House of Paine

viva frente amplio/ tupamaros

yes 
this is a trend 
who's substance 
can be over played 
but
still....

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Socialist Tabare Vazquez
 scored a historic victory
 in
Uruguay's presidential voting 
as exit polls showed 
his coalition that includes 
former guerrilla fighters 
with more
than 50 percent of votes cast.

Supporters of Vazquez's 
leftist coalition, 

(which includes
former Tupamaro rebels 
that took up arms 
to fight 
the 1973-1985 military junta)


 were already celebrating 
in the street 
as Vazquez declared victory.



Crowds  gathered 
along Montevideo's main avenue
waving red, white and blue flags --
 the coalition colors.

A coalition victory
 will break the stranglehold 
the Colorado and National parties 
have held 
on the nation's  presidency
 since Uruguay's
independence 
from Spain in 1825

Under
the current 
 regime of 
     president Batlle,

 Uruguay suffered
 an economic meltdown 
that resulted in 
an 80 percent drop 
  in  the country's
 hard-currency reserves,
and 
 the  official unemployment rate
soar  to 20 percent,
 leaving 
 one in four
 Uruguayans
            destitute.

.

The new president 
will face  
tiny Uruguay's
 12-billion-dollar
                debt 
(approximately 
         4,ooo dollars per adult )

and a currency 
recovering 
from 
a two-thirds devaluation

 Vazquez follows other left-of-center
candidates taking office in South America,
 including
 Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2002),
 Argentina's Nestor Kirchner(2003),
 Ecuador's Lucio Gutierrez (2002), 
 Chile's Ricardo Lagos (2000)
 and 
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez (1998)


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