The members of the government coalition faced a highly politically intense call to court on Thursday, when the Broad Front filed a motion to discuss the official homicide figures. According to the data, there was an increase of 25% compared to the previous year. However, the motion failed to pass due to a problem of interpretation.
Senator Graciela Bianchi maintained that the original agreement was to discuss only “homicides”, but the Broad Front expanded the proposal to the “public security situation” in the country. On the other hand, the opposition wanted the Minister of the Interior to be summoned to the Permanent Commission to reveal the authorities’ plan to use ex-inmates as “interlocutors”.
But surprise! At the last minute, the motion included two cases of “police abuse.” This unexpected change provoked a vigorous debate and the final rejection of the government coalition. The nationalist senator affirmed that the ruling party failed to comply with the agreement by including these two cases.
Faced with the rejection, the Broad Front announced that it will present an interpellation to the Minister of the Interior in the Senate once the parliamentary recess is over. With the necessary votes, the interpellation will be presented in March.
Augments that hurt
Since September 2021, homicides in Uruguay have continued to increase and January 2023 was a critical moment for this public safety indicator: data revealed by the media shows that in the first month of the current year there were 37 murders, which represents an increase of 6% compared to the same month of the previous year, when there were 35.
According to La Diaria, the increase in the number of homicides has been maintained since the last quarter of 2021, despite the fact that, at that time, mobility in the country was seriously limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
