MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Montevideo hosts Mercociudades convention

International Women's Day “forces us to reconsider our priorities,” Mayor Cosse explained

Montevideo Mayor Carolina Cosse Tuesday welcomed dignitaries from over 20 cities from Mercosur and also from Chile for the first Mercociudades meeting of the year which the Uruguayan capital is hosting.

During the opening ceremony, Cosse recalled that the issues to be addressed were framed in a particular month such as March when International Women's Day is commemorated, which “forces us to reconsider our priorities.”

“Montevideo has a very long history -more than 30 years- in the defense of human rights, women's rights, and the fight against violence,” she said. Cosse added that another pillar of the gathering would consist of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mercociudades also launched its South-South cooperation program, which will finance projects submitted through the interactive “Enlace Sur” platform.

In this scenario, the Constitution and Legislation Committee of the Uruguayan Senate voted 5 in 9 to grant Cosse a hearing during which she may defend herself from the accusations brought up by the Departmental Board, thus kicking off her impeachment.

“It is resolved to confer a hearing for a period of 10 working days, peremptory and non-extendable, so that the Mayor of Montevideo, Carolina Cosse, may present her defense in relation to the accusation formulated by the Departmental Board of Montevideo. Vote. 5 in 9. Affirmative,” the Committee published in a statement on Twitter.

On October 7 last year, in an extraordinary session and with the votes of the opposition councilors, the Departmental Board resolved to impeach Cosse for not appearing in person to a summons to give explanations on “the systematic lack of response to the requests for reports made by the councilors, as well as to the reiterations of the same made by the Body.”

Meanwhile, Montevideo's beaches of Ramírez, Pocitos, Buceo, Malvín, Brava, Honda, and De los Ingleses beaches, and the stretch of coast between Buceo and De los Ingleses beaches received a new UNIT-ISO 14001:2015 certification for their environmental management.