A leftist history teacher and a center-right veterinarian will go head-to-head for the presidency of South America’s most stable democracy, Uruguay, after a first round of voting on Sunday.
Yamandu Orsi of the left-wing Frente Amplio (Broad Front) and Alvaro Delgado of the National Party, of outgoing center-right president Luis Lacalle Pou, will face off in the November 24 runoff.
– Pepe’s heir apparent –
Orsi, 57, was the favorite going into the election, which could see the left, which has governed the country for most of the past 20 years, return after a five-year hiatus.
Orsi garnered 43.2-44 percent of first-round votes according to projections based on partial vote counts carried by the Canal 10 and Canal 12 television channels.
He is seen as the understudy of highly popular ex-president Jose “Pepe” Mujica.
Mujica, a former guerrilla fighter, was nicknamed “the world’s poorest president” during his 2010-2015 rule because of his modest lifestyle, and is still an inspiration to many Uruguayans.
Orsi was born in a house in the countryside with no electricity.
He grew up in the town of Canelones, of which he later became mayor.
In his youth, he helped out in his parents’ grocery store and was a folk dancer and an altar boy in the Catholic Church.
In 1989, he joined the Movement of Popular Participation, founded by Mujica, which later became part of the Frente Amplio coalition.
Orsi taught history in high school until 2005, when he entered local government.
Ahead of Sunday’s vote, he handily won the Frente Amplio primary, in June, defeating former Montevideo mayor Carolina Cosse, whom he later chose as his running mate.
The twice-married educator, who has 11-year-old twins, campaigned as a moderate with a down-to-earth approach.
But his failure to set out a plan for government before the election drew criticism.
He also declined to take part in debates and gave few media interviews.
– President’s right-hand man –
Delgado was just days into his new job as secretary of the presidency under his longtime friend, Lacalle Pou, in 2020 when Uruguay, like much of the world, went into Covid-19 lockdown.
Being government spokesman during the crisis, however, allowed him to build his public profile.
Born in Montevideo, Delgado was educated in Catholic schools.
He is the married father of three adult children aged 25, 23 and 21.
He entered politics after having run an agricultural business and worked as a veterinary advisor.
Before being tapped by Lacalle Pou to serve in the administration, he was a labor inspector, a member of parliament representing Montevideo and a senator.
Delgado says he is happier roaming the countryside on horseback than lounging around Uruguay’s ritzy seaside resorts.
During the campaign, the National Party candidate was branded a “caveman” and described as “vulgar” on social media for calling his running mate, former union activist Valeria Ripoll, a “hottie.”
Delgado called his remark a “mistake” and an “unfortunate joke.”
Like Orsi with Mujica, he has benefitted from his close association with Lacalle Pou, who has an approval rating of 50 percent.
But he faces an uphill battle to convert his 27-28 percent of first-round votes into a win in the runoff.
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