President Luis Lacalle Pou participated in the inauguration of the 2023 cycle of events of the Association of Marketing Managers of Uruguay (ADM) and, among different topics that he touched on during his dissertation, he defended the social security reform and assured that from the Broad Front (FA) They “are looking forward to” the law being passed during their tenure in Uruguay.
During the lunch that the ADM held at the hotel Radisson Victoria Plazaand before a good part of his cabinet, as well as relevant figures from all over the political arc, the president made a quick and more relaxed review of what was his speech of Accountability in front of Parliament on March 2, and he was touching the various neuralgic points of his three years in office and what lies ahead.
In this sense, Lacalle Pou pointed out the importance of the social security reform in the fiscal context of the country. “I don’t even ask Ferdinand (Pereirapresident of the Broad Front) or Yamandu (Orsi, mayor of Cannelloni) nor to anyone who answers, but I am sure (of) that they are hoping that we approve the social security reform”, he pointed out, at the time of his speech, realizing how difficult it is to promote the project, but also how their need for the public monies of the State.
“Because all those who aspire to be the government, the coalition and the Broad Front, they will be relieved and the candidates are going to be relieved if this reform is approved”, he assured, along the same lines.
Regarding fiscal consolidation, the president also highlighted, as in the Accountability, the record investment in public works that was achieved last year and the goal of once again exceeding that figure during this 2023.
Mental health, the bow for the government
In the middle of her speech with several jokes and comments that led the public to laugh and applaud, Lacalle Pou mentioned a “re internal message” for the Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF), Azucena Arbeleche, sitting just a few meters from the podium, on an issue that was already important but worsened after the pandemic. “The bow of the government towards this Accountability must be placed in the mental health and addictionsis the great challenge that we have ahead of us”, said the president.
This topic had also been mentioned in his speech on March 2, when he explained that during 2022 vacancies for psychology graduates specialized in State Health Services Administration (ASSE) for mental health.
On the other hand, he pointed out that the emotional support line, in which they worked “a lot”, “it is attended by psychologists 24 hours a day, 365 days” and “it doubled the attention from 2021 to 2022, reaching 82,000 calls”; and highlighted that from the National Youth Institute (INJU) “the campaign neither silence nor taboo was launched, seeking awareness and prevention of suicide.”
Many questions and few answers
At the end of his speech, the president answered questions from the public and from journalists, but vague answers and humorous comments prevailed over concrete answers to the questions he was asked.
The phrase “patience, prudence and balance” It became almost a catchphrase for Lacalle Pou with the aim of saving answers that compromised, mostly, issues of the government coalition, specific policies or its future after the elections. The few things he elaborated on were the drought and the measures taken in this regard, the high inflow of dollars as the reason for the exchange rate delay —although without specifying what the central bank regarding interest rates, the question for which the question had been asked— and the situation of the country in terms of international insertion.
Source: Ambito
