Uruguay, citizens prepare to vote in two plebiscites

teleSUR English

*First plebiscite implies leaving without effect the pension reform law of 2023 *Constitutional reform project is being promoted by various political and social forces *Second plebiscite has to do with insecurity and the increase of violence in the country *Initiative has generated controversy at different levels in the country *2.7 million citizens are called to the polls to elect the next president and vote on the plebiscites

Transcript

00:00And Uruguay is voting this Sunday, October 27th, on two plebiscites to reform the Constitution,

00:05one on Social Security and the other on the authorization of nighttime raids,

00:08which will be submitted to a vote at the same time the presidential and legislative elections are held.

00:17The pension reform proposal seeks to amend Article 67 of the national constitution

00:23in order to prohibit individual saving systems for retirement purposes,

00:28in addition to setting the minimum retirement age at 60 years and establishing that pensions

00:33may not be less than the national minimum wage. The amendments proposed by this initiative

00:44involve eliminating the administrators of pension savings funds, known as FAPS,

00:50private agents of the mixed social security system, in force since 1996,

00:55and granting the state the monopoly of social security. They also imply leaving without effect

01:01the retirement reform law of 2023, which raised the minimum retirement age to 65 years.

01:15The constitutional reform bill is being promoted by labor unions, various social organizations,

01:21and some sectors of the leftist broad front party, the main opposition force,

01:26including the Communist Party and the Socialist Party.

01:34The other issue to be submitted to a plebiscite is insecurity,

01:38a matter of concern for Uruguayans amid an increase in violence and drug trafficking.

01:44The plebiscite on security proposed by parliamentarians of the ruling coalition

01:48seeks to enable nighttime raids on homes, currently prohibited by the constitution,

01:54article 11 of which guarantees the inviolability of the home and allows entry only during the day

02:01with a court order. This security initiative has generated rejection among various sectors

02:12who have warned about the implications that this measure would have on the protection of

02:16citizens' rights. One of them is the broad front, which considers that this proposal

02:21is not the best way to solve the serious security problems facing the country and

02:26has therefore decided not to support it. Uruguay's electoral court announced that

02:36polling stations will open from 8 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., where millions of Uruguayans will elect their

02:43next president, vice president and other public officials who will hold office for five years.

02:49The counting of the votes will begin at the close of polling day.

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