MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Four Uruguay Cabinet Members Quit

Four ministers in President Jorge Batlle's Cabinet have resigned to protest his handling of the economy, escalating a crisis in his ruling coalition.

Industry and energy minister Sergio Abreu announced his resignation late Monday, highlighting tensions in Batlle's administration as it negotiates the response to a downturn in the small South American nation's economy.

Abreu is from the National Party known as the Blancos, a partner in power with Batlle's Colorado Party. Blancos ministers have complained Batlle has sidelined them as he formulates a policy to deal with the crisis.

Three other Cabinet ministers also submitted their resignations: sports minister Jaime Trobo, Carlos Cat of housing and Antonio Mercader of education and culture.

A fifth minister, Alvaro Alonso of the labor portfolio, said he would resign, but later decided to stay on pending a final decision of his party.

Responding to the resignations, Batlle said he will ask Congress to eliminate some of the ministries being vacated.

The resignations are considered to have weakened Batlle's presidency, but the National Party is not expected to withdraw from the coalition.

The resignations came amid a growing rift between the coalition partners and as Congress tries to pass reforms needed to cope with the crisis.

The tension peaked Monday when Lacalle publicly expressed regret about supporting Batlle in his campaign for the presidency. Batlle won the second round of elections in 2000 with the support of Lacalle. His term is for five years.

But Lacalle's party has grown increasingly restive with the government's handling of the crisis. Lacalle charged Monday that his party was "not appreciated by the Batlle government."

The crisis is the latest fallout from a crisis that began with a run on the banks by depositors who yanked millions of dollars from their accounts earlier this year before the International Monetary Fund stepped in with $3.8 billion bailout.

The government is struggling to reorganize the banking system and jumpstart an economy that is expected to shrink 11 percent this year.