The Movimiento de Participación Popular (MPP), the faction which received most votes in last October’s general elections, responded swiftly to what it interpreted as a snub by Vázquez, who has shown a preference for cabinet ministers drawn from the more moderate wing of the coalition. The MPP decided to put forward its own candidate, none other than Senator Lucía Topolansky, the wife of President José Mujica, for mayor (or strictly speaking) intendant of Montevideo in upcoming regional and municipal elections on 10 May. This despite the fact the FA has already backed Senator Daniel Martínez of the moderate Partido Socialista (PS) to compete for the position.
Montevideo has long been an electoral bastion for the FA. It is by far the most important elected position after the presidency, accounting for more than 40% of the electorate. The MPP’s announcement on 30 December that Topolansky will be standing for election was an indirect challenge to Vázquez. Already controlling half of the FA’s seats in both chambers of congress along with its legislative allies (see sidebar), the MPP has clearly calculated that if it wins Montevideo it will be in a stronger position to force Vázquez to recognise its relative strength and adopt some of its policy proposals, which place a greater emphasis on social reforms.
The danger is that Topolansky and Martínez will split the FA vote and allow the opposition to sneak in and win the coveted control of Montevideo. Ironically, while the FA is fielding separate candidates for the first time since its formation in 1971, the country’s traditional parties – the right-of-centre Partido Nacional (PN, Blancos) and right-wing Partido Colorado (PC, Colorados) – will be fielding their first unity candidate under the banner of the Partido de la Concertación. On paper this should give the opposition a fighting chance, but its success will be entirely dependent on the ability of the chosen candidate to reach out to supporters of both parties, neither of which have shown themselves to be especially enthusiastic at the prospect of voting for the other in the past.
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