Weekly Report - 19 November 2009 (WR-09-46)

José Mujica, the presidential candidate for the ruling Frente Amplio (FA), tried to regain the political initiative this week by promising to hold a referendum on abortion if he is elected in the second round run-off on 29 November. Mujica is keen to move the electoral debate on from the issue of insecurity, where his opponent, Luis Alberto Lacalle of the opposition Partido Nacional, or Blancos, has scored most points, and push the case of Saúl Feldman and his large arsenal of weapons [WR-09-45] off the front pages. Opinion polls show, however, that the opposition's efforts to link Mujica to Feldman have not met with success.