Uruguay: Youth in National Party provides voters “delivery”
Youth in National Party explore new campaign techniques while government establishes a new limit on on-line purchase abroad; and report on riot prisons reveals drugs, arms and prostitution involved.
Youth in National Party provides voters “delivery”
The youth movement within the National Party presented interesting campaign techniques for internal elections. Most remarkable, each group offered free transportation to take those interested from their home to the voting place.
Santiago Caramés, leader of “Espacio 40”, explains this is an effective way to ensure votes. He has already committed with 134 people to give them a lift to give him support.
Other initiatives have been to promote their ideas in nightclubs as well as in football clubs.
In order to fund the campaign they organized raffles which included trips to Buenos Aires among others. This activities are commonly used to rise money for graduation trips, yet the National Party youth brought them into politics among the teenagers.
There are around 55,000 voters between 14 and 29 years old, being the only requirement a valid I.D. This elections will define the next president of the youth movement which integrates the committee of the National Party, although with no vote.
On-line purchase up to 1,000 US$ annually
There will be an annual limit of 1,000 US$ to place orders from external sources with no tax per person. For this reason, there will be new procedures to arrange the delivery in order to ensure the control.
In addition, there will be other regulations such as the requirement that the card holder and the buyer are the same person.
Yet, this is not new for Uruguayans. In 2001 after the economic crisis the limit was on 50 US$ since people were massively buying from the U.S. cloths and other goods, causing disadvantages for local industries.
Nowadays, the aim of increasing the limit is related to new agreements with the United States. The Agreement of Commerce and Investment (Acuerdo de Marco de Comercio e Inversiones, TIFA) states the objective to develop on-line commerce between the two countries.
However, the decision to keep a limit is to give further protection to domestic industries.
Arms, drugs and prostitution in riot prisons reported
After the incidents in the Comcar prison, it was carried out a police investigation. They found that stolen arms from the army and the police were accessed by prisoners. The arms were located in the rubble of the unites destroyed by the riot.
The inform states that certain groups related to organized crime get guards to enter arms and drugs into the prisons. They succeed by offering money or threatening the guard’s family.
Furthermore, they discovered a group of women that tour around prisons with different objectives. Some of them offer sex services, while others just bring in drugs in their genitals according to the report.
This report adds to the prisons crisis that Uruguay is facing currently. President Mujica had acknowledge the problem and some quote of responsibility.
