate following the recent announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, which confirmed the victory of Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections in that country.
Just eight hours after the CNE’s announcement, irreconcilable differences were already emerging within the Frente Amplio (FA) of Uruguay regarding this event and, more specifically, in relation to Chavismo, an ideology that generates opposing positions on the Uruguayan left.
“This was something expected,” said one Uruguayan legislator, referring to Maduro’s victory and the subsequent reactions in Uruguay.
Tensions reached a high point when the Executive Secretariat of the FA and politician Yamandú Orsi intervened, adopting a position similar to that of Brazilian President Lula Da Silva.
“When a government does not offer sufficient guarantees. When it is said in advance: ‘if I don’t win, it’s fraud’. When Brazil decides not to send observers. The result could not be other than suspect,” Orsi said in a message released on Monday afternoon. That same Monday, he added a new voice to the avalanche of opinions that have been expressed about the Venezuelan elections.
This is not the first time that Orsi, the former mayor of Canelones, has taken the initiative to speak out on international issues before his political coalition. In October 2023, he quickly took a position on the Hamas attack on Israel, condemning it as “terrorist”, a term that took the FA more than 24 hours to adopt.
Just a week ago, the FA presidential candidate aligned himself with Lula Da Silva’s position regarding the Venezuelan crisis, pointing out that his response had been “very fair, making it clear that elections are won or lost.”
Frente Amplio requests a thorough review of the Venezuelan CNE before taking a position
Following the presidential elections held last Sunday in Venezuela, the Frente Amplio has issued a statement in which it expressed the following:
“We welcome the fact that the election day took place in peace, a fact that demonstrates the civic and peaceful behavior of the Venezuelan people, fundamental aspects for the strengthening of democracy. We now hope that the National Electoral Council will publish all the minutes with the data broken down by polling station, an essential element to guarantee the transparency, credibility and legitimacy of the election results. We are also attentive to the reports of the observers from the Carter Center and the UN Panel of Experts. We reaffirm that, once these conditions have been met, the results must be respected by all candidates and by the international community.”
The Frente Amplio thus maintains its stance of waiting and verifying, stressing the importance of transparency and international observation in the Venezuelan electoral process.
This statement highlights the caution that the left-wing coalition has tried to exercise in the face of opaque and globally questioned elections, only accepted by countries far from full democracy such as Iran, China or Cuba, to name a few.
