In this edition, Fasano invites those who are undecided in this national election, which next Sunday, October 27, will decide the fate of the next 5 years of government in Uruguay, to explore and shed light on the murkiest issues in Uruguayan politics. Throughout the six chapters of his program “La Cosa Vostra”, the former director of La República has presented official figures that reveal comparisons about scarcity or abundance in social, economic and public security aspects between different governments. However, it is “ethical scarcity” that receives special attention in this analysis.
Corruption in the government of Lacalle Pou
Fasano points out that during the years that the parties that make up the Republican Coalition governed, 64 complaints of criminal offenses were registered, of which 29 were prosecuted and among the remaining 35 there were resignations from their positions, dismissals, summaries and very few case files. These allegations involve several prominent figures that highlight a deep, systemic problem within the government apparatus. Fasano cites these cases as evidence of a political environment where corruption has flourished, affecting both public morality and trust in state institutions.
Fasano’s analysis highlights 20 critical scandals during the Lacalle Pou government. Among them are senators, deputies, mayors, advisors to the Presidency of the Republic, directors of entities, councilors, presidents of International Commissions, the president of the National Party and prosecutors, revealing a disturbing relationship between political power and the judicial system.
The responsibility of the President
Fasano does not hesitate to point out the responsibility of President Lacalle Pou in some of these cases, highlighting his inaction or direct action on critical issues such as the granting of a passport to drug trafficker Marset and the accusations of espionage. According to Fasano, such errors not only reflect administrative failures, but also tacit complicity that should have been investigated with transparency and responsibility.
Comparison with the Broad Front governments
In contrast to the current government, the communicator observes that during the 15 years of the Frente Amplio, only eight prosecutions were registered, of which only one was directly linked to corruption. The case in question involved the casino director. Fasano argues that the other accusations during that period were isolated incidents with less seriousness, analyzing these cases both in quantity and quality of the crimes, stating that half of them were accused of “unnamed abuse of functions”, a crime that does not exist in the regulations, jurisprudence and doctrine of comparative criminal law, which suggests a different approach towards ethics and governance by the Frente Amplio.
The Impact of corruption on society and politics
Corruption, according to Fasano, not only destroys the integrity of institutions but also erodes public trust, thus weakening democracy itself and the functioning of politics, which should be the noblest action of human activity, such as defined by Aristotle, Plato and even Seneca himself, today converted into a quagmire of suspicions. His criticism suggests that the current administration has allowed corruption to flourish, moving away from the ideals of transparency and justice that should guide any democratic government.
A call to citizens
The journalist, after stating that “this government increased the coffers of the least and the unhappiness of the most,” urged the undecided to return to a government that will once again achieve the most difficult accumulation in history, which is the ethical accumulation achieved by the Frente Amplio in its 15 years of government.
Finally, Fasano said goodbye to the undecided, telling them: “Support the only project that guarantees that you are socially equal, humanly different, totally free and emancipated… until Sunday when we will meet before the tribunal of the polls.”
