Uruguay: Draconian Set Of Criminal Justice Reforms

URUGUAY

30 Years of Solitude

More than the presidency is at stake in Uruguay on Oct. 27.

In addition to choosing between presidential candidates Daniel Martinez and upstart challenger Luis Lacalle Pou, voters will also cast ballots on a draconian set of criminal reforms.

The mayor of the capital city of Montevideo, Martinez, 62, is leading in the polls, according to the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. He is the head of the Broad Front, the party that has controlled the South American country for 15 years.

The Broad Front came to power on a wave of enthusiasm for leftist policies but has avoided the “autocracy or unbridled ambition” of socialist regimes in Venezuela and elsewhere, two Latin American studies scholars argued in the Conversation.

Martinez can’t be too careful, however. Support for the Broad Front, is still significant but has waned in recent years. His chief rival, National Party leader Lacalle Pou, 46, has created plenty of buzz as a popular, young newcomer running a tough campaign amid widespread disappointment with the status quo, Americas Quarterly explained.

Critics accuse the Broad Front of pursuing some progressive policies but failing to deliver on deeper changes that have stalled the Uruguayan economy and allowed society to descend into violence, political theorist Mabel Thwaites Rey said in an interview with the North American Congress on Latin America, a respected journalism group with a left-wing bent.

Homicides grew by nearly half in 2018, to a rate of 11.8 per 100,000 people, the Associated Press reported. The murder rate in the US that year was around five per 100,000 people, the New York Times reported.

Meanwhile, Reuters described the country’s economy as “sluggish.” Mainstream leaders can’t seem to solve the problem, though. And, as the Buenos Aires Times wrote, neighboring Argentina’s economic woes are also playing a big role in fears of a downturn.

In the Oct. 27 election, voters will also consider a proposal that would grant police broad powers to raid suspects’ houses, create a national militia and impose harsh punishments on convicted criminals, like life without parole and 30 years of solitary confinement, for serious crimes.

The official press agency of Cuba, Prensa Latina, covered a march against the law. Demonstrators carried placards reading “Living without fear” to protest what they worried would become an Orwellian police state if the ballot measure passed. Similarly, World Politics Review asked if success for the referendum question would indicate that Uruguay was embracing populist, right-wing policies like Brazil.

If people opt for police raids, they just might get them.