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Uruguay president dismisses army advisor who defended convicted military personnel
🇺🇾 Uruguay /Elections & Politics

Uruguay president dismisses army advisor who defended convicted military personnel

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi dismissed Graciela Lourdes Figueredo, an advisor to the Army chief, due to her past role defending military personnel convicted of human rights abuses.
  • The decision followed strong criticism from the Mothers and Families of Detained and Disappeared Uruguayans, who cited Figueredo's defense of convicted military members and her public statements questioning evidence in human rights cases.
  • The presidency also cited Figueredo's violation of a constitutional article prohibiting military personnel from engaging in political activities, stemming from her participation in a European Parliament event.

Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi has dismissed Graciela Lourdes Figueredo, an advisor to the Army's commander-in-chief, Mario Stevenazzi. Figueredo, a retired non-commissioned officer, had been appointed to the role in September 2025.

We are on alert due to political decisions that are contrary to the fight and commitment to Never Again.

— Mothers and Families of Detained and Disappeared UruguayansIn a statement criticizing the appointment of Graciela Figueredo.

The decision came after significant backlash from the organization Mothers and Families of Detained and Disappeared Uruguayans. In a May 26 statement, the group expressed alarm over political decisions they deemed contrary to the "Never Again" commitment. They specifically denounced Figueredo's appointment, highlighting her past work as a defense lawyer for numerous military officers accused and convicted of serious human rights violations.

Familiares also pointed to Figueredo's history of using legal tactics to prolong judicial processes and her public assertions in far-right forums that human rights crime cases lacked sufficient evidence, thus questioning the veracity of victim testimonies. The organization viewed her appointment as incongruent with the government's commitment to addressing these historical cases.

We denounce and repudiate the appointment of Graciela Figueredo as legal advisor in the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

— Mothers and Families of Detained and Disappeared UruguayansIn a statement criticizing the appointment of Graciela Figueredo.

Beyond the human rights concerns, the presidency's resolution cited Figueredo's violation of Article 77 of the Uruguayan Constitution. This article mandates that active military personnel abstain from any political activity, public or private. Figueredo's participation in an international event at the European Parliament titled "The case of Uruguay: UE Interference in Foreing Democartic Processes?" was deemed a breach of this constitutional provision.

The military in active service must refrain from executing any act of a political nature, whether public or private.

— Uruguayan Constitution, Article 77Cited by the presidency as a reason for Figueredo's dismissal.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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