MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay's coalition in turmoil over Vazquez' successor

Mujica: 'Only University graduate or mason can be president'

The leader of the senior group in Uruguay's ruling coalition and presidential hopeful Senator Jose Mujica rejected suggestions to lower his ticket target, and insisted he will only abide by the decision from the grass roots and the Broad Front's congress next month.

Mujica underlined that if the decision to step down and accept second place in the ticket "comes from the leadership of the different groupings I won't pay attention, I couldn't care less; I'm only interested in what the Congress has to say". He added that there's "much talk about consensus, but I can't see the options of that consensus. It's the Congress' job to decide". Adversary and former Economy minister Danilo Astori, who is preferred by President Tabare Vazquez finally admitted he would only be running for the first place in the presidential ticket, somehow shattering a truce that had left the option of either name as the prospective successor of Vazquez as candidate for October 2009 elections. "There's nothing else to talk with Senator Astori", said sources close to Mujica following the economist's decision to begin campaigning as presidential hopeful and rejecting the second place. He made the official launching with a dinner for businessmen in a posh hotel at the fashionable sea side resort of Punta del Este with a 250 USD ticket. Earlier in the week Mujica in a television interview said that the possible "consensus" was "that I go second in the ticket behind Astori", and if that is so "I want them to say it openly, not sending messengers with sweet words". "Let them say publicly and openly once and for all: "look old man, move aside". But "I would add whose going to tell me that, Astori? The groups' leaderships? No way, what really counts is the congress decision". Mujica and his grouping MPP were the most voted inside the ruling coalition that won the October 2004 election that enabled the other charismatic leader of the Broad Front, Socialist Tabare Vazquez become president. The latest independent public opinion polls also indicate that he continues as the most popular leader of the coalition, behind Vazquez, and even more significant he manages more vote-intention outside the coalition than his rival Astori. This is crucial because the non official argument (from the Astori camp) was that given Mujica's background as guerrilla leader and several years imprisonment, his charisma would be limited to half the coalition and certainly not among the more conservative Uruguayan middle class who would see in the former orthodox Economy minister a more palatable option. Mujica likes to boast that Astori might manage "the right numbers", but the votes and the charm belong to him. Finally Mujica complained that to become a successful presidential hopeful in Uruguay "you must have the lustre of a University education or be a mason" and "since I'm no doctor or mason it seems it's banned for me". However in the coming December congress the winning hopeful must garner two thirds of the votes. Mujica believes he has a fair chance with the support from Communist allies and the grass roots movements, "but it's an open race", because once the game begins "everybody plays". Meanwhile President Vazquez re-election option, although still alive and with militants collecting signature-support to include an amendment in the Uruguayan constitution, seems to lead nowhere, given the division inside the coalition and the special majorities needed in Congress. Just in case Vazquez Socialist party has named a third presidential hopeful: the current Energy and Industry minister Martinez, who is more of a technocrat than a politician, but sufficiently neutral, hopefully, as to heal resentments and give time to first line characters to admit the new situation. The Uruguayan ruling coalition wants at all costs to avoid April open primaries, --established constitutionally?since many fear could turn cracks into permanent rifts ensuring victory for the opposition in October.