Tabaré Vazquez, an oncologist who was Uruguay's president from 2005 to 2010, won another term in Sunday's runoff election, defeating Luis Lacalle Pou of the center-right National party, 53 percent to 40 percent. Vazquez's victory extended the rule of his leftist Broad Front coalition — outgoing President Jose Mujica is also a member — and preserves Uruguay's first-of-its-kind national government-run marijuana market.
Lacalle Pou had vowed to dismantle the state-run pot market, popular among visitors but less so in Uruguay, while allowing Uruguayans to grow marijuana plants. Vazquez said he will continue with the rollout of the national weed marketplace, unless it has negative repercussions. During his first term, Vazquez set one day a week aside to treat patients; this time, the 74-year-old doctor says he will give up medicine to govern.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The 8 best sci-fi series of all timethe week recommends Imagining — and fearing — the future continues to give us compelling and thoughtful television
-
The Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the Department of EducationThe Explainer The president aims to fulfill his promise to get rid of the agency
-
‘These attacks rely on a political repurposing’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
