Uruguay Keeps Party in Power
Painting himself as a pillar of economic stability and keeping the center-right Colorado Party in power for another five years, Uruguay’s Jorge Batlle won the South American country’s presidential runoff election Sunday.
With 100% of the votes counted, the Interior Ministry said Batlle, 72, won 52%, or 1,138,067 votes, to 44%, or 972,197 votes, for Tabare Vazquez, 59, who had hoped to become Uruguay’s first socialist president.
The son and great nephew of respected Colorado presidents, Batlle largely won the race by forging an alliance with the National Party and painting his rival from the center-left opposition as a danger to the small country’s relative economic stability.
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