MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay's La Libertad Avanza garners enough signatures

Quintana noted that Uruguay was a different country from Argentina, but they were both “dying from socialism”

The Uruguayan version of La Libertad Avanza has successfully obtained the required signatures to be officially recognized as a political party by the Electoral Court. Led by Nicolás Quintana, the group will now have its statutes and principles published, and if no challenges are made within ten days, it will be eligible to participate in upcoming elections.

The party, which shares its name and principles with the political force of Argentine President Javier Milei, was officially registered in Uruguay in June and aims to counter what it calls “collectivist ideologies.” The news was welcomed by Argentina's Minister of National Security, Patricia Bullrich.

“I want to send a big greeting to our Uruguayan brothers and sisters, who have just registered the La Libertad Avanza party in Uruguay. So the way has been opened, the path has been opened for freedom to arrive with all its force in Uruguay, our sister country,” Bullrich said in a video shared on the party's X account.

In a first attempt, the new political force had failed to garner the required number of signatures but was given 20 days to address the Electoral Court's (EC)objections.

EC Justice Pablo Klappenbach told reporters that what was being analyzed was whether the required number of signatures had been reached, not the total number submitted. He added that the Electoral Affairs Commission will likely analyze the issue at its meeting on Wednesday.

La Libertad Avanza was publicly launched with a small ceremony in early June, with Nicolás Quintana, a former member of Cabildo Abierto, as its main spokesperson.

La Libertad Avanza “is an alliance of liberals and libertarians, conservatives and patriots,” Quintana argued. “You saw the greetings that came from our sister Republic of Argentina. It is a project that is naturally consubstantial with Javier Milei's successful project in Argentina. It is a beacon, it is a guide. Uruguay is a different country from Argentina, with different challenges, but we have the same problem: We are dying from socialism, we are dying from collectivist ideologies,” he said.