MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay welcomes outcome of Argentina's midterms

“Argentina will not become dramatically cheaper, as we observed in 2022-2023,” Oddone celebrated

Uruguay's Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone said on Monday that the landslide victory by Argentine President Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza (LLA) in Sunday's midterm elections would benefit his country with a more stable neighbor, resulting in a favorable environment for the economy.

In a message before the Senate's Budget Committee, Oddone highlighted that the sustained electoral support for Milei consolidates a predictable direction in economic policy across the border, which he deemed crucial for reducing market uncertainty and improving bilateral relations.

“The confirmation of support for Milei's government opens up a very different scenario for Uruguay than one could have imagined if this had not been the case,” the Minister stated.

A key benefit, according to the Minister, is the expected stabilization of relative prices between the two nations, which directly impacts Uruguay's sensitive tourism sector.

Oddone explained that this scenario mitigates the risk of abrupt exchange rate volatility, predicting that “Argentina will not become dramatically cheaper, as we observed in 2022-2023.” That phenomenon had severely hampered the competitiveness of Uruguayan services.

Government forecasts now anticipate a “good influx of Argentine tourists” for the upcoming summer season due to the stabilization of price parity. This eliminates a comparative disadvantage that had previously restricted the flow of visitors.

The Minister's assessment found rare consensus among legislators from different political parties.

Senator Nicolás Viera from the ruling Broad Front (Frente Amplio - FA) acknowledged that Oddone “argued that this election in Argentina has brought stability to the markets, which is obviously always positive for our country.”

On the other hand, Senator Sebastián Da Silva (National Party) echoed this sentiment, stating that “having Argentina firm, with reformist policies, gives this little corner of the world a certain stability.”

This convergence of opinion underscores a shared political perception that Argentina's renewed stability acts as a beneficial external factor for Uruguay.

During his testimony, Minister Oddone also defended the economic expansion rate of 2.4% included in the Five-Year Budget, describing the figure as “plausible based on the macroeconomic policy definition that the economic team is pursuing.” He emphasized that the forecasts are “not based on optimistic expectations, but on achievable projections.”