Uruguay Repudiates Chilean President's Visit to the Country

The Uruguayan people repudiated this Sunday with songs and banners the arrival of Chilean President Sebastian Piñera to the SouthAmerican country, which he attended as a guest at the inauguration of the new Uruguayan President, Luis Lacalle Pou.

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During his first trip out of the country, after the social outburst of October 18th, 2019, the Chilean president was greeted on Uruguay's main avenues by hundreds of protesters with signs in their hands and shouts of "Piñera, murderer." 

According to local media reports, one of the posters displayed on Libertador Avenue, one of the main avenues in the city of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, read "Piñera, repressor, the Uruguayan people repudiate you."

Piñeira, who attended Lacalle's inauguration, along with other leaders such as Jair Bolsonaro and Iván Duque, was the main target of the protests, although they were called to repudiate the presence of the other right-wing leaders who attended the ceremony.

Another of the posters of the demonstration read: "Repressive of Latin America, the Uruguayan people repudiate them." It alluded to the presence of Brazilian ultra-right-winger Jair Bolsonaro, who recently urged the people to participate in a demonstration against the Congress and the Supreme Court. 

The poster also referred to the presence of Colombian President Ivan Duque, whose government is as repudiated by his people as Piñera's. Colombia has not ceased to denounce the genocidal policy of its president, and the wave of violence and insecurity it affects has led to a series of protests and demonstrations throughout the country over the last three months.

Lacalle, by inviting these ultra-right-wing presidents, and not the representatives of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, gives indications of what Uruguay's foreign policy will be like, according to local media.

Added to this is the idea that "in Mercosur, we must leave aside 'ideological issues'" as he stated during his inauguration this Sunday, they mark a clear change in the country's position in the region, denounced El Desconcierto news media.

Lacalle narrowly won the last November elections, surpassing Daniel Martinez of the leftist Frente Amplio coalition.​​​​​​​