Preliminary results showed left-wing Frente Amplio retaining control of Montevideo in Uruguay’s local elections on Sunday, in line with polls that had forecast a win for the coalition that has governed the capital since 1990.
Senator Mario Bergara will lead the city of 1.3 million inhabitants, despite the wear and tear his party has experienced over more than three decades in power.
The regional elections took place almost six months after the broad left-wing regained control of the Presidency through Yamandú Orsi.
“We’re not here to found Montevideo … we’re here to follow the seven frenteamplista administrations that have changed Montevideo, that have made it what it is today,” an elated Bergara told supporters.
Bergara defeated the centre-right coalition’s candidate Martín Lema, who served as national social development minister in former president Luis Lacalle Pou’s 2020–2025 government.
With 99.8 percent of ballots counted, the Frente Amplio led with 48.96 percent, compared to 40.03 percent for the centre-right coalition led by Lema.
A 60-year-old economist, Bergara served twice as president of Uruguay’s Central Bank and was economy minister during the Frente Amplio administration of popular former guerrilla fighter José ‘Pepe’ Mujica (2010–2015).
The vote puts the electoral map broadly in line with trends of the past two decades, with Frente Amplio winning in Uruguay’s two most-populous departments and the Partido Nacional holding a strong lead across the rest of the country, where it won control of 13 regions.
The centre-right coalition also won in Salto, which borders Argentina, while the Partido Colorado took Rivera, on the border with Brazil.
The left held on to power in Canelones – which borders Montevideo and is the second most-populous department, with nearly half a million people – with a lead of more than 12 percentage points over the Partido Nacional, according to a preliminary count.
Río Negro, also bordering Argentina, was the other department gained by the left, while in centre-east Lavalleja, the FA was ahead, but the margin was so narrow that a final count will be required to determine the winner.
Maldonado, home to up-market holiday spot Punta del Este, and the rest of the country remained in the hands of the centre-right, which ran in some areas as a coalition and in others under its traditional banners: the Partido Nacional and the Partido Colorado.
Perhaps the most notable absence at the ballot box on Sunday was Mujica. Just days away from turning 90, Mujica is going through a “difficult time,” President Orsi told reporters as he cast his vote.
The former president announced early this year that he would no longer undergo treatment for the cancer diagnosed in May 2024.
“We must all help ensure that dignity is the guiding principle in every stage of life. There’s no need to overwhelm him – we should let him rest,” said Orsi, who sees Mujica as a mentor.
Bergara, meanwhile, dedicated a post on social media to Mujica. “Thank you, Pepe. This victory also carries your stamp,” he wrote.
With these elections, Uruguay closes out a lengthy electoral cycle that began in June last year with primaries, continued with the general election in October and concluded with a presidential run-off last November.
– TIMES/AFP
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