MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Current and former Uruguayan presidents celebrate democracy

A meeting of former presidents of different political forces is “an extravagance,” Orsi noted

José 'Pepe' Mujica underlined Thursday the importance of a country having the freedom to disagree. He made those remarks alongside former fellow Uruguayan Presidents Julio María Sanguinetti and Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera, together with the incumbent Yamandú Orsi, during a Colorado Party ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the South American country's return to democratic rule. Luis Lacalle Pou, who completed his term last month, made a video appearance while relatives of the late former Presidents Jorge Batlle and Tabaré Vázquez were presented with a distinction.

In his speech, Mujica also underlined that dissent should not lead to national division. “We need freedom to have the right and the possibility to disagree,” which is not tantamount to “tearing the country apart.”

“We can have a pile of crossroads and differences, but we have to take care of that emotional unity that helps us to live,” said Mujica. “The first value is to show us that we can have differences and we can live together because... why do we need freedom? To disagree. We don't need freedom to agree with those in charge. We need freedom to have the right and the possibility to disagree,” he insisted.

Orsi and Sanguinetti concurred on the value of democracy, with the current head of State noting its rarity globally. The 89-year-old Sanguinetti also warned against intolerance and anti-politics.

“These are the signs that the future demands from us. It is a connection with a historical construction that allowed us today to talk about 40 uninterrupted years. That is a good sign that illuminates the future,” Orsi pointed out while noting that a meeting of former presidents of different political forces was “an extravagance.”

“Some countries have similar histories. There are not many, to the point that there are only a few dozen countries that are considered to live in full democracy,” Orsi also stressed. “Not everyone enjoys the benefits of a life in democracy in the same way,” he went on.

Meanwhile, Sanguinetti recalled his first inauguration on March 1, 1985, after twelve years of civil-military dictatorship. “Beware of all these things [such as anti-Semitism], beware then, more than ever, with this democracy that we are ratifying here today. Because, beyond the historical evocation, what we are doing here is to assume an act of commitment to the future,” he said.

“I think that this sacrifice made by our elders was somehow permeating in the citizenry and -of course- in the political system. Of that care that we have to take, of something that cost a lot to achieve, and that we all know, and I hope that we are daily aware, that it is an instant to break it. It is an instant to break it,” Lacalle Pou said in his recorded message.

Meanwhile, his father praised his predecessor and successor Sanguinetti for having fulfilled “a task of great balance,” which was not easy.