Lorena Quintana, candidate for vice president for Cabildo Abierto (CA)stressed the importance of the electorate in his last comment on the X platform, stating that “people should know to whom they give power with their vote; I give it to a defender of life.” These statements arise in the context of the debate on the law on voluntary interruption of pregnancy (IVE) in Uruguay, which arose after an intervention by the Gynecology Department of the Faculty of Medicine.
These professionals consider that one of the problems with the current legislation is the time limit for abortion, established up to 12 weeks of gestation and extended up to 14 weeks in cases of rape.
An article in the newspaper El Observador compiled the opinions of gynecologists on this regulation, pointing out that the restriction of weeks could have saved the life of a 16-year-old adolescent, a victim of sexual exploitation, who died after a Caesarean section due to premature birth.
Quintana, from her perspective, said that since the IVE law came into force in 2012, “100,000 abortions” have been performed in the country. She said that without the legalization of abortion, “today there would be 100,000 children who would be under ten years old.”
She also expressed her confusion about what she considers most worrying: the support of academia and politicians for the extension of abortion weeks or the “silence of those who should stand up and defend life.”
He stressed the need to ask the candidates their opinions on the issue before the elections: “People should vote knowing who they are giving power to with their vote; I am giving my vote to a defender of life,” he stressed.
The economic agenda of Manini Ríos
On the other hand, Guido Manini Ríos, presidential candidate of CA, focused his agenda on the economic sphere during a recent event organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay.
During his speech, Manini pointed out that “the main victim of the policies that have been applied is the middle class,” a sector that, according to him, has suffered the consequences of prioritizing agreements with large companies to the detriment of small and medium-sized ones.
The presidential candidate stressed that it was necessary to give priority to national companies and criticized the reduction of the working day and the potential repeal of the social security reform. Manini also proposed the revision of the tax system, especially the Personal Income Tax (IRPF), arguing that it currently punishes those who work more, rather than those who have more resources.
The candidate suggested reconsidering the “tax expenditure”, which represents about 7% of Uruguay’s GDP, in order to redistribute resources more equitably. He advocated allowing specific deductions from personal income tax for family expenses, transforming it into a correctly applied tax on income.
Manini stressed the need to transform the personal income tax, stating that, “without a doubt, the personal income tax is a tax on those who work harder.” He proposed that by including appropriate deductions for food and education of children, the tax system could be brought back into line with its original principles, as a true income tax rather than a tax on work.
