Sebastián Cal, deputy for Cabildo Abierto, has been one of the legislators who has participated in matters in which the party had a voice and vote in the Lower House. During 2022, as coordinator of the political force bench, he was involved in various issues that the ruling party dealt with and that are still pending. About the party, the coalition government, laws and what is to come in 2023, he spoke with Diario La R.
– Was Cabildo Abierto one of the parties that worked on the issue of the online gaming law?
– Cabildo Abierto participated in various topics. Some I worked on and others involved more colleagues. On the subject of online games, beyond the contributions made by the Cabildo Abierto, I believe that the main differences are within the National Party with respect to the bill. It is that we have legislators from the National Party who have told us that they are in favor of the modifications proposed by the Cabildo Abierto and there are others who are not in favor. So clearly what has to happen is an alignment on the issue within the National Party, something that has not happened up to now. At all times we have been in order to continue working on the issue, and to vote for it when the majority coalition to vote for it.
– But at what stage is the issue?
He is currently in the Deputies Finance Commission, and there for Cabildo Abierto is the deputy Álvaro Perrone, and although I have intervened a lot on this issue, especially seeing the consequences it has on society, and especially being from Maldonado, the department that I represent, the most affected in issues of compulsive gambling. Experts from a clinic that deals with the issue of compulsive gambling told us that in Uruguay there are between 1% and 1.3% of lupopatas throughout the country, and that in Maldonado that number rises to 4%. It is clearly a number that should arouse the interest and concern of all legislators in our department.
– What phase is the media law currently in?
The Media law is quite stuck, and there are things on which the coalition has not been able to agree. And within the National Party itself there are also big differences regarding the media law. When some asked the Cabildo Abierto for speed, others asked them to put up with the issue a little longer to see if an agreement could be reached.
There are some things that the Cabildo Abierto achieved in this past Accountability, such as enabling cable operators throughout the country to be able to provide Internet services, that was one of the things that we understood as a priority. We were able to achieve it outside of what was generally the media law and treat it through Accountability. Really, with the government that exists, it does not affect many people. Also, neither this government nor the one that was there before enforces it to the letter, so that is not affecting the media. Also, someone tell me a media outlet that has been fined for any of the articles by which he may have been affected. The government has not applied the media law, just as the previous government has not applied it, and that is why it seemed to me a great hypocrisy when legislators from the Broad Front came to ask how many media outlets this or that company has, because all we know today in our country, when we all know that the number that exists in the country, in terms of the amounts of ownership of the same physical or legal persons of one medium or another, when those who imposed it have not even been able to enforce it . I do not see that the situation is unlocked. But clearly there are issues that are 150 times more important than the media law.
– And the issue of debt restructuring for individuals?
– That for many is not a priority on the agenda. But Cabildo Abierto put the issue on the table. Notice that today there are around a million people in the Clearinghouse of Reports. It is 30% of the population, and there are 600,000 citizens who are classified as recoverable. But unfortunately for the majority of the senators it was not a priority to deal with an issue like this, and so the text returns to the Senate. I believe that if Uruguayans are given a list of priorities, and if people are asked what topic would you prefer us to discuss? Today, debt restructuring would be one of the main issues, and unfortunately most of the senators decided that the document should go back to the Committee in the Senate, and hopefully I’m wrong it ends up not prospering.
– What was left of the political party financing law?
In that, the favor that a politician is left owing when a campaign is financed, because really there are things that sometimes happen in our country, that happen within the political system that the only explanation that can be found is that they are debts that politicians have with their contributors.
– Is there a lack of political will on this issue?
Of course, there is a lack of political will. But also, it is a project that was voted unanimously in the commission, and when it reached the plenary, who knows who picked up the red telephone, since from there there was a change of opinion. I would like it if it were a survey that Uruguayans would decide and tell Parliament what are the issues and priorities that exist in the country. And I am sure that the Media law will not matter to anyone, I am sure that a lot of other things will not matter to anyone, but many will care about the restructuring of the debt of individuals. It is that we all have a relative, a friend or a neighbor who is in the Clearinghouse. Almost all of us have a financial death in the family.
– What was your opinion of the vote on the reparation project for the victims of the guerrilla?
It has a medium penalty but you have to see. Let’s hope it’s approved. Here everything is turned around in two seconds and then changing figures in Parliament is common currency, which is despicable but we know that it is so
– What can you say about the treatment and approval of the social security reform bill in the Senate?
I have deep discrepancies, which we still have to resolve in the Cabildo Abierto internally with what the social security reform is. You have to tell the truth to the people, tell them what the reform is and the consequences it has, so that a public opinion can be formed regarding the issue. There are things that I don’t like about the social security reform, such as the fact that the IASS is still maintained as a resource to continue feeding the Banco de Previsión Social. Although it was announced by the president that this year there will be a reduction in the IASS, maintaining the articles that continue to feed the BPS, suggests that there is no intention, either in the short or long term, to completely eliminate the IASS, something that was a campaign promise of all the presidential candidates of the government coalition. It may be that I still feel like a citizen who is like an infiltrator in the political system but I have to do everything in my power to fulfill it to the people. I think you have to be very clear with people. We are loading them with a backpack of 5 more years of work.
– When the social security project enters Deputies, do you think it will be highly debated before the vote?
– First we will see if they have my vote. You have to see because there is still a lot of water running under the bridge. One of the reasons why I feel comfortable in Cabildo Abierto is because legislators have always had the freedom to act individually, and to vote conscientiously when we believe in a position.
– How do you rate the work of the Cabildo Abierto bench during 2022?
– We work hard, I think the personal egos of the government coalition did not allow us to advance on very important issues, such as the cybersecurity law, which with a week to go until the end of the year, a legislator tells me: “If you vote for us the Media law, we’re going to do Cybersecurity”. I think it’s the worst that they can change figurines like this, to benefit some media outlets that are exceeded in titles with an issue in which they are swindling 200 Uruguayans every week.
– Was this requested by a legislator from a party that is part of the government coalition?
– Yes of course. But let them go to change figurines at school.
– And from which party was the legislator who made that “proposition”?
– Clearly, those most interested in approving the media law are those of the National Party
– Those positions and requests in the Legislative Branch, aren’t they beginning to crack the coalition?
Look, this always happens. And that does not happen only to the government coalition. This also happens to the Broad Front. It happens to society in general. We cannot disguise ourselves as being the best.
– How do you view the government today, considering everything that happened with the cases of Sebastian Marset and Alejandro Astesiano?
– They have been issues that have undoubtedly hit us all. But the same or even more serious things happened in the Broad Front government, and they were hidden. Nothing is hidden here. The President of the Republic himself had to go to Justice and he has not lost a hair for that.
– A few days ago, the senator of the National Party, Gustavo Penadés, acknowledged in an interview that if he had been in the opposition, he would have asked the Ministers of the Interior and the Foreign Ministry to resign, due to the Marset case. Do you have the same vision and opinion as Penadés?
– And if we gave grass to the lions. With that topic it was like that, you have to put up with it. He is somewhat right. What Senator Gustavo Penadés expresses about his sincerity says a lot, something that is not found every day. I want to believe that it was an isolated event, but that it hits us.
– In the second half of December, Guido Manini Ríos met with the Minister of the Interior, Luis Alberto Heber, about the whole issue of Marset, Astesiano and what is happening around security and homicides. How are you evaluating those issues after that meeting?
We haven’t really talked about it. If we have dealt with it at the Political Table and others. I have said it on more than one occasion. I believe that it is not valid, and today the members of the current government coalition criticized when the authorities of the current opposition said that many of the homicides were settling scores. I say that it is not very valid to use the same argument today. Homicides are homicides and deaths are deaths. For whatever reason. You have to adjust the pins and go with a strong hand against criminals. You can’t go back even half an inch. I think the police lack support. Because the Police is a Police 24 hours a day, whether he has the uniform on or not. We owe more support to the Police.
– How do you define the current moment of Cabildo Abierto?
Cabildo has been strictly following the commitment to the country, which I think is excellent. But also, and as we have demonstrated since day one, we have been complying specifically with the voters of the Cabildo, not only with the voters of the coalition in general. Because we know that today there are people who identify with the government coalition, and then we will see who votes.
What prospects do you have for the year 2023?
That in a pre-election year, in spite of everything, that even if it is tied with a wire, I hope that the government coalition continues well. That we can continue to meet our objectives and that here, so that the Broad Front does not win again, there is no party more important than another. All coalition parties are important. And that should not be forgotten.
