‘Efficiency’ payments allowed Lavalleja officials to earn up to three times their salaries

Some senior officials in Uruguay’s Lavalleja municipality received additional payments that brought their monthly income to as much as three times their base salary, according to documents reviewed by *El País*.

The issue emerged after Daniel Ximénez took office as the first Frente Amplio mayor in the municipality’s history. He ordered a review of departments run by the National Party for the 35 years before 2025, including Human Resources. The findings led him to seek a review and redesign of the compensation system.

One example appears in the February 2021 payslip of Laura Nahabetian, then director of legal affairs. In addition to her salary from Agesic, from which she had joined the municipality on a temporary assignment, she received two payments classified as efficiency compensation, worth 160,000 and 320,000 pesos. Together, the supplements totaled 480,000 pesos in one month.

Another payslip shows Juan Carlos Rosales, then director of finance, receiving 530,415 pesos in February 2021. The amount included a 170,000-peso base salary, a 40,000-peso efficiency payment and another 320,000-peso efficiency payment. In March 2023, his successor Ana Eguren received a 66,667-peso efficiency payment, later increased to 95,214 pesos, plus 30,000 pesos in travel expenses.

The documents also list payments to other directors, including Juan Carlos Sportuno, Neris Villalba and officials overseeing culture, social services, and family and gender affairs. Similar, though smaller, payments appeared during Adriana Peña’s 2015-2020 administration, including supplements received by her partner, Gastón Elola, who served as director of roads and public works.