Yamandú Orsi

 

Jeffrey St. Clair>>

 

During his first address to the General Assembly, Uruguay’s new Leftist President Yamandú Orsi condemned the predatory libertarianism now ascendent in neighboring Argentina and the US and called for a new politics of co-existence for Uruguay and the rest of South America:

 

There is an ultra-individualistic concept of ‘freedom’ that preaches domination by the strongest. This will never be our notion of freedom. The individual freedom in which we believe is the key to co-existence and the equality of opportunities in the essential aspects of life.

 

How much ‘freedom’ can be exercised or enjoyed by a compatriot who has to spend weeks going on a pilgrimage to a health center to get their medicine?

 

How ‘free’ is someone who suffers from serious problems with housing or work?

 

How ‘free’ are women who feel violated on the street or behind closed doors in their homes?

 

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