Luis Lacalle Pou took office in Uruguay on Sunday, promising to crack down on crime and tighten government finances.
Lacalle Pou, a 46-year-old surfing enthusiast and son of a former president, narrowly won election in November last year in his second try for the office.
He was sworn in by former Uruguayan president Jose Mujica, the senator who received the most votes in the elections.
Photo: AFP
Lacalle Pou inherits a country of nearly 3.4 million people that had grown steadily under the outgoing Broad Front government, but rising crime in recent years dented its popularity and economists have grown concerned about a rising fiscal deficit that reached 4.9 percent of GDP last year.
In his inaugural address, the new leader promised “to promote what was done well [and] correct what was done badly.”
Lacalle Pou, who has promised to cap government spending, said he wanted reduce the costs of production and services “to recover national competitiveness.”
The country faces “an emergency” of insecurity, he said, adding that “the enormous majority of Uruguayans feel unprotected.”
He campaigned on calls to bolster the country’s security forces and toughen sentencing.
“In the interior of the country we used to sleep with the door open... Even vehicles were left with doors and windows open and the key in the ignition, but lately the houses are all fenced,” said Natalia Cardozo, a 37-year-old teacher who was participating on horseback in the inaugural day parade. “We hope that this government takes some measures and can change that.”
Lacalle Pou, who spent many years in the Uruguayan Congress, grew up in an intensely political family. His father, Luis Lacalle Herrera, was president from 1990 to 1995 and his mother, Julia Pou, was a senator. His great-grandfather Luis Alberto de Herrera was a major figure in the National Party.
He will have to depend on an ideologically diverse four-party coalition to get his programs through Congress.
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
RSS