Tabaré Vázquez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tabaré Vázquez 
MD
Tabaré Vázquez
Incumbent
Assumed office 
01 March 2005
Vice President Rodolfo Nin
Preceded by Jorge Batlle
Born 17 January 1940 (1940-01-17) (age 68)
Montevideo, Uruguay
Political party FA
Spouse María Auxiliadora Delgado
Profession Oncologist

Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (pron IPA: [taβa'ɾe ra'mon 'bahkes 'rosas]) (born 17 January 1940) is the current President of Uruguay. A physician (oncologist) by training, he is a member of the centre-left Broad Front coalition (Frente Amplio in Spanish). Vázquez was elected president on October 31, 2004 and took office on March 1, 2005.

Contents

[edit] Background

Born in the Montevideo neighbourhood of La Teja, Tabaré Vázquez studied medicine at the Universidad de la República Medical School, graduating as an oncology specialist [1] in 1972. In 1976 he received a grant from the French government allowing him to obtain additional training at the Gustave Roussy Institute in Paris.

From 1990 to 1995, Vázquez was the Broad Front coalition's first Mayor of Montevideo. In 1994, he made an unsuccessful run for president as the Frente Amplio candidate, receiving 30.6% of the vote. In 1996, he was elected leader of the Frente Amplio, replacing the historic leader of the left-wing coalition, Liber Seregni. He ran again in 1999, receiving 45.9% percent of the vote in the runoff election, losing to Jorge Batlle.

Tabaré is of Galician background.

[edit] Presidency

In the 2004 elections, he won 51.7% of the valid votes, with 1,124,761 votes on the first ballot, eliminating the need for a runoff. He became the first Uruguayan president who didn't belong to the so-called "traditional" parties, the National (Blanco) and Colorado parties.

With his own Frente Amplio holding a majority in Parliament, Vázquez was thought to have few obstacles to start with. He also has the support of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also a centre-leftist.

Vázquez is a notable football fan. During his ten-year stint (1979-1989) as president of the Club Progreso team, it won the professional national championship (for first and only time) in 1989.

Vázquez is married to María Auxiliadora Delgado and has three children with her (Ignacio, Álvaro and Javier) plus an adopted son, Fabián.

[edit] Policy

Vázquez has followed a cautious path regarding economic policy. Even though his Finance Minister, Danilo Astori, has followed a conservative policy regarding macroeconomic policy and debt repayment, the government has introduced a bill that aims to widely reform the taxation system in Uruguay.

The Broad Front ran on a platform of social justice. Vázquez has initiated an "emergency plan" (in Spanish Plan de Atención Nacional a la Emergencia Social or PANES) intended to address the most urgent needs of an estimated 200,000 Uruguayans for two years by investing $100 million in a number of programs which range from food assistance to health care. The plan, which has met with criticism over its bureaucracy, especially during its initial stages, is run under the responsibility of the Minister of Social Development, Marina Arismendi. It has been compared to Brazil's plan Fome Zero at a smaller scale.

Among the most complex issues that have dominated his administration, is an ongoing conflict with Argentina over potential contamination from pulp mills being built on the Uruguayan side of the Uruguay river.

Vazquez has tried to create new commercial and cultural links outside the region. Vazquez was the first Uruguayan President to visit New Zealand, and has established contacts with other countries in South East Asia.

[edit] Human rights policy

In November 2005 his administration led a profound and significant victory in the investigation of human rights violations that had taken place during the military dictatorship. Having appointed a team of anthropologists and forensic investigators, and having ordered the military to cooperate and indicate possible sites for the unmarked graves, his government succeeded in unearthing remains of leftists disappeared during the 1970s military rule.

The Parliament, now with a majority of representatives from the Frente Amplio, has tried to approve laws legalizing abortion, currently banned under Uruguayan legislation since 1938. Vázquez has repeatedly announced his decision to use his veto power should Parliament approve any law making it legal.

[edit] Popularity

Tabaré Vázquez receives U.S. President George W. Bush with asado a la parrilla
Tabaré Vázquez receives U.S. President George W. Bush with asado a la parrilla

President Vázquez started with a 77% approval rating, but according to an opinion poll of Equipos Mori, his popularity had fallen to 45% by June 2006. This level of popularity is below the electoral support he received in the 2004 elections and is attributed by some analysts to the decision of the government led by Vázquez not to sign a Free Trade Agreement with the United States under pressure from the more radical base of his party, which may have alienated more conservative voters. Other moves by his administration concerning economic policy have met with resistance from trade unions and the left. Furthermore, many believe that Vázquez's opposition to legalising abortion and threats to veto any pro-choice legislation passed by the government -- a position that stands in contrast with the opinions of both the majority of his governing coalition and the majority of Uruguayans -- have made a modest dent in his public support. In October 2006, President Vázquez is still personally more popular than his government with a 62% approval rating. However, a considerable drop in the government's popularity was registered by an Equipos/MORI poll in late April 2007, showing that 44% of Uruguayans approve of the action of his government. [2].

In January 2008, two members of the ruling coalition, former Senator José Korzeniak and Foreign Secretary Reinaldo Gargano, made proposals to reform the Uruguayan constitution, focusing on the possibility of the immediate reelection of the President (forbidden under the present constitution). The central tenet of the reelection clause is based of Vázquez continuing popularity and in order to prevent a divisive succession battle within the Frente Amplio. A reform of the constitution is quite unlikely, however, as all of the opposition parties, as well as some members of the ruling coalition, have expressed their opposition to this idea. Vázquez himself ruled out that he would try to be reelected in a public address he made in June 2007.

[edit] Awards

In 2006, Vázquez was chosen to receive the World Health Organization Director General's Award in recognition of his leadership on tobacco control in Uruguay, which has implemented some of the most stringent tobacco control measures in the world [3].

[edit] Cabinet

Minister Name Period
Interior Minister José Díaz 2005-2007
Daisy Tourné 2007 - present
Finance Minister Danilo Astori 2005- present
Defence Minister Azucena Berruti 2005- present
Foreign Affairs Minister Reinaldo Gargano 2005- 2008 Gonzalo Fernández 2008- present
Education Minister Jorge Brovetto 2005- present
Health Minister María Julia Muñoz 2005- present
Employment Minister Eduardo Bonomi 2005- present
Housing Minister Mariano Arana 2005- present
Agriculture Minister José Mujica 2005- present
Industry Minister Jorge Lepra 2005- present
Transportation Minister Víctor Rossi 2005- present
Tourism and Sports Minister Hector Lescano 2005- present
Social Development Minister Marina Arismendi 2005- present
Secretary to the President Gonzalo Fernández 2005 - present
Budget Director Carlos Viera 2005-2007
Enrique Rubio 2007 - present

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Political offices
Preceded by
Jorge Batlle		 President of Uruguay
2005 – present		 Incumbent