The untimely departure of the now former Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning, Irene Moreiratriggered a new crisis in the ruling coalition. Open Town Hall (CA)the party of the resigned, is analyzing at this time whether or not to leave the government.
But in addition, the ejection of Moreira due to the scandal of a house awarded without lottery to a lobbying militant was added to many others that have occurred so far in the president’s administration. Luis Lacalle Pou. Of the 14 ministers who began after the inauguration of the president in March 2020, only five remain.
Who are the five original ministers who continue in the government
Of the five, four are from the National Party and one from the Independent Party. All those from Partido Colorado and Cabildo Abierto, meanwhile, were replaced, mostly by other officials from the same space.
In the first place, one of the bastions of the Presidency, the Minister of Economy and Finance lily arbelecheof the National Party, remains firm in his position with recent milestones in tax matters, such as the reduction of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and the Social Security Assistance Tax (IASS), and credit, such as the improvement of the note to Uruguay by the rating agency S&P.
the independent Paul MieresMinister of Labor and Social Security, is another of those who remain in place, even after the turmoil that the social security reform entailed, one of the management milestones most sought after by Lacalle Pou.
The remaining three are all white: the defense minister, javier garcia; that of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini; and that of Education and Culture, Pablo da Silveira.
A review of the 9 who left their ministries
In these more than three years, nine ministers had to leave their posts for various reasons.
The first was a few months after the government began, in July 2020, when the former Colorado foreign minister resigned Ernesto Talvi due to differences with the president, leaving room for the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Bustillo, linked to the white sector.
In May 2021, Lacalle Pou decided to dismiss the Minister of Social Development Pablo Bartol to give a “political imprint” to Mides, which was headed by another white man: Martín Lema, who continues to carry out his duties.
On May 22 of that year, the government received the sad news of the death of the then Minister of the Interior, Jorge Larranaga, who died of a heart attack. That place was occupied by the current Luis Alberto Heber, also from the PN, which at that time was in the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works. That portfolio, meanwhile, was headed by José Luis Falero.
After management and coordination problems, the Colorado Carlos Maria Uriarteformer Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, was displaced in July 2021 as part of an agreement between the Presidency and the Colorado Party, and was replaced by another man from that space: Fernando Mattos.
In August of that same year, the former Minister of Tourism resigned German Cardoso, of the Colorado Party, in the midst of a great controversy over the irregular contracting of advertising services in its portfolio. In his place was Tabaré Viera, from the same political force.
All of 2022 was a “quiet” year, except for some important outings such as that of Vice Foreign Minister Carolina Ache, for her role in handing over the Uruguayan passport to drug trafficker Sebastián Marset.
In February 2023, it was the turn of the former Minister of the Environment to resign, Adrian Pena, which had actually started its management in August 2020, when the portfolio was created. The Colorado had to leave his position due to the scandal unleashed by reports that he did not have a university degree, as he had stated on several occasions. In his place was Robert Bouvier, from the same space.
In March the former Minister of Health resigned Daniel Salinas, who had communicated the decision in October of last year, with the intention of “rounding off” his management in the health portfolio and focusing on his medical career. Karina Rando, also from Cabildo Abierto, has held her position since then.
To all of them outputs, the last and most recent one is added, of Irene Moreirawho ceased to be in charge of Housing despite having offered his version to the President for the scandal of the house awarded directly to a militant of his space, and despite pressure from CA for him to continue in his position.
Source: Ambito
