The Commission for the Yes to the repeal of the 135 articles of the Law of Urgent Consideration (LUC) organized an act this Wednesday in Buenos AiresArgentina, to spread the cause of the referendum on March 27 and capture votes from abroad. José Olivera, president of Fenapes and member of the Commission for the Yes, told The Observer what “there is enthusiasm to participate in the day of the 27” by Uruguayan citizens residing in Argentina.
The event will take place at 7:00 p.m. at the Eva Perón Amphitheater in the Argentine capital, and Olivera and the leader of the Broad Front, Rafael Michelini, will participate. The president of the Broad Front, Fernando Pereira, was going to participate in the event but canceled his presencereported from the communication of the party to The Observer.
The secretary of the leftist coalition in Argentina, Daniel Pisciottano, told The Observer that the event was organized by the PIT-CNT and the Argentine trade union centralswith the purpose of “spread” the referendum. This is the first event organized in Argentina by the Yes for the campaign, after several “gatherings”, pointed out the front runner. However, the secretary does not expect a large turnout: “It will be with the usual and militant people,” detailed.
Andrés Larisgoitía, from the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (CTA), disagreed with the number of people that Pisciottano foresaw, and believes that there will be a good number of attendees. The trade unionist explained that the three Argentine trade union centersthe CTA, the Autonomous and the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), took on the role of providing logistical support in the campaign without politically interferingin a sample of international solidarity with the PIT-CNT, with which all the plants they have an “old union”, Larisgoitia said.
Union support began at the signing meeting in Argentina and continues until the end of the campaign. “Based on the information we have, the majority of Uruguayans do not agree” with the LUC, declared the trade unionist.
Between 2,000 and 5,000 Uruguayans
According to Pisciottano, the “Uruguayan community is aware of what is happening in the country”, because “On the 27th Uruguay plays a very big game”. Despite this, he regretted that it is “difficult” because of the “economic situation” and the “costs” that many Uruguayans cross into Uruguay to vote on the day of the referendum.
The union centrals want to help with the transfer of Uruguayans, although are still discussing support possibilitiesLarisgoitia said. One possibility, according to the Argentine trade unionist, could be ask the Argentine government to provide a “license” for Uruguayans to travel abroadwhich would be added to the financing plans that the Uruguayans themselves have.
The unions estimate that between 2,000 and 5,000 Uruguayans residing in Argentina will cross into Uruguay on the 27thalthough he clarified that many times these trips are defined “within the last three days”for economic and labor reasons.
In any case, the estimate is far from the 20,000 Uruguayans that Larisgoitía calculated would come to the country for the referendum on an interview with The Observer made in November.
