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Uruguayan mayor seeks investment to revive rural areas amid depopulation fears
🇺🇾 Uruguay /Economy & Trade

Uruguayan mayor seeks investment to revive rural areas amid depopulation fears

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A Uruguayan official is concerned about rural depopulation and the concentration of people in the capital region.
  • He argues that a low rural population hinders national development and competitiveness, especially after trade agreements.
  • He advocates for increased investment in rural areas to create opportunities and mitigate population decline.

Carlos Enciso, the mayor of Florida and newly elected president of the National Congress of Mayors, is prioritizing investments in Uruguay's interior regions to combat the migration of people towards Montevideo and its metropolitan area. While President Yamandú Orsi shares this goal, Enciso noted that not all members of the governing Frente Amplio coalition fully support the objective. He also urged white party leaders to allow their mayors to govern without constant criticism from the opposition.

The country has a process of population concentration in the metropolitan area, extended a bit towards the Costa de Oro and now also Maldonado and Punta del Este. That implies that from the point of view of integral national development there are yellow lights.

— Carlos EncisoEnciso described the demographic trend of population moving to the capital region as a warning sign for national development.

Enciso highlighted that Uruguay faces a "yellow light" for its national development due to population concentration. He pointed to rural depopulation, low birth rates, and structural migration as key factors. With only 5% of the population living in rural areas, Enciso questions Uruguay's ability to compete with European nations like Italy, France, and Spain, which have 18-23% rural populations, despite Uruguay's self-proclaimed agricultural identity. He expressed concern about the future of the interior if it continues to empty, leaving a shortage of workers.

We say we are an agricultural country but we only have 5% of the rural population. What is the future of an interior that is emptying and will not have people to work?

— Carlos EncisoEnciso questioned the sustainability of Uruguay's agricultural identity with a dwindling rural workforce.

While acknowledging urbanization as a global trend, Enciso aims to "mitigate" rather than reverse it. He stressed the need to create "conditions of balance and more opportunities" in rural areas. This includes advocating for the expansion of the Technological University (UTEC) to more departments and fostering both public and private educational ecosystems nationwide. He also called for improved rural infrastructure, including better roads, services, and healthcare, to match urban standards, demanding "real decentralization, not just discourse."

We want to generate conditions of balance, of more opportunities in the interior.

— Carlos EncisoEnciso outlined his goal to create more attractive living and working conditions outside the main urban centers.

Furthermore, Enciso believes that investing in the interior can enhance security. He suggested that some migration to the metropolitan area leads to a mix of people lacking opportunities with environments conducive to drug addiction. By providing more opportunities in rural areas, he hopes to reduce this pressure on urban centers.

We want better roads, infrastructure and health, because the rural areas of Europe have the same services as the urban ones.

— Carlos EncisoEnciso demanded tangible improvements in rural infrastructure and services to match international standards.
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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