MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay’s fumbling presidential election makes the undecided soar

Mujica and Lacalle are suffering of oral incontinence

With just over three weeks to a crucial presidential election, Uruguayan political parties have been shocked by the latest public opinion polls: contrary to statistics both leading candidates have lost support while the undecided have doubled.

According to Equipos-Mori pollsters the percentage of undecided has ballooned from 7% in August to over 12% at the end of September which means the two leading candidates instead of attracting voters are expelling them.

The phenomenon, admit the campaign teams of incumbent candidate Jose Mujica and his main opponent Luis Alberto Lacalle has been caused by the many fumbles committed by both sides in recent weeks. Mujica lost two points and is down to 44% (according to Mori-Equipos) while Lacalle also saw his vote intentions erode two points to 32%,

Mujica in an interview with an Argentina daily and later in a book with interviews made highly critical statements regarding the ruling coalition groups and their leaders (including popular president Tabare Vazquez) and said private property is above all a “social asset” belonging to the whole community. In one of the latest rallies he called the undecided a “bunch of idiots”.

This added to his guerrilla leader record, and 14 years in jail, plus proposals such as bringing indigenous people to work the land and questioning Uruguayan law courts left many adherents in a state of overwhelmed surprise.

Former president Lacalle also matched: he said Mujica lived in a “miserable hut” in his farm; he called all those receiving a minimum-salary support from government a bunch of “good for nothing abusers” and promised to use a “motor saw” to cut off all government waste. He also said that shanty dwellers before they are given a house should be taught to bathe.

“We have no records of such an increase in the number of undecided so close to voting day”, said Cesar Aguiar from Mori-Equipos. “The worrisome side of this is that the new undecided do not belong to the non-informed, but rather to the very well informed”.

However the current situation has become more nerve- racking for the ruling coalition since it needs 50% plus one of the votes cast next October 25th if it wants to avoid a run off a month later, when most probably all opposition parties will team up against the incumbent candidate Mujica.

Five years ago with only a month to the presidential election the number of undecided voters was below 8%. “This can be attributed to the negative campaign and personal attacks”, said political scientist Rosario Queirolo, “and we’re talking of 300.000 people”.

“When personal attacks become the heart of the campaign voters retract: in countries where voting is voluntary they won’t go to the polls and in places like Uruguay, with voting compulsory, people loose interest and join the undecided”, said Ms Queirolo.

However she also cautioned that when a campaign becomes too negative or too oppressive through government campaigning in all fields, there’s a tendency to what has been described as the “shameful vote”, which means people have made their mind up but prefer to keep it to them, either saying they are undecided or will vote for the incumbent candidate.