MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New Uruguayan FA leader to strengthen ties with leftwing forces abroad

Pereira se prepara para cuando la izquierda vuelve al poder en la región

Uruguayan Broad Front (Frente Amplio - FA) newly-elected leader Fernando Pereira's has announced his international agenda which includes meetings with Chile's President-elect Gabriel Boric and Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, whose return to the Planalto Palace seems unstoppable.

“The Latin American left needs each other,” said Pereira, who also plans to visit Buenos Aires, where the FA won among Uruguayan residents voting abroad.

“We must give clear signals,” added Pereira who will effectively take the helm of his leftwing coalition Feb. 5.

Lula, 76, is scheduled to visit Uruguay in February. Although his candidacy has not been formally launched, the former two-time head of state has time until Aug. 15 to register. Lula has also held meetings with former Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin to run for the vice-presidency.

According to Datafolha, Lula would beat incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro by 47% of the votes against 21%.

“Lula is going to win in Brazil and that is going to be very important for Uruguay,” Pereira foresaw.

The Uruguayan opposition leader plans to be present at Boric's inauguration in March to strengthen personal ties for the future. In Chile, the Frente Amplio was founded in 2017 as a left-wing political community and for this it took as a basis the experience of its Uruguayan counterparts. The relationship between Uruguay's and Chile's left has been fluid, especially in the days of Michelle Bachelet.

“A 35-year-old president coming to power from the progressive forces is very important for Uruguay and for the entire region,” Pereira also pointed out.

Attempts to unite the Latin American left -which had been in decline in recent years after electoral defeats- also reaches Argentina. Pereira's visit to Buenos Aires, where he obtained a large majority of votes (56%), is a “signal” to leftist militants who usually travel to Uruguay to vote every five years. Some of them could even participate in the March 27 referendum against Law of Urgent Consideration (LUC).

The Broad Front ruled in Uruguay between March 1, 2005 and March 1, 2020, when current President Luis Lacalle Pou took office.