Uruguay starts voting in presidential election, leftist favorite to win

Uruguayans began voting on Sunday for a new president, with former leader Tabare Vazquez looking set to win comfortably, securing the ruling leftist coalition a third consecutive term and allowing it to roll out its pioneering marijuana law.

Opinion polls give Vazquez, 74, who was president from 2005 to 2010, a 14 percentage point lead over Luis Lacalle Pou, 41, of the center-right National Party.

A Vazquez win would see him replace his ally, Jose Mujica, one of Latin America's most popular leaders, and ensure a continuation of the Broad Front's mix of pro-business policies and welfare programs that spurred a decade of strong growth.

"Today I am voting for experience, for someone who already governed and did so well," said 70-year old pensioner Pablo Garcia, just before casting his vote in Montevideo, where heavy rain threatened to deter people coming out to vote.

"We are doing well, the country has progressed a lot, people are earning more than before, and while the economic upturn helped, this is also thanks to good management."

Vazquez's first election win 10 years ago ended two decades of conservative rule that followed a military dictatorship during which Mujica, a former guerrilla, was imprisoned.

Vazquez closed his first term with approval ratings hitting 70 percent but, like Mujica now, was barred by the constitution from seeking a second consecutive term.

If he makes a successful return, Vazquez, a respected oncologist, has promised to see through the legalization of the commercial production and sale of marijuana, although he might make some changes to how it is implemented.

The law was passed late last year and aims to wrest the drug trade from illegal gangs.

Lacalle Pou has threatened to repeal much of the reform, which two in three Uruguayans oppose.

In the first round of the election last month, Vazquez won 47.8 percent of votes while Lacalle Pou won 30.8 percent.

Lacalle Pou had been expected to do better after promising to rein in a fiscal deficit and inflation, and tapping into the frustrations of more conservative voters upset by Mujica's laws legalizing gay marriage, abortion and pot.

But Vazquez was boosted by the Broad Front's strong record in power and his experience as president.

Polling stations close at 7.30 p.m. Exit polls will be released at 8.30 p.m. and partial results are expected by 10 p.m.

Tags

Tabare Vazquez, Marijuana, guerrilla, drug trade, Inflation

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