President of Uruguay attacks "authoritarian populism that violates human rights"

The president ofUruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, left a message in his speech this Tuesday during the United Nations General Assembly to the "authoritarian populisms", a group in which the South American president clearly includes Cuba, judging by his previous interventions.

In the final segment of his brief speech, after “firmly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” President Lacalle Pou attacked dictatorships, which he referred to euphemistically - given the context - as"authoritarian populisms."

"I also want to raise my voice against authoritarian populism that impoverishes its people, violates human rights and condemns current and future generations."said Lacalle Pou without mentioning countries but describing a situation that defined several governments present, both Latin American and from the rest of the world.

"Perhaps we should do in this area aMEA culpa, because many times the absence of a forceful reaction from the international community has deepened or has not prevented these types of situations,” concluded the South American leader.

Shortly afterJuly 11 protests In Cuba, Luis Lacalle Pou wasone of the first Latin American presidents to react.

“The Cuban people are demonstrating courage worthy of praise,” he stated at a press conference on July 12; adding that “Cuba is a dictatorship that obviously does not respect human rights.”

Days later, in an interview withThe Nation+, the president of Uruguay ratified the adjective “dictatorship,” and stressed that anyone who did not want to admit itIt would be because he has “very strong ideological affinities”.

On that occasion he also explained that the positions that nations should adopt regarding the Cuban case should not be “ideological” but “respect for human rights,” something that goes beyond being socialist, capitalist or pro-market.

Two months later, In September 2021, Lacalle Pou condemned the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, during the VI Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), held at the National Palace of Mexico.

“When you see that in countries there is not full democracy, that the separation of powers is not respected. When the repressive apparatus is used from those in power to silence the proposals. When opponents are imprisoned. When human rights are not respected... We, in this voice, calm but firm,We must say with concern that we seriously see what is happening in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela"said the Uruguayan president in words that were very well received by the Cuban exile.

The position of President Uruguay regarding the condemnation of dictatorships in the region has been marked sincewon the presidency in 2019 and decidednot inviting Miguel Díaz-Canel, Daniel Ortega or Nicolás Maduro to his investiture, held in March 2020, despite maintaining diplomatic relations with those countries.