At the website Voto x Uruguay [es] (I Vote for Uruguay), there are many videos with messages of support for this motion by Uruguayans living abroad. who want the right to vote. There were videos submitted from Canada, Spain, France, and the United States. This video created in the Spanish city of Ferrol shows a group of Uruguayan ex-pats, who gathered to simulate a vote, as a way to show their support for their right to vote.

However, the result on election day was “No,” with only 36.93% voting “Yes.”

The other plebiscite that attracted more attention and caused more sad and surprise reactions, was the question that attempted to annul the Law of Expiration [es]. This current Uruguayan law establishes that the crimes committed by the military and the police during the last civic-military dictatorship, which included multiple violations of human rights, would remain with amnesty.

The United Nations has observed the law, and it has also been repudiated by the Organization of American States [es]. However, in the end the vote results to annul the law reached 47.36%, and it did not reach the necessary 50% + 1.

This result caused strong and sad reactions from the various online communities. In Facebook, for example, in the two days following the vote, there were a large number of groups created, such as Parliament Should Annul the Law of Expiration [es], I Cannot Believe that the Law was not Annulled [es], National Mourning [es], and I Will Never Forget [es].

For some, like 19-year-old Mauricio P. Milano of the blog Montevideo Blogger [es] writes why he neither voted “no,” nor “yes” in the question:

Aunque ya saben que afortunadamente no me tocó vivir la época de la dictadura en Uruguay, con los pocos años que tengo ya he vivido lo suficiente como para escuchar cientos de relatos sobre esta historia, a favor de los militares y a favor de los tupamaros. Quizás el eclecticismo que me caracteriza sea propio de una generación que vino después que se calmaron las aguas, como la mía; pero la opinión que he venido a formar de todo esto es que ambos grupos estuvieron mal, hubo crímenes (secuestros, asesinatos) de los dos lados y en realidad ninguno de ellos puede lavarse las manos de lo que han hecho. Esto es históricamente innegable. Y no voy a volver a comentar lo hipócrita que es el simple hecho de que, ante tal evidencia, uno de los presidenciables en estas elecciones nacionales pertenezca al grupo de los tupamaros, porque ya me expresé sobre esto en la primera parte de este post (click acá para leer).

Lo que quiero decir hoy, a favor de la justicia y del derecho de elección que tienen quienes estuvieron involucrados en esta historia, es que considero inaceptable que mi generación deba cargar con la decisión de anular o no la Ley de Caducidad. Por el simple hecho de que no lo vivimos y nunca vamos a entender la verdadera profundidad de los conceptos que encierra, porque no tenemos nada que ver con eso. En pocas palabras, no tenemos por qué asumir las cagadas que hicieron los que vinieron antes que nosotros. Y decir esto no es mirar para el costado. En todo caso, es mirar para adelante. La sociedad, como cada una de las personas que la compone, tiene heridas. Y como heridas que son, es obvio que arden. Pero como heridas que son, cuanto más se las revuelva, más van a tardar en cerrar. No voy a dejar que lo que pasó antes contamine a mi generación, no quiero esa enfermedad social.

Finally, in Asi Ta'l Mundo, Botija [es], there are thoughts on why the law was not annulled. He writes that these plebiscites should not be conducted on the same day as elections because too many are overwhelmed and that the information does not arrive as it should.

The Broad Front candidate, Senator José Mujica, was the closest to the majority needed receiving 48.16% of the votes. In second place, the National Party candidate Luis A. Lacalle, received 28.9% of the vote, still giving him a chance to win and who will face Mujica in the run-off election. In third place, the Colored Party received 16.66% of the vote, considered to be an internal victory for its followers. This party had fallen in past elections, after being the governing party for many years. Now, under the leadership of Pedro Bordaberry, the son of ex-dictator Juan M. Bordaberry, the party has grown more than expected as indicated in earlier surveys.

Graphic by Jorge Oyhenard and used with permission.

The 4th political party, the Independent Party, did not achieve the necessary percentage to obtain a Senate seat, receiving only 2.47% of the vote. It did, however, manage to elect two deputies to Parliament.

The reactions from the various parties were surprising, as noted by the blog Asi Ta'l Mundo Botija [es], who makes references to the contradictions. The party that celebrated the most was the one that received the least number of votes, and on the contrary, those who received the highest percentage appeared to be sad:

Muchos se lo tomaron como sorpresa o como triunfo, y no fue, a mi entender, “ni chicha ni limonada”. Por lo menos para mi no fue sorpresa. Que había quienes pensaban (o soñaban) que el Frente Amplio ganaba en primera vuelta, cierto. Pero no creo que esa gente deba estar triste. Por otro lado, el Partido Nacional logró menos del 30% que estimaban las encuestadoras; sin embargo el festejo de muchos de sus simpatizantes fue como si hubieran ganado la copa del mundo. Y los del Partido Colorado también festejaron y mucho. Fue el tercero en el conteo de votos, pero así es este país.

He also provides some thoughts on why the Broad Front did not win outright in the first round:

Bueh, aunque se me enojen algunos lectores, pienso que uno de los factores es que la fórmula debió ser al revés. O sea, Astori a Presidente y Mujica a Vice. Mujica es un tipo al que admiro. Dice las cosas de frente, no es políticamente correcto, no es tan hipócrita o falluto, como venimos acostumbrados por estos lares. Pero … La gente lo eligió, por encima de Astori, quien tiene lo dicho por Mujica, más que es el tipo que más sabe de economía en este país, reconocido por gente de la oposición. Esto le hubiese bastado para atraer gente de otros sectores políticos.

However, another blogger known as La Ciudadana (The Citizen) wrote in her blog Qué pasa Uruguay? [es] that the Broad Front should think about what went wrong:

El Frente Amplio, sin embargo, deberá tener autocrítica, deberán pensar un poco dónde se equivocaron, porque contaban con el 60% de aprobación al presidente (cosa que dudo y dudaré), contaron con todo el aparato propagandístico del gobierno que hasta el día antes, estuvo poniendo su cuota de apoyo, contaron con mucho dinero para la propaganda, con la salida de los ministros haciendo también lo suyo, en fin, contaban con un aparato importante en su beneficio, pero igualmente no llegaron, fue un día negro si se quiere, porque aparentemente no lograron mayorías parlamentarias, no se si se confirmó ya o aún no, no lograron sacar los pleibiscitos adelante, y no ganaron en primera vuelta que era su principal objetivo.

Graphic by Jorge Oyhenard and used with permission.

In Parliament, there was suspense from the public whether any party would obtain the majority of the seats. The Broad Front Party will have 16 seats in the Senate, while the National Party and Colored Party gained 9 seats and 5 seats, respectively. In the Chamber of Deputies, there will be 50 representatives from the Broad Front Party, 30 National Party members, 17 Colored Party members, and 2 from the Independent Party.

The blog Mujeres y Elecciones 2009 en Uruguay [es] (Women and Elections 2009 in Uruguay) has been providing coverage about issues affecting Uruguayan women throughout the campaign, and notes that 6 women Senators had been elected from the Broad Front party.

The strategies for the next round [es] has already started. According to surveys, it is expected that the Broad Front Party will continue to govern the country and that Mujica will win the run-off election. The Colored Party candidate, Bordaberry, has already said publicly that he will support Lacalle [es]. The blog Visión Universitaria [es] alludes to this union of the Colorado and National Parties, calling them the “Rosados” (the Pinks). However, even with this support, it does not appear that the National Party candidate will have enough votes to beat Mujica.

There are many political parties in contention, but the list is reduced when referring to the parties that really have the chance to gain, at least one, parliamentary seat. These parties include the National Party (White Party), considered to be one of the traditional parties and is the main opponent of the current government. Others include the Broad Front, which is the current government, and is considered to left-leaning and can also be considered to be a “traditional” party, despite being a young party.

Photo of campaign propaganda in Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay taken by Marisali and used under a Creative Commons license.

The major contenders for the presidential seat are considered to be the Broad Front and the National Party. One of the major candidates is already well-known to Uruguayans. Dr. Luis A. Lacalle, the National Party candidate, was President of Uruguay from 1999-2004 and is considered to be a major rival for the Broad Front.

On the other hand, their candidate is a very colorful figure, who is often seen far from typical political protocol or convention. José “El Pepe” Mujica has had a history with the National Liberation Movement “Tupamaros” in the 1960s, where he participated in guerrilla operations, arrested 4 times, and twice escaped from the Punta Carretas prison. In all, Mujica spent 15 years of his life in jail, with his last period of detention being between 1972-1985. When the military dictatorship ended, and democracy returned to the country, Mujica changed his weapons, and has been a deputy and a senator. In the current government, he was the Minister of Livestock and Agriculture.

The blogger Jorge Oyhenard takes a look at how various candidates are using the internet to spread their campaign [es]. He notes that most parties and candidates have their own website, but they have yet to maximize the use of web 2.0 and social networking sites.

With the stage set, there are few topics of discussion. Public security is a concern due to the wave of crime over the past few years, as well as the issue of taxes. However, the current campaign is already filled with usual campaign rhetoric as the blog Uy Elecciones [es] describes:

Si un marciano encayara en Uruguay (podría ser en otros muchos países) y lee los programas de gobierno de los (o escucha a los) diferentes partidos políticos se encontraría con una grata sorpresa: a todos ahora les importa la justicia social (planes para ayudar a los más desfavorecidos, educación y salud más equitativas, etc.), alguna que otra cosa del medio ambiente, los beneficios para los pasivos (y si, hay que nombrarlos que cada vez son más), la transparencia (a esta altura ésta podría ser ya una política de Estado, todos la apoyan (que bueno, no?)).
Y así estamos; esas “semejanzas” condimentadas con la publicidad medio-masiva moderna electoral crean como una nube gris, en la cual es comprensible caer en la de “son todo lo mismo”.

Thanks to @damianemanuel1 on twitter we discovered this video site, when he posted:

Cine virtual desde Uruguay para combatir la chatarra de YouTube http://bit.ly/V39pT

puede ser vista en http://www.cip.com.uy/

In the words of the creators of the site, Andrés Nicolón and José Luis Elizalde, their website answers to the needs of film-makers who want their work to get known:

¿Dónde puedo exhibir seriamente mis obras en un medio tan masivo, económico y accesible como Internet? ¿Cómo puede ser reconocida mi labor (actriz, actor, guionista, director, camarógrafo, productor, músico, etc.) en cine? ¿No tengo alternativa y debo publicar mi trabajo junto con los top 10 de mejores bloopers de gente montando a caballo? ¿Siempre los más conocidos son los que ocupan el lugar más importante?

Cip not only provides the possibility to showcase short films on their site, they also provide other services: they can help film-makers with post-production and editing, effects and presentation. They can also make all the promotional and marketing material for films such as posters, trailers and advertising in general, or promote a film as a starred movie for more exposure.

Currently they have 7 films in their site, 4 of them from Spain, one a collaborative effort, and 2 Uruguayan shorts, one fiction and one a documentary. All of the films can be downloaded in an iPod compatible format. Sadly, the site doesn't allow for embedding, but you can view their movies by heading over to their site,http://www.cip.com.uy/.

With news of his death, many Uruguayan bloggers have been reflecting upon what his work has meant to them over the years. The blogger at Psicosesion [es] describes what one might find in Benedetti's writing in the context of the turbulent time in the region's history:

Su escritura refleja los tiempos más difíciles de una Latinoamérica oprimida, por el autoritarismo, donde no se respetaron los derechos humanos, donde deja ver el sufrimiento humano a flor de piel, opresión que hizo que Mario se mantuviera durante largo período exiliado del país.

Pero siempre Mario desde donde cualquier lugar, hacia sentir su voz….jamás lograron callarle.

Gaba en Montevideo [es] also writes about the personal meaning and how Benedetti's words had accompanied her throughout life:

Murio benedetti, asi, con solo dos palabras se fue su inspiracion y dejo mil poesias. Mil poesias y una historia que se repetia una y otra vez, como marcada en fuego, en la vida de muchos uruguayos, en mi vida. Benedetti formo parte de mi memoria. Con Benedetti pase noches y dias y encuentros leyendo sus vivencias, su audacia, su historia de hombre comun. Su literatura ha sido parte de mi sangre, de mis entrañas, ha sido como el aire que he respirado para crecer. Y desde siempre mi brujula.

Another Uruguayan blogger, Mario Blanco, recalls the time when he met Benedetti and received a dedicated inscription signed in one of his books [es]. Blanco is also especially proud of being Benedetti's “tocayo,” which is a term used when two people share the same name. In addition, they also both share the same initials “MB”

As an exile for ten years, Benedetti spent time in Spain, Cuba and Peru. It was not only the fact that he lived in other Spanish-speaking countries that made him popular throughout the region, but it was the words and convictions that resonated with citizens of other Latin American countries experiencing the same hardships under their own authoritarian regimes.

His literary works transcended borders, and other Latin American bloggers shared their experiences such as Modestamente Humano [es] from Guatemala who wrote:

por dedicar un poema de él que a fin de cuentas decía las cosas tal y como uno hubiera querido pero tal vez no tenía el talento para decirlas de una forma tan clara, tan franca, tan sencilla y tan bella.

From the Dominican Republic, Alexéi Tellerías of Catarsis Diaria [es] writes “Mario, we say goodbye to you (only) physically, because you are staying with us.” Zenia Regalado mentions that Benedetti spent time in Cuba when in exile [es] and when he worked at the House of the Americas in Havana.

Another blogger from a country where Benedetti spent time during his exile, Peruvian Juan Carlos De La Fuente of Noticias del Interior [es] writes that the Uruguayan author lived his life to the fullest:

A estas altura de mi vida, después de tantas muertes y tantos renacimientos, sé que Mario Benedetti vivió de lo que escribió y escribió de lo que vivió. Y sé que fue feliz, por más sospechosa que pueda parecerle esta palabra a algunos despiadados críticos, es decir –como decía Borges y lo repite mi amiga Luz María Sarria- no pasó un solo día sin estar un instante en el paraíso.