Tabaré Vázquez, a physician and former mayor of Montevideo, won Uruguay's presidential election in November 2004, becoming the country's first leftist head of state. His Frente Amplio coalition, which includes former guerrilla members, captured 50.7 percent of the vote. Conservative National Party candidate Jorge Larrañaga finished second with 34 percent, while the ruling Colorado Party's Guillermo Sterling took about 10 percent.
The result ended nearly 180 years of unbroken rule by the Colorado and National parties, dating to Uruguay's independence in 1825. Vázquez had mounted unsuccessful presidential runs in 1994 and 1999 before his November victory. His coalition also secured majorities in both legislative chambers.
The outgoing Colorado government of Jorge Batlle left a severe economic legacy: hard-currency reserves had fallen 80 percent, official unemployment reached 20 percent, and roughly one in four Uruguayans lived in poverty. Vázquez inherits a $12 billion national debt and a currency that lost two-thirds of its value.
About 2.5 million of Uruguay's 3.4 million citizens were legally required to cast ballots. The new president joins a string of left-leaning leaders elected across South America in recent years, including Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Argentina's Néstor Kirchner, and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, who called the result "a milestone."
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.