On August 25, a celebration for the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was held at the Embassy of Uruguay in Argentina. The event was attended by the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, and government authorities, but also by entertainment figures such as Mirtha Legrand.
From the Broad Front, Senator Daniel Caggiani sent a request for information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which he states that on August 25 the Embassy of Uruguay in Argentina organized a party for more than 700 guests.
“The President of the Republic participated. Amid budget cuts: What are the reasons for this event? And how much did it cost?” Caggiani asked.
Response
After learning of the concern of the Frente Amplio legislator, the Uruguayan ambassador to Argentina, Carlos Enciso, said that he will respond “with pleasure and speed to the request for information that was transferred to the Foreign Ministry, to avoid generating public unrest due to excessive spending, the which is clearly far from reality.
The head of the diplomatic mission in Argentina acknowledged that he was “surprised by the political reactions” regarding the event he led last Thursday, August 25, which, he said, “are far from what the majority of Uruguayans have expressed about how the country positioned itself before public, social, political and business actors”.
Tag game and donations
Enciso stated that “the event was covered by the label item designated for the quarter, for which, in addition, donations of various products were received.”
Regarding the financing of the reception due to the celebrations for Independence Day, the Uruguayan diplomatic representative indicated that the event involved an expense “less than 10,000 dollars, a figure that is less than the budget allocated for etiquette for the quarter that It’s $12,000.”
“It is traditional that the quarter in which August falls is the strong one of the year. And even with the current quarter, we can say that we are below 10 thousand dollars. We are investing the item even with a leftover from the quarter itself for the entire theme of the celebrations for August 25, “said Enciso.
Details
According to data provided by the ambassador: “the catering meant an expense of 2,027.15 dollars; the drink, $698.25; contracted and own personnel for the service, $2,944.40; photography, $251.17; and furniture rental, 2,874.17 dollars. The total was $8,795.14.”
“Many products that were served in the entertainment were donated by public organizations and by Uruguayan and Argentine companies. With skill, perseverance and support we have managed to have contributions in Uruguayan products such as beverages from Uruguayan wineries and INAVI, Uruguayan meat from INAC, Uruguayan cheeses and dairy products from Conaprole and Lapataia and donations of coffee, sparkling wine and others. The number of donations is important and quantifies the virtues of this event in terms of caring for the public treasury”, said Enciso.
“Previous governments spent more money”
Regarding the reception itself, the ambassador recalled that it is a “traditional celebration at the Embassy in Buenos Aires every August 25”, and recalled that “the Broad Front held it until the pandemic came.”
“He came to do up to two: a reception at noon and another at night,” he said.
He added: “We returned to the original format by which Argentine society in general, the diplomatic corps, the national authorities of Argentina and people with business, social, cultural and artistic ties to Uruguay are targeted. We had a special moment with the very important presence of the president that had never happened before”.
Enciso recalled that he took office as ambassador of the Republic in 2020, when he celebrated the 195th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of Uruguay in Buenos Aires “only accompanied by the military attaché and a minister adviser.” He added that “there has been practically no activity like the one on August 25 in the last two years due to the health emergency.”
“If they want to talk about expenses, we talk about expenses. It is clear that before, with previous governments, more money was spent. When it comes to positioning the country, for us it is an investment and even so we strive with the entire team of the Embassy and the Consulate to save as much as possible”, Enciso remarked.
