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ARGENTINA | 14-11-2019 19:17

Alberto Fernández lends support to Daniel Martínez in Uruguay ahead of run-off

The president-elect met with Uruguayan president, Tabaré Vázquez, in Montevideo. The two spoke about bilateral relations and recent events in Latin America.

President-elect Alberto Fernández reaffirmed Peronist ties with the ruling Frente Amplio ("Broad Front") coalition in neighbouring Uruguay on Thursday, lending his support to the leftist party's presidential candidate in the country's forthcoming run-off.

The Frente de Todos leader met with outgoing Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez earlier in the day, before going on to meet presidential hopeful Daniel Martínez who faces a head-to-head battle with Luis Lacalle Pou, from the centre-right opposition. on November 24.

Speaking Thursday at a press conference after meeting Vázquez, Fernández commented on the upcoming vote in Uruguay, as well as on the situation in Bolivia.

In the headline takeaway, he announced he’d be “delighted” to receive Bolivia's former president Evo Morales and his former vice-president García Linera in Argentina and grant them asylum.  

“Argentina is home for all Bolivians,” he declared. 

He also said if he had been president Sunday, the day Morales resigned, he would have offered asylum that same day because “Argentina is his house.” 

Regarding the political and social crisis facing all of Latin America right now, Fernández said “we need to be very attentive,” calling for the preservation of democracy across the continent. 

“When that is in crisis, it can only be resolved with more democracy and with the vote,” he said. 

When it came to the relationship with Uruguay, Fernandez assured there’s “no possibility” the two countries will have “a bad relationship," referring to the uncertainty surrounding who will assume the office of the presidency. 

I am "obligated to get along well with the president” elected in Uruguay in the next round of voting, referring to the run-off scheduled for November 24 between Martínez and Lacalle-Pou.

When he arrived to the Uruguayan capital, accompanied by lawmakers Sergio Massa, Miguel Cuberos and his spokesperson Juan Pablo Biondi, Fernández went to the Presidential Residence of Suárez and Reyes. There, he met with his Uruguayan counterpart, who he referred to as a “friend” with whom he has a “great relationship.” It was their second meeting. The first was October 7 in Buenos Aires. 

Argentina's soon-to-be president seems to be working to foster relationships with other foreign leaders, telling journalists he received invitations from the prime ministers of France and Italy, Emmanuel Macron and Giuseppe Conte, respectively. 

“They are relationships important to maintain and to grow,” Fernández said. 

– PERFIL/TIMES

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