First year of the new Broad Front government: It is not about timidity

Nicolás Centurión

First year in office of the Broad Front government, a Uruguayan center‑left political force led by Yamandú Orsi, which begins its fourth administration facing new challenges in a turbulent global context and in a region marked by the rise of criminal organizations and scant prosperity.

In addition to domestic challenges, it faces an opposition that has not forgiven its 2024 defeat and a growing discontent both among its own ranks and outside them. The transformative potential of this web of left and center‑left parties has been withering, and the coming years will be decisive for reversing the situational and structural problems that have afflicted Uruguayan society for decades.

Speech

On March 2, the president of the Republic appeared before Parliament to present his accountability report after one year in office. The law establishes that presidents must “inform the Legislative Branch, at the opening of ordinary sessions, about the state of the Republic and the improvements and reforms that they consider worthy of its attention.”

The president announced the construction of two maximum‑security prisons, a bill to reform the Code of Criminal Procedure and another to improve “competitiveness” and “innovation.” Orsi also elaborated on the 63 commitments he made on April 2 of last year, after the first Council of Ministers held on March 25, grouped in the areas of development, security, cohesion and care, housing, and infrastructure.

The head of state stated that we are living through a change of era and recalled that, when he took office, Uruguay was celebrating 40 years of uninterrupted democracy. “Today, that stability is worth more than it was then; the world is going through a transformation that is not an economic fluctuation, but a change of era,” he added.

Regarding employment, the president highlighted that during his first year in office 26,000 new jobs were created, and that the number of employed people reached 1,750,000. He also stressed that a historic high was reached in the female employment rate, with the creation of 19,000 jobs for women.

On education, Orsi spoke of “concrete steps” and aims to have 100,000 children enrolled in full‑time or extended‑time schools by 2029.

In terms of security, the president announced the creation of two “maximum‑security, cutting‑edge technology” prisons to be built in 2026. These are specifically designed for “individuals indicted and convicted for offenses that pose a high risk to public safety.”

With regard to the Ministry of Justice, Orsi announced that the bill will be sent to Parliament and “will move forward in the coming weeks.” He also mentioned that it will focus on the “opening of archives and democratization of information,” as well as a reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure “to strengthen fundamental guarantees and modernize the system of precautionary measures.”

The first announcement in the area of transportation was the presentation of the guidelines for a “railway master plan with a horizon of 2035,” stating that “the train will once again be part of the country’s productive future.” “Reducing travel times is giving back time for life. It means getting home earlier, sharing dinner and helping with homework,” he said.

He concluded by stating that “80% of the commitments are already underway.”

Out there

In foreign affairs, the Uruguayan government, through its foreign minister and Minister Mario Lubetkin, has taken unclear positions regarding the genocide committed in Gaza by the State of Israel. Grassroots militants demanded that the government take a forceful stand, something it delayed and only did when the situation was more than undeniable.

Despite this, Orsi made a trip to China that, according to government sources, was very favorable, although the results will only become apparent in the future.

The village

On the domestic front, insecurity remains a pressing problem that no government, since the return to democracy, has been able to overcome. Even though homicides have fallen by 3%, local criminal organizations are on the rise and international ones are increasingly setting their sights on our country.

The cost of living in Uruguay remains very high. Swiss prices for local products. Owning a home is unthinkable. Renting takes up more than 50% of the salary of tens of thousands of Uruguayans.

On environmental matters, the government has earned the repudiation of environmental organizations and local residents due to the announcement of a seismic prospecting project to drill the continental shelf and eventually extract oil.

A recent survey by Opción Consultores shows that 23% of the population views the administration of the president positively. Thirty‑eight percent of Uruguayans disapprove of Yamandú Orsi’s performance after twelve months.

The overall results of the survey were as follows: 3% of Uruguayans consider it “Very good,” another 20% “Good,” while 37% rate it as “Neither good nor bad.” Meanwhile, 23% consider it “Bad,” 15% “Very bad” and 2% “Don’t know/No answer.”

In terms of communication, the government is floundering. The president himself has not been clear, with statements that are confusing, equidistant and ambiguous.

Lacalle is waiting for 2029.

Draws and balances

What we see with Yamandú Orsi is not timidity—although it is a mistake to personalize an entire government—but rather a way of doing politics to which the Broad Front has been growing accustomed. The left has historically been known for its clear and firm positions on certain causes, ideas and controversies. Declarations, calls to action, even outright pamphleteering, have ceased to appear. Administration killed transformation. Government routine flattened the banners. Bureaucracy archived the rebellious spirit.

It is no longer enough to brandish the specter of the 2002 crisis and the epic of resistance against the dictatorship. What horizon is the Broad Front projecting, inviting people to build and erect?

Orsi opposed Lacalle Pou’s project for the “private management of water.”

The Broad Front and the opposition argue relentlessly on X (formerly Twitter), in the media, and get caught up in inconsequential celebrity‑style feuds.

Uruguayan society faces daily problems, while politicians argue over issues that seem to matter only to them. Underneath, problems are growing. At the top, that is, in the macroeconomy, left and right shake hands. Making it to the end of the month, paying rent (for a studio apartment), being able to fill the supermarket cart, coping with continual fare hikes in transportation, not being hit by a stray bullet, are the daily bread.

What we see with Yamandú Orsi is not timidity: it is the politics of stalemate, of false alternation, and the perpetuation of the same model.

*B.A. in Psychology, University of the Republic, Uruguay. Member of the International Network of Chairs, Institutions and Personalities on the Study of Public Debt (RICDP). Associate analyst at the Latin American Center for Strategic Analysis (CLAE, estrategia.la).*