Luis Lacalle Pou | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2020 | |
| 42nd President of Uruguay | |
| Assumed office 1 March 2020 | |
| Vice President | Beatriz Argimón |
| Preceded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
| Senator of the Republic | |
| In office 15 February 2015 – 12 August 2019 | |
| Constituency | At-large |
| President of the Chamber of Representatives | |
| In office 1 March 2011 – 1 March 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Ivonne Passada |
| Succeeded by | Jorge Orrico |
| National Representative | |
| In office 15 February 2000 – 15 February 2015 | |
| Constituency | Canelones |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou 11 August 1973 Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Political party | National Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
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| Residence | Residencia de Suárez |
| Education | The British Schools |
| Alma mater | Catholic University of Uruguay |
| Signature | .jpg){kind=small} |
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Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (Spanish: [ˈlwis laˈkaʝe ˈpow], locally [ˈlwih laˈkaʒe ˈpow, -kaʃe -]; born 11 August 1973), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, serving as the 42nd president of Uruguay since 2020.[1]
The son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle Pou attended The British Schools of Montevideo and graduated from the Catholic University of Uruguay in 1998 with a law degree.[2] A member of the National Party, he was first elected to the Chamber of Representatives in the 1999 election as a National Representative for the Canelones Department, a position he held from 2000 to 2015. During the first session of the 47th Legislature (2011–2012) he chaired the lower house of the General Assembly. He also served as Senator from 2015 to 2019.[3] He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2014.
Five years later, he defeated the Broad Front nominee and former mayor of Montevideo Daniel Martínez in the 2019 general election and was elected President of Uruguay with 50.79% of the vote in the second round.[4] At the age of 46, Lacalle Pou ended the 15 years of leftist rule in the country and became the youngest president since the end of the dictatorship in 1985.[5] Nearly half of the country has approved Lacalle Pou's presidency thus far, with a September 2023 rating of 47% of the total population, the highest in the South American continent.[6]
During his presidency, Lacalle Pou has overseen several reforms to retirement and pension laws and the education system.[7] He led Uruguay's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination rollout, for which he won praise and high approval ratings for his successful handling of the virus.[8] In April 2020, his administration presented a bill under the constitutional label of "Urgent Consideration Law", which after being enacted on July 8, 2020, introduced reforms and restructuring in various areas.[9] After an opposition campaign, a referendum was held in March 2022 to ask the electorate whether 135 articles of the law should be repealed, with the option to keep them in force winning.[10]
During his presidency, events occurred such as a drought that caused some protests due to the reduction in water availability and access in the Montevideo metropolitan area for a few weeks in mid-2023.[11] In addition, a series of controversies arose with certain figures within his administration, resulting in several resignations such as Alejandro Astesiano, former chief custodian who was dismissed from his position and subsequently arrested for forging Uruguayan identity cards and passports to Russian citizens.[12] In July 2024, it was announced that Lacalle Pou would be a candidate for the Senate in the 2024 general election, in which he cannot run for a second term due to a constitutional ban on consecutive re-election.[13]
- ^ "Center-right president takes office in Uruguay". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020.
- ^ Codrops. "Graduado UCU es electo presidente". Universidad Católica del Uruguay (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ ElPais. "Lacalle Pou renuncia al Senado el lunes 12 antes de iniciar la gira electoral". Diario EL PAIS Uruguay (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ de 2019, 28 de Noviembre. "Uruguay: el escrutinio definitivo consagró a Luis Lacalle Pou como nuevo Presidente". infobae (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Risso, Elena (29 February 2020). "Quién es Luis Lacalle, el surfista que pone fin a 15 años de gobierno de izquierda en Uruguay". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Martinez, Juan (14 September 2023). "Nearly Half of Uruguay Approves of Lacalle Pou". The Rio Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ Prieto, Por Alejandro (6 August 2023). "Comenzó a regir la reforma jubilatoria impulsada por Luis Lacalle Pou en Uruguay". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Lacalle Pou es el presidente mejor evaluado en América Latina por manejo del Covid-19". subrayado.com.uy (in Spanish). 26 July 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Senado aprobó la LUC con 18 en 30 votos con críticas del Frente Amplio". EL PAIS. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Voto a voto: mirá todos los resultados del referéndum de la LUC". EL PAIS. 27 March 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ Redacción. "Lacalle Pou puso fin a la emergencia hídrica: es notoria "la mejora en la calidad del agua"". El Observador. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Caso Astesiano: cuatro años de prisión y una multa para el ex custodio de Lacalle Pou". www.ambito.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Álvaro Delgado anunció que Lacalle Pou integrará una lista al Senado en el Partido Nacional". EL PAIS (in Spanish). 1 July 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.