MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) 鈥� Uruguay's leftist opposition candidate, , became the country's new president in a tight runoff Sunday, ousting the conservative governing coalition and making the South American nation the latest to in a year of landmark elections worldwide.
Even as the vote count continued, 脕lvaro Delgado, the presidential candidate for the center-right ruling coalition, conceded defeat to his challenger while surrounded by sullen-looking family members and colleagues.
鈥淭he country of liberty, equality and fraternity has triumphed once again,鈥� Orsi said to sprawling crowds of supporters that waved flags and shouted their support. 鈥淚 will be the president who calls for national dialogue again and again, who builds a more integrated society and country.鈥�
As initial exit polls began showing Orsi, 57, a working-class former history teacher and two-time mayor from Uruguay鈥檚 Broad Front coalition, holding a lead over Delgado, cheers rang out across Montevideo鈥檚 beaches.
Delgado told supporters gathered at his own party鈥檚 headquarters in the capital of Montevideo that he had lost. The crowd was hushed.
鈥淲ith sadness, but without guilt, we can congratulate the winner,鈥� he told them. "But it's one thing to lose the elections and another to be defeated. We are not defeated," he added, generating a burst of applause.
A political heir to former , an ex-Marxist guerilla for transforming Uruguay into one of the most liberal and environmentally sustainable nations in the region, Orsi rode to power on promises of safe change and nostalgia for his left-wing party's redistributive social policies.
He struck a conciliatory tone, vowing to unite the nation of 3.4 million people after such a tight vote.
鈥淟et鈥檚 understand that there is another part of our country who have different feelings today,鈥� he said, as fireworks erupted over his stage overlooking the city's waterfront. 鈥淭hese people will also have to help build a better country. We need them too.鈥�
With nearly all the votes counted, electoral officials reported that Orsi won 49.8% of the vote, ahead of Delgado鈥檚 45.9%, a clear call after weeks in which the opponents appeared tied in polls.
The rest cast blank votes or abstained in defiance of Uruguay鈥檚 enforced compulsory voting. Turnout in the nation with 2.7 million eligible voters reached almost 90%.
Analysts say that the candidates' lackluster campaigns failed to entice apathetic young people and generated unusual levels of voter indecision.
But with the rivals in broad consensus over key issues, the level-headed election was also emblematic of Uruguay's strong and stable democracy, free of the anti-establishment fury that has vaulted populist outsiders to power elsewhere, like and .
Orsi's win ushers in a return of the Broad Front that governed for 15 consecutive years until the 2019 election of center-right President Luis Lacalle Pou.
鈥淚 called Yamand煤 Orsi to congratulate him as President-elect of our country and to put myself at his service and begin the transition as soon as I deem it appropriate,鈥� Lacalle Pou wrote on social media platform X.
The opposition's upset was the latest sign that simmering discontent over post-pandemic economic malaise favors anti-incumbent candidates. In the many elections that took place during 2024, voters frustrated with the status quo have punished ruling parties from the U.S. to and .
But unlike elsewhere in the world, Orsi is a moderate with no plans for dramatic change. He largely agrees with his opponent on driving down the childhood poverty rate, now at a staggering 25%, and containing an upsurge in organized crime that has shaken the nation long considered among Latin America's safest.
Orsi is also likely to scupper a trade agreement with China that , promoting regional commerce.
Despite Orsi's promise to lead a 鈥渘ew left鈥� in Uruguay, his platform resembles the mix of market-friendly policies and welfare programs initiated under and other Broad Front leaders.
From 2005-2020, the coalition presided over a period of robust economic growth and pioneering social reforms that won widespread international acclaim, including the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and .
Mujica, now 89 and , turned up at his local polling station before balloting even began on Sunday to praise Orsi鈥檚 humility and Uruguay鈥檚 proud stability.
鈥淭his is no small feat,鈥� he said of his nation's 鈥渃itizenry that respects formal institutions.鈥�
Orsi, who for a decade served as mayor of Canelones 鈥� a town of beaches and cattle ranches also home to a Google data center and upstart tech scene 鈥� proposes tax incentives to lure investment and revitalize the critical agricultural sector. He supports security reforms that would lower the retirement age but fall short of a radical overhaul sought by Uruguay鈥檚 unions that failed to pass in the Oct. 27 general election.
In 鈥� in which neither front-runner secured an outright majority 鈥� voters rejected generous pay-outs and the redistribution of privately managed pension funds in a rare gesture of fiscal constraint.
鈥淗e鈥檚 my candidate, not only for my sake but also for my children鈥檚,鈥� said Yeny Varone, a nurse at a polling station who voted for Orsi. 鈥淚n the future they鈥檒l have better working conditions, health and salaries.鈥�
Delgado, 55, a rural veterinarian with a long career in the National Party, served most recently as Secretary of the Presidency for Lacalle Pou and campaigned under the slogan 鈥渞e-elect a good government.鈥�
With inflation easing and the economy expected to expand by over 3% this year, Delgado promised to continue his predecessor鈥檚 pro-business policies. Lacalle Pou, who constitutionally cannot run for a second consecutive term, enjoyed high approval ratings, around 50%.
Sunday's outcome showed Uruguayans' growing discontent with the government's failure to reverse a decade of sluggish economic growth and contain crime over the past five years. Some also attributed Delgado's loss to his lack of charisma and weak campaign strategy.
鈥淒elgado struggled with communication defending the government鈥檚 agenda,鈥� said Nicol谩s Sald铆as, a Latin America and Caribbean senior analyst for the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.
鈥淗e was focused on criticizing the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) rather than giving a positive vision of what his government would do. It was a fear-based campaign that did not satisfy enough voters.鈥�
After such a suspense-filled, close race, Orsi said his win gave him a 鈥渁 strange feeling that I think takes a while to come to terms with.鈥�
鈥淪tarting tomorrow, I'll have to work very hard,鈥� he told The Associated Press from the glass-walled NH Columbia hotel, thronged exuberant friends and colleagues. 鈥淭here's a lot to do.鈥�
His government will take office on March 1, 2025.
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Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Villa Tunari, Bolivia, contributed to this report.
Nayara Batschke, The Associated Press
