(03/03/10) -

Uruguays V¡zquez Leaves with Solid Rating

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Uruguay expressed support for Tabaré Vázquez as he prepared to end his presidential term, according to a poll by Inteconsult. 61 per cent of respondents approve of Vázquez’s performance, up three points since August 2008.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Uruguay expressed support for Tabaré Vázquez as he prepared to end his presidential term, according to a poll by Inteconsult. 61 per cent of respondents approve of Vázquez’s performance, up three points since August 2008.

Vázquez—nominee for the left-wing Progressive Encounter – Broad Front (EP-FA)—won the October 2004 election with 50.45 per cent of the vote, becoming the first Uruguayan president to represent a political organization other than the National Party-Whites (PN-B) and the Red Party (PC). Vázquez officially took over in March 2005, and began his government with majorities in the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators.

In the October 2009 legislative election, the governing EP-FA secured 50 lower house and 16 upper house seats, followed by the PN-B with 30 deputies and nine senators. In November, José Mujica—the EP-FA nominee—won the presidential run-off with 52.39 per cent of the vote, defeating former president Luis Lacalle of the PN-B. On Mar. 1, Mujica replaced Vázquez.

On Feb. 23, Vázquez said in a televised speech that "only political circumstances and biology" will determine whether he will run again for president in 2014. The outgoing president thanked Uruguayans for "surrounding him" and "never leaving him alone" during his term, adding, "The first thing I will do when I give away the presidential sash will be to hug my wife and thank her for her support all these years."

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of Tabaré Vázquez as president?

Source: Interconsult
Methodology: Interviews to 800 Uruguayan adults, conducted on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8, 2010. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.