President Lacalle Pou emphasized the importance of the agricultural sector for the country
During a tour of Expo Prado 2024, the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, met with authorities from the Rural Association of Uruguay (ARU), with whom he reviewed the actions regarding the agricultural-livestock sector and confirmed its importance for the country. In addition, he reaffirmed his liberal stance regarding intervention in the price of the dollar and assured that a strong peso provides confidence.
At the start of his visit to the 119th edition of the Livestock Exhibition, Agro-industrial and Commercial Show, the president met for more than an hour with members of the ARU board of directors, chaired by the head of the entity, Patricio Cortabarria. He was accompanied by the heads of the ministries of Livestock (MGAP), Fernando Mattos; Economy, Azucena Arbeleche; Foreign Affairs, Omar Paganini; Interior, Nicolás Martinelli, and Transportation, José Luis Falero, as well as the undersecretaries of the MGAP, Juan Ignacio Buffa, and of the Environment, Gerardo Amarilla.
The presidents of the National Meat Institute, Conrado Ferber; the Central Bank, Washington Ribeiro; and the Bank of the Republic, Salvador Ferrer, also participated in the activity, in addition to the general director of the MGAP, Fernanda Maldonado, among other authorities.
At the end of the meeting, Lacalle Pou explained that the meeting was a summary and that this was his last as President of the Republic. He recalled that he had attended when he was a deputy and also in his role as senator, in order to listen to the issues of production and rurality and insisted on the importance of the sector for the country, the economy and for those who live in the countryside.
One of the topics discussed was the dollar. In this regard, he said that foreign influence on that currency is relevant and that the inflow of dollars was very important. He referred to the confidence in the peso and mentioned that it is the second or third currency that appreciated the most in the world. “We have a strong peso, which means confidence. When one issues debt and buys in pesos, it is confidence,” stressed the president, who referred to the “fair balance.” “When one is liberal and does not want to intervene to make it go down, one should not intervene to make it go up either,” he considered.
Regarding the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China, he explained that there were two attempts to make progress, the first between Mercosur and China. He recalled that the bloc resolves by consensus, not by majority, and that, at present, the country with the most objections is Brazil. “I believe that, sooner rather than later, Mercosur will move forward on an FTA with China,” he said.
The second way is bilateral, between Uruguay and the Asian country. In this sense, he understood that there was “legitimate pressure” from other nations. “For us, within Mercosur, we have the legal possibility of making bilateral agreements, but there was no will. Notwithstanding that, with China, we made a lot of progress in opening up markets. We are not satisfied, but we are satisfied,” he said.
In another order, he reviewed the relevance of the Uy Map application that the Government presented some time ago and that brings together more than 1,500 projects completed during this administration. “It speaks of a historic investment, of respect for the resources of Uruguayans and of not wasting money, trying to be fair,” said Lacalle Pou.
