Frente Amplio criticizes former president's fiscal record, calls for unity

Opposition leaders in Uruguay sharply criticized former President Luis Lacalle Pou during a Frente Amplio rally, challenging his administration's fiscal management and social impact. Speaking at the Teatro El Galpón, Frente Amplio president Fernando Pereira and Secretary of the Presidency Alejandro Sánchez addressed supporters shortly after the Public Accounts bill received general approval in the Chamber of Deputies, with support from Cabildo Abierto.

Pereira directly addressed Lacalle Pou's recent public reappearance, stating, "He will speak very nicely in Plaza Matriz, but when it came to handing over the government, he did so with a fiscal deficit US$1 billion higher than expected, and with US$1 billion in debt. That had to be faced to be resolved." Pereira further criticized the former president's focus on "power and authority," contrasting it with the need to secure funding for essential services. "One can have a lot of discourse about freedom, that one cannot be free without work, housing, and education, but in the last five years, beyond the speeches, 30,000 more compatriots joined the ranks of settlements under the government of the republican coalition. They did not gain more freedom," Sánchez added, referencing Lacalle Pou's "pretty discourse."

Sánchez accused the National and Colorado parties of attempting to obstruct the Public Accounts bill, which he described as crucial for "generating resources to address child poverty." He emphasized the significant effort required to reach an agreement with Cabildo Abierto, stating, "If anyone, at any time, doubted that the Frente Amplio would put human rights or the recent past on the table for negotiation, they were mistaken." Pereira underscored the collaborative nature of the achievement, declaring, "With the agreement for the Public Accounts, it wasn't the Frente Amplio that won, nor Cabildo Abierto, Uruguay won."

Looking ahead, Pereira announced that the government plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to enable early retirement at age 60 and is working on a unemployment insurance for sole proprietorships. Vice President Carolina Cosse extended her "deepest embrace" to the legislators involved in the Public Accounts bill, specifically commending Sánchez and President Yamandú Orsi for their "negotiating capacity." She deemed the bill's approval "important" for grounding policies in "reality, with a just direction." The leaders also conveyed a message of "unity" to the party's militants amid a changing global landscape.