The Second presidency of Tabaré Vázquez refers to Tabaré Vázquez's second and last tenure as the 41st president of Uruguay whicu started on 1 March 2015 when he was inauguration until he left office on 1 March 2020. Vázquez, a member of the Broad Front Party had also previously served as Uruguay's president from 2005 until 2010 but nonetheless, Vázquez took office following his victory over the National Party nominee Luis Lacalle Pou in second round of the 2014 general election, thus granting another five years of leftism. This presidential term continued the policies established since the Broad Front came into power in 2005. Among the featured policies were the establishment of a National Caregiving System, the creation of the Ibirapitá Plan to promote the introduction of technology among the elderly, the transgender people law, and the authorization of the second pulp mill plant of the multinational company UPM.
2014 national elections
By the general election in October, Broad Front obtained 47.81% of votes against 30.88% obtained by the runner-up National Party and 12.89% of Colorado Party, among others, which required a second round to elect the presidential formula. There, Broad Front got elected 15 of 30 seats in the Senate, coming close to getting absolute majority in this chamber (which at the end reached when its vice-president was elected). In the Representatives chamber got the absolute majority with 50 of 99 members.
After the second round, won the runoff the presidential formula of Tabaré Vázquez-Raúl Sendic with 53.48% of votes cast against 41.17% of National Party formula of Luis Lacalle Pou-Jorge Larrañaga. Therefore, this granted a third government to the Broad Front.
Cabinet
Cabinet of Tabaré Vázquez's second governmentOfficeNamePolitical partyTerm Ministry of National Defense Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro Broad Front 1 March 2015 – 5 August 2016Jorge Menéndez Broad Front 12 August 2016 – 1 April 2019José Bayardi Broad Front 1 April 2019 – 29 February 2020Ministry of the InteriorEduardo Bonomi Broad Front1 March 2015 – 14 February 2020Jorge Vázquez RosasBroad Front15 February 2020 – 1 March 2020 Ministry of Foreign RelationsRodolfo Nin Novoa Broad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Ministry of Economy and FinanceDanilo AstoriBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Ministry of Education and CultureMaría Julia MuñozBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Ministry of Public HealthJorge BassoBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020 Ministry of Social DevelopmentMarina ArismendiBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Ministry of Labour and Social WelfareErnesto MurroBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020 Ministry of Transport and Public WorksVíctor RossiBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and FisheriesTabaré AguerreBroad Front1 March 2015 – 12 January 2018Enzo BenechBroad Front12 January 2018 – 1 March 2020 Ministry of Industry, Energy and MiningCarolina CosseBroad Front1 March 2015 – 29 January 2019Guillermo MoncecchiBroad Front30 January 2019 – 1 March 2020Ministry of Housing, Territorial Planning and EnvironmentEneida de LeónBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Ministry of TourismLiliam KechichiánBroad Front1 March 2015 – 31 January 2020Benjamín LiberoffBroad Front31 January 2020 – 1 March 2020Secretariat of SportsFernando CáceresBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Secretariat of the PresidencyMiguel TomaBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Deputy Secretariat of the PresidencyJuan Andrés RoballoBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020Office of Planning and BudgetÁlvaro GarcíaBroad Front1 March 2015 – 1 March 2020
Domestic affairs Public administration Creation of the General Office of the Attorney General of Uruguay as Decentralized Service Since 2015 the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation (or Public Ministry) is not anymore an executing unit under the arms of the Ministry of Education and Culture and is now a decentralized service, independent from the Executive.
Approval of a new policy regarding civil servants in duty of foreign services In December 2019 a new policy of civil servants of Foreign Services was enacted by Law No. 19841, replacing the former one created during the civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay of 1973–1985, with the purpose of updating the Foreign Service of the Uruguayan public administration. This law updated the legal body taking into account the changes in the functional relationship and the reality of current international relations and, in addition, to unify the legal dispersion of old laws on the matter generated over the years. One of the reforms implemented by the new statute is to lower the age of mandatory retirement of ambassadors at 70 years old.
Industry, energy and mining Search for petroleum, without success During 2016, the government agreed with French petroleum company Total to began drillings on the Uruguayan maritime platform, about 6400 meters deep, with the goal of finding crude oil. During this search President Vázquez gathered with former presidents since the return to democracy to deploy—if commercially exploitable petroleum deposits would be found—a State policy for the management of the revenues obtained by the resource, citing the example of Norway. However, the French company's report result was negative, not being proven the existence of petroleum in the exploration in one of the blocks of the maritime platform. This led the climate of optimism of the government to fell down and the opposition raised some criticism, stating that the notice and meetings were rushed and reckless.
In October 2018, another exploration was performed, this time on land, in Cerro Padilla, Paysandú Department, 845 meters below ground by the company Schuepbach Energy (subsidiary of Petrel Energy), and it found traces of hydrocarbons, although samples of this deposit had to be analyzed in order to find out if it was commercially profitable. In November 2017, the company reported that the amount was insignificant and its exploitation was not commercially profitable. In the same month, the company started to drill on Cerro de Chaga, Salto Department, but it had to suspend the search the petroleum due to the need of new associates to add additional funding. In April 2018, the company announced it did not have enough funds to continue the exploration.
UPM 2 In mid July 2019, the government and the representatives of Finnish multinational company UPM confirmed an investment for the construction of its second pulp mill plant in Uruguay, with an investment of about 2.7 billion of United States dollars plus an additional 350 million to perform public works in the port of Montevideo and to build housing facilities in Paso de los Toros. The initial plan for the opening of the plant was foreseen for early 2022. The investment would generate 6000 jobs during the construction stage, and after that would be generated 10000 jobs, 4000 directly contacted by the company and the remaining from contractors in the supply chain of 600 companies. The investment would mean a gross domestic product growth of 2% and would bring economic growth in Durazno, Florida, Cerro Largo and Tacuarembó Departments between 10% and 15% of these Departments' GDPs.
This investment was well received by the Government, as well as part of the opposition parties' members, such as Luis Lacalle Pou of National Party and Julio María Sanguinetti of Colorado Party, who also supported the project but disagreed with the way and terms of the negotiations. However, some political groups, such as Popular Unity Party and part of Open Cabildo Party rejected the secrecy of the negotiations and the terms of the investment contract, pointing out the environmental issues that could arise with the construction and commission of the plant or otherwise that the government gave up too much in the negotiation.
Environment In December 2018 with the Agroecology Law a National Plan of Agroecology was created, where it was considered as a general interest of the people the promotion of production and distribution systems, and the consumption of agroecological goods, applying an ecological vision to the design, development and management of sustainable agricultural ecosystems. It involves, among others, family agriculture producers and other systems of urban and sub-urban agriculture. It also drives a national certification system of organic food to validate the quality of these products and that they abide by the standards of sustainable production and that they respect the environment without the usage of chemical products. This system is supported by the Honorary Commission of the National Plan of Agroecology under the supervision of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries.
Healthcare Right to medical emergency assistance in any healthcare provider After the Budget Review Law of 2017, by its Articles 145 to 149, was established and recognized the right to medical emergency and urgency assistance to every resident of the country, to be provided by every health care provider in the country, and thus securing the medical attention outside the patient's place of residence. This means that when a user of the health system needs medical attention and its health care provider does not or could not have a service in the location where is currently the user nor have any arrangement with a local health provider, this user may be attended with any other provider. The user afterwards will pay for the cost of the service to his own health provider according to the fees established by law. Later the user's health provider must compensate the fees to the health provider which provided to the user the emergency care.
National Caregiving System Since Caregiving Law No. 19,353 of 27 November 2015, the right of all persons unable to care fully for oneself to receive care with quality, as well as to promote a cultural change for caregiving to be shared equally by both genders. This system involves to look after the needs of persons getting care, such as the elderly, persons with disabilities that render them unable to care themselves, underage people, specially children under 3 years of age, but also takes into account carers' rights.
Social issues Ibirapitá Plan In 2015, the Ibirapitá Plan was created. This plan delivered tablets to about 400,000 retirees with poor retirement pension of up to 24,400 Uruguayan peso per month, in order to address the so-called "gray gap" or "digital gap" in this part of the population.
This plan sought to deal with the elder, a neglected population group with many hardships, and was argued that giving tablets would have more impact than using the destined funds from the budget to raise the retirement or disability pension, with a lesser impact. With the tablet, access to communication, technology and the internet was made possible for people over 65 years old, who previously did not have such advantages, allowing them to manage applications about their health, public processes, news and other cultural contents. Moreover, it allow them to get in contact with family relatives and friends in the country and abroad, in a stage of life when elder adults tend to be left alone. The tablet also would encourage to grantees to make an effort and learn how to use it, avoiding with this process the tendency to inertia.