President Yamandú Orsi led this Friday within the framework of the Labor Day a lunch at Quincho de Varela -in the Rincón del Cerro area-, following a tradition that was started years ago by the late former president José Mujica.
They participated in the meeting ministers – among them Juan Castillo (Labor), Carlos Negro (Interior), José Carlos Mahía (Education), Fernanda Cardona (Industry) and Edgardo Ortuño (Environment) – legislators, such as Senator Blanca Rodríguez, union members, businessmen – among them the Argentine Alejandro Bulgheroni and diplomats, such as the ambassadors of the United States, China and the European Union. Also sitting next to Orsi was former vice president Lucía Topolansky.
“May is the month of old Pepe, the first year that we don’t have him here,” Orsi said to those present, in a short three-minute speech. Mujica died on May 13, 2025.
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The president recalled the origin of the meeting and its founding message: “When politics or the tensions in society tend to divide, the fundamental effort of those who govern and those who make politics is to try to foster coincidences, or to share even a little while talking about life.”
The president highlighted the presence of “Pepe’s old friends” who made the “effort to get closer”, together with “new friends” that the “circumstances of work” and management were adding up.
In an international context marked by polarization and political fragmentation, Orsi claimed that Uruguay “has a vocation to unite.” “When things get complicated is when you have to talk the mostwhen things are a little murky we have more need to talk,” he added.
The president also sent a message addressed to the private sector: he assured that for his government it is “fundamental” that those who have decided “continue to invest or grow in Uruguay,” and expressed his hope that this type of meeting could be repeated in all governments and in all years.
“Thank you for understanding that a good barbecue and a good wine can solve things that, suddenly, hours of meeting cannot do,” Orsi concluded.
