The camaraderie, the jokes and the blurred boundaries between partisan colors impregnate a particular idiosyncrasy in the Congress of Mayors, little comparable to other political environments. The 19 communal chiefs rub shoulders with similar interests when it comes to negotiating with the national government, with an open complicity – which transcends the political – in which the exceptions stand out.
The case of the mayor of Montevideo, Carolina Cosse, marks a distance from that climate installed by her peersby delegating to trusted leaders the tasks in the organization and prioritize other items in your busy daily schedule. The engineer missed ten of the 17 plenary sessions that Congress had since the beginning of the current periodaccording to the data processed by The Observer.
The one who concurs the most on his behalf is the director of Financial Resources, Mauricio Zunino, whose technical and political “solidity” stands out in all rows. The economist has an active role in key debates in Congress such as Sucive to the solidarity journals. The general secretary, Olga Otegui, figure of his kidney, has also participated.
From the environment of the communal chief they assure that the organism “is an area of the Municipality of Montevideo (IM) and not of the mayor”, for which Zunino and Otegui are representative. However, except for specific faults, Cosse’s is the only constant absence on the part of a mayor.
While her participation was regular in the first six meetings since her inauguration, as of June 10 of last year the hierarch began to refer her delegates. The plenary sessions in which all the community leaders sit in the same room are monthly, and since then the engineer has only been present at the meeting in January this year, for the inauguration of the current president of Congress, Guillermo López.
Cosse has been characterized in his investitures by a “very executive” style. Those who know her report an agenda full of events and concise work discussions, not very compatible with the more relaxed dynamics of the plenary.
What did you do in those days? Its activity ranged from a conference to announce news about the ABC plan, to inaugurations of houses in peripheral neighborhoods, children’s centers and art exhibitions, its participation in fairs for entrepreneurs, the celebrations the day the almost 800,000 signatures were delivered for the referendum, the attendance at marches, among several other instances that do not appear in their social networks, explained relatives.
An exception
Cosse’s distance from his peers diverges from the affinity that his co-religionists Yamandú Orsi and Andrés Lima maintain with the rest. The Canarian has insisted several times on dialogue inside Congress and put cold cloths on the whites’ challenge to debate in the referendum campaign, arranging instead to have a barbecue. The salteño, meanwhile, has been in his second year as vice president and is soaked in the issues.
From the circles of Orsi and Cosse, they interpret the link with Congress as signs of their respective leadership styles.. The trajectory of the canary has led him to be an interlocutor of the white mayors for political issues, such as when Omar Lafluf and Alejo Umpiérrez contacted him in the negotiations for the approval of trusts to mediate between political forces.
That does not mean that Cosse is not in contact with the rest. “I do not make any decision at the Table without first consulting Carolina and Yamandú,” Lima explained to The Observer. Carmelo Vidalín, from Durazno, said on his part that he has an “excellent relationship” with Cosse, who is “extremely receptive to proposals.” “The same with Andrés and Yamandú. With him (Orsi) I have almost a bond of friendship, “he said.
None of the white mayors consulted showed that they had a bad relationship with their Montevideo counterpart, although they did admit a lack of connection. “His substitute had dinner with the entire National Party bench in Mercedes. The Congress is characterized by acting 19 votes to zero”, valued Pablo Caram from Artiguense.
Diego Battiste
Plenary session of the Congress of Mayors on July 8 of last year
“I have a family friendship with Yamandú. I know her little, but the times we talk, everything is fine, “the hierarch shared. “Everyone has their way of being. I am very open, making jokes. But everyone has their profile and you have to respect it”, he stated.
The president of Congress, Guillermo López, said that the absence “symbolically implies a lot in that active participation strengthens and matures” the organization. “There have been no setbacks, but the signs are important,” he settled.
Alejo Umpiérrez, from Roche, pointed out that “direct dialogue with the mayors is good and their presence enhances the organization, without prejudice to Zunino’s collaborative attitude.” The Sanducero Nicolás Olivera recognized that beyond the “excellent bond”, the mayors will have a meeting to strengthen the “comradeship” having passed the electoral campaign. “As long as she lends herself, for us barbarian.”
