Monday 26 October 2009

Uruguay Elections Update

As has been widely reported, the Uruguayan elections will go to a second round which ex-guerrilla José Mujica looks likely to win.

Ex-Guerrilla Ahead in Uruguay Vote (NY Times)
Next President to Emerge from November Runoff (IPS)
Uruguay set for run-off election (BBC)

The move to annul the amnesty law failed - the referendum did not achieve the required majority. In light of the presidential vote, there has been little comment on this. This brief note is the only English-language news items I could find specifically on that subject:

Amnesty law to stay in place following referendum (Radio Nederland Worldwide)

It's disappointing news for those of us who try to oppose impunity, but there are doubtless complex reasons why the population has confirmed its decision of twenty years ago - and it's surely not the end of the road for the human rights activists. I'll try to comment more in the next few days as, hopefully, others will too.

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