The President Luis Lacalle Pou he touched his nose with his index finger as if to say “It’s a matter of smell” and warned: “The reform is not only necessary, it is also a political opportunity”. The president said this on the morning of Monday the 15th at the residence of Suárez y Reyes, in front of some of the main members of his government, and this reading of the facts shows a change in the perception of the ruling leadership regarding the impact it has and will have in society social security reform bill.
If until not long ago Lacalle Pou felt that he was obliged to send an initiative of this type to Parliament because he was urged by the promise he had made during the electoral campaign and the unsustainability of the system, now he believes that there are elements to be more optimistic . In that sense, in the government they consider –and they also want to make it feel like that– that the conditions are in place so that the change in the pension regime does not cause any political cost and, even more, is beneficial when the time comes for people to pass the line end to multicolor coalition management.
The optimism is not based only on nose, but also on some numbers such as those of the recent survey of Consulting Teams, in which 72% of those consulted said that the pension system should be modified and 61% endorsed the increase from 60 to 65 years of retirement age –as proposed by the government draft–. The secretary of the presidency, Álvaro Delgado, vice president Beatriz Argimón, ministers Luis Alberto Heber (Interior) and Javier García (Defense), and senators Gustavo Penadés, Carlos Camy and Jorge Gandini were present at Monday’s meeting.
After having handed over the reform bill to the leaders of the coalition partners and to the president of the Broad Front, Fernando Pereira, Lacalle wanted to know what his co-religionists thought of the proposal. His guests at the Prado house told him that they were willing to move forward with the project in the legislative field. Meeting participants pointed to The Observer that the visions transmitted by the white leaders were mostly related to the idea of political opportunity raised by the president.
Little by little, nationalism began to align itself with the stubbornness of the president and some parliamentary leaders such as Gustavo Penadés (Herrerismo) and Jorge Gandini (Por la Patria), who at first had emphatically stated that the reform could not come out without the support of the Broad Front, in recent days have qualified that position, and have pointed out that the rejection of the initiative is what should entail a cost.
“If we propose the reform well, the political cost will be borne by those who reveal an opportunistic attitude and do not join in making the changes. That is going to be the great political cost that someone is going to pay”, said Gandini interviewed by Search. “If the FA does not accompany him, we would advance the same. The most uncomfortable position is going to be held by whoever has to explain that they do not agree”, contributed Penadés in Informal Breakfasts (Channel 12).
Lacalle Pou expects that the reform proposal will enter Parliament in the coming month of September so that it will be approved before the end of the year. Based on the poll numbers but also on the political nose that was often favorable to him, the president hopes that society rewards those who venture into such an arduous matter.
