Vázquez’s Foreign minister open to better ties amid rumblings of discontent in Broad Front
MONTEVIDEO — The newly-appointed Uruguayan Cabinet was already making waves yesterday, just one day after president-elect Tabaré Vázquez irked some political sectors within the ruling Broad Front by naming close allies to key posts and breaking a gentleman’s agreement over sharing ministerial positions.
Normally, assignments are made on the basis of political quotas that result from parliamentary elections but, this time, Vázquez decided to appoint some of his closest aides, disappointing the political sector of current President José Mujica, who took the most votes on October 26.
Among the president-elect’s most controversial appointments was that of Rodolfo Nin Novoa as Foreign minister.
Nin Novoa, a former member of the opposition National Party, was Vázquez’s vice-president during his first term in office (2005-2010) and is seen as one of the most conservative figures within the ruling coalition. He is a firm defender of an amnesty law that protected Uruguay’s military from taking responsibility for crimes committed during the dictatorship.
In an interview with Radio Carve, the newly-appointed minister sent a message to neighbouring Argentina and underlined that, while “there is room to improve bilateral relations,” he will demand something in return for Uruguay’s “friendliness.”
Give and take
“If you want me to give, give me more,” Nin Novoa said regarding the relation with Argentina. He argued that while Uruguay has banned ships coming from Mal-vinas from docking at its ports, Buenos Aires hasn’t responded with “friendly” gestures.
The former vice-president also referred to elections in Argentina in 2015 and said Uruguay needs to “renew its political ties.” He said he knows Buenos Aires Governor Daniel Scioli, a potential candidate for the ruling Victory Front, “but not (former Tigre mayor, Sergio) Massa or any of the others.”
The designation of Nin Novoa was praised by the rightist Uruguayan opposition, who see him as one of their own.
National Party figure Luis Alberto Heber used his Twitter account to congratulate the new chancellor and to express hope that “he will refound the state’s foreign policy” and name “capable ambassadors.”
Quotas
Many in the opposition also noted that Vázquez’s designations didn’t respect “political quotas,” which they mostly saw as an advantage. Independent lawmaker Pablo Mieres said on Twitter that appointments are “the president’s decision” and considered that it was “a good sign” that Vázquez had disregarded quotas.
But the designations weren’t received that positively within the Broad Front, especially within the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP), Mujica’s political sector.
The MPP received the most votes in parliamentary elections in October and will occupy six Senate seats as of March 1, double the amount of seats they have under the current administration.
Senator and First Lady Lucía Topolansky told local newspaper El Espectador that “we had a few suggestions that we would have liked to make but we know that the team is ultimately defined by the president and he has every right to make the decisions he made.”
Asked about the Economic team named by Tabaré, Topolansky said that “as long as they’re efficient,” she doesn’t mind that there are no representatives of the MPP. “We are all from the Broad Front,” she said. The MPP had hoped to retain the Transport ministry which eventually went to Víctor Rossi, from the more conservative Líber Seregni Front.
‘No fiscal adjustment’
Vázquez won last Sunday’s runoff vote on the back of a strong economy and the popularity of outgoing leader Mujica. He named Vice-President Danilo Astori — the leader of Uruguay Assembly, another faction within the Broad Front — as Economy minister.
Astori told a group of Uruguayan exporters yesterday that Uruguay doesn’t need a “fiscal adjustment” but that he will handle the national budget “cautiously.”
“The country doesn’t need a fiscal adjustment in the traditional sense; it needs fiscal caution, however,” Astori said.
Uruguay’s fiscal deficit was at 3.2 percent of its GDP during the last twelve months and one of the main issues of the recent electoral campaign that pitted Vázquez against National Party candidate Luis Lacalle Pou.
Herald Staff