MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Astori’s team looks for support (and funds) from Argentine businessmen

Former Finance minister Astori advisors still confident of a Sunday surprise

Leaders from the grouping which supports Uruguayan presidential hopeful Danilo Astori cautioned in Buenos Aires that if Senator Jose Mujica is nominated candidate next Sunday, the ruling coalition’s re-election chances could be impaired.

During an event this week with Argentine businessmen who paid 1.000 US dollars per capita, Senator Rafael Michelini, spokesperson for the campaign of former Finance minister Astori warned that if Mujica wins the primaries, it will be difficult for the ruling coalition to retain its Congressional majority in October’s presidential election.

•”The Uruguayan society is conservative, so we are giving the traditional parties an advantage and we will have difficulties convincing the necessary majority to support us” next October if the candidate is former guerrilla leader Mujica.

According to the latest public opinion polls the ruling Broad Front retains a 44% vote intention for the presidential election of October, with the opposition National party with 38% and the Colorado party, 8%, “which means that together they garner 46%”, warned Michelini.

Anyhow followers of Astori and his campaign team believe their candidate can still give a surprise in the primary. Even with 20 points difference between Mujica and Astori, given the fact that only half the Uruguayan registered voters will be going to the polls next Sunday, “the difference is only 35.000 votes”.

“Regarding public opinion polls, looking back into recent history and the primaries of 2004, they missed the results. We are hopeful that next Sunday a massive “silent vote” will be decisive for our candidate, economist Astori”, said Uruguayan Vice-president Rodlofo Nin Novoa who also travelled to Buenos Aires in support of the former Finance minister.

“In case we don’t win the primary next Sunday, the presidential ticket could be made up of Mujica with Astori”, suggested Nin Novoa who added that the conditions which “our candidate is demanding are acceptable for the Mujica team”.

Candidate Astori was supposed to be the main speaker at the Buenos Aires rally with Argentine businessmen, most of them with strong interests in Uruguay, but because of his poor health (pneumonia) was not able to be present. Astori spent almost a month in hospital and was only released last week for home recovery.

However one of the figures present at the meeting was Fernando Lorenzo, an economist who belongs to the team of Astori and has been signalled as the future Finance Minister if the ruling coalition repeats next October.