Former Uruguayan Vice President Danilo Astori (2010-2015) died Friday at the age of 83 from complications following a hip fracture for which he had been hospitalized since late October, it was reported in Montevideo. Astori had resigned his seat on the Senate late last year due to other health problems.
Former Economy Minister Danilo Astori informed the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) party on Monday that he will resign his seat in the Senate on Tuesday.
Uruguayans head to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, 30 senators and 99 Lower House members. If none of the eleven presidential candidates manages 50% of cast votes plus one on 27 October, a runoff between the two hopefuls with most support is scheduled for 24 November.
On Sunday 27 October the Uruguayan electorate will be voting for a new president (there is no immediate reelection) and a renewed Legislative, 30 Senators and 99 Lower House members. Uruguay is one of the more stable countries in the region, both it's solid institutions as well as its citizens who are deeply committed to democracy, social rights and a strong presence of government in the economy.
Malaysia is a bloodthirsty dictatorship where they kill 25 people every day, according to Uruguay's ex president Jose Mujica. The Uruguayan leader speaking at a political rally put in the same bag, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, China as part of a poor defense of the regime of his good friend, the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.
Uruguay's Economy minister admitted on Friday that the country will end 2019 with a “very modest growth”, in the range of 0.6%, but was confident the economy would pick up in 2020 when the construction of a new pulp mill, with an investment of at least two billion dollars, is scheduled to start.
Uruguay is experiencing, in recent months, a marked drop in investment and the generation of employment. Uruguayan Economy Minister Danilo Astori admitted Wednesday the fall of public accounts, with an annualized fiscal deficit in April that was 4.8% of GDP, and opted to provide greater incentives to investors and entrepreneurs. The Uruguayan press accuses the government of betting on the hope that the results will begin to be felt in the second half of the year, as it was heard a while ago in Argentina under the administration of President Mauricio Macri.
Uruguay's Economy Minister Danilo Astori Sunday said he was surprised at last week's decision by the Fitch agency to maintain Uruguay's investment grade as it lowered the outlook down to BBB- and pointed out that this report “contrasts openly with those of other risk rating agencies and with the market itself.”
Uruguay will be handed the rotating chair of Mercosur this Monday in a brief summit ceremony to take place in Paraguay. Attending will be Brazil's Michel Temer, Uruguay's Tabare Vázquez, the host Paraguay Horacio Cartes and in representation of Argentina, vice president Gabriela Michetti. President Mauricio Macri is in the midst of a cabinet reshuffle and waiting for market reaction this Monday following the naming of a new Central Bank chairman.
After several days up in Argentina, the devaluation of the Argentine peso and the rise of the US dollar have had some impact on the other side of the River Plate, where the exchange houses of downtown Montevideo marked on Wednesday the value of the currency up to 31,70 Uruguayan pesos per dollar, a rise of 2.08% compared to Monday —the highest in five years—. For the Uruguayan government, the country follows the global trend and calls for calm, beyond the noise generated in Argentina, which is beginning a dialogue between the Finance Minister, Nicolás Dujovne, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington.