The leader of Town meeting (AC), Guido Manini Ríos, assured that for the approval of the plebiscite that his party promotes, around 60,000 signatures are missing, necessary to collect this last week, which already has one week left to be able to enter this year’s elections.
There is one week left until the legal deadline to present the 270,000 signatures—10% of the registry—before the Electoral Court, so that the popular consultation is enabled to be carried out together with the national elections in October.
In that sense, Manini Ríos assured, in dialogue with Subrayado, that the plebiscite still has 60,000 signatures left to collect. “We have done a purification of the signatures, we have removed signatures that were there twice, people who signed in Salto later went to the beach and signed on the beach on their way back. We are at about 60,000 signatures,” he explained.
Taking this into account, since Town meeting They carry out a massive collection of signatures in all corners of Uruguay. “I don’t have the latest numbers, but surely we are much less than those 60,000 signatures. Let’s see if between now and next Friday night or Saturday we reach the signatures,” he assured.
Claims to other parties
The leader of Cabildo Abierto commented that the Intransigent Radical Ecologist Party gathered around 1,000 signatures at the headquarters led by César Vega. “It is the only party that committed to collecting signatures. It is incredible, but the other parties all washed their hands of it,” he denounced.
“It seems that they did not know that it is their militants and their voters who are buried by the abuse they have been suffering for so long, they preferred to look the other way,” he stated, adding that although there were some politicians in particular who showed their support, “Town meeting was practically alone in this campaign.”
What happens if they don’t arrive with the signatures?
Given the complex scenario of being able to meet the requirements for the plebiscite this year, from the party led by Guido Manini Ríos They have already begun to think about alternatives that allow them not to miss the “golden opportunity” of setting limits on the financial systems.
If they do not reach April 27, they will continue collecting signatures and present them later, to put the proposal for consideration by the population in the next election, when mayors and departmental positions are elected.
In fact, article 331 of the Constitution endorses it in its section C, by making it clear that the plebiscite will be held in the “closer” elections once the number of minimum required adhesions is met and it is ratified by the Electoral Court.
Despite this “second chance” that the lobbying initiative could have, the very wording of the proposal to be submitted to popular consultation is an obstacle that, perhaps, is insurmountable and puts the entire plebiscite at risk.
This is because the third article of the ballot “Against usury and for fair debt” establishes that the constitutional reform “will come into force on March 1, 2025.” The date had been set based on achieving 270,000 signatures by the end of April and thus being able to carry out the consultation in October. However, the change in schedule may not be the window that opens after the door closes.
The problem is that, if the campaign to gather signatures for the next election continues, the plebiscite will be held in May 2025, along with the departmental and municipal elections. That is, they would vote for a constitutional reform that, according to what is established, should come into force in March, two months before the elections.
Source: Ambito
