It's all very interesting and a lot like the Primaries in the U.S. in that no one knows how disillusioned voters will vote. When Billary didn't make the 1st cut, McCain won a lot of female votes. Similarly, although the Blancos and the Colorados are both right-wing parties, it is my understanding that there are Blancos who would rather vote for Fidel Castro for President of Uruguay than vote for a Colorado. Anyway, none of this was very surprising, mostly just anticlimactic. But I think things are about to get dirty, so I'll keep y'all posted.
The most surprising part of the whole night, however, was discovering that the country had voted NO to two new laws. One would've enabled Uruguayans to vote from abroad. Uruguay does not currently give its citizens the option to vote via absentee ballot. You must be physically in the country to vote, which obviously is very problematic for people living and working abroad. This amendment is of particular importance because there is a significant population of Uruguayans who fled during the dictatorship and would like to return but are afraid or unwilling to do so before a number of changes are made in the government. These people do not have a voice. And, unfortunately, it doesn't look like they'll have one this term either.
The other law that was apparently rejected was the annulment of a previous law called "la Ley de Caducidad." This law was created in 1986, after the country returned to democracy, to grant impunity to police and military officials who committed crimes (including human rights violations) during the dictatorship. The Frente Amplio, along with many Uruguayans, are seeking to name the criminals for their dirty deeds, but the right-wingers are putting up a heck of a fight.
I seriously don't understand why this law has not been annulled completely because it has already been declared unconstitutional (violating 3 laws of the Uruguayan Constitution) by the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch and the Supreme Court. I'm guessing people are just confused about what it all means. It seems that about 45% voted for the annulment, 30% against, and the rest were undecided/didn't know/no opinion (depending on the poll). That's a lot of indecision/ignorance/apathy. I'll be interested to see the course of action taken by the Frente Amplio to make those voters understand and care. They've got about 4 weeks. The clock is ticking...
That's all for now. Today is Brandon (one of the other Ambassadorial Scholars) Davis' birthday. It's the big dos-cinco. 1/4 century old. We're gonna have an asado at his place and some cheese cake (compliments of Magui), and I'm stoked! Feliz cumpleaños, bd!!
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