I’m reading about the recent presidential election in Uruguay, which finally ended with a win for Yamandú Orsi, who is considered center-left. Since so much of the rest of the world, including Argentina and the USA, seems to be catapulting itself into the arms of right wing populists, this would seem to be good news. The campaigns of both candidates were civil and low key, apparently due to the fact that Uruguay, while divided, is not polarized.
Yet one very concerning element seems to be the apathy of younger voters, who apparently feel inconsequential to their country.
The NYT reports that “Young people here feel increasingly left behind, despite Uruguay’s reputation as a beacon of economic and social success. That’s potentially bad news for one of the strongest democracies in Latin America: In a 2023 Latinobarómetro poll, 38 percent of the young people surveyed said they’d be fine giving up democracy for a government that could solve their problems.”
Wow.
