Uruguay’s Minister of Tourism resigned after being accused of irregularities in his management

The Minister of Tourism of Uruguay, German Cardoso, announced this Friday its resignation to the wallet after a series of complaints of irregularities for the direct award of advertising contracts.

“I leave the laissez-passer free to the president to defend me against the false accusations they have leveled at me”, declared the now former minister in dialogue with the press this Friday afternoon.

During this time, he pointed out that “the differences and the anger between two people have led to a discussion of public status with inappropriate political accusations which generate a situation of unease for the president and the government, therefore, I spoke with the leader of our sector, Julio María Sanguinetti, and I decided to resign with the peace of mind of having complied and having made the best effort ”.

The complaints, that Cardoso denies, were made by the retired tourism director, Martin Perez Banchero, who refused to make these purchases as well as by the local weekly Research, who published this Thursday more information on contracts that the portfolio holder intended to sign through direct purchases.

Cardoso belongs to the Colorado Party (PC) which is one of the partners of the government coalition and which until now in the government period -March 2020 to today- has already had three cabinet changes after the resignation of Chancellor Ernesto Talvi and the dismissal of the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Carlos María Uriarte.

After the first complaint of Perez Banchero, the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, received Cardoso in his office and was satisfied with the explanations. However, the publication of the weekly made Lacalle Pou stepped back with the file and announced that he had to reconsider the situation.

After the resignation, the leaders of the CP – among which the former president of Uruguay Julio Maria Sanguinetti (1985-1990 and 1995-2000), meet to define what name they will propose to President Lacalle Pou for lead the Tourism portfolio.

In June, Cardoso had already been strongly questioned by the opposition for requests for personal favors from a police officer charged with imprisonment for five offenses, although Lacalle Pou, along with the government coalition, supported him.

With this release, six of the 13 ministers who started working on March 1, 2020 in Lacalle Pou’s cabinet do not keep their posts.

The first replacement in the Executive came with the resignation of Talvi on July 1st in the middle of the Mercosur summit, during which Uruguay began its semester of presidency pro tempore. He was relieved by Francisco Bustillo, who was until then Uruguay’s ambassador to Spain.

The second took place on May 1, 2021, when the President announced the impeachment of the Minister of Social Development, Pablo Bartol, which has been replaced by Martin Lema. Twenty-one days later Luis Alberto Heber, who until then was head of the transport and public works portfolio, was appointed Minister of the Interior after the sudden death of Jorge Larrañaga on May 22.

José Luis Falero, who had previously been deputy director of the Planning and Budget Office (OPP), took over the place vacated by Heber.

Finally, on June 27, Lacalle Pou announced that the until then president of the National Meat Institute, Fernando Mattos, would replace Carlos Maria Uriarte as Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries.

(With information from EFE)

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