Government

President Yamandú Orsi

Yamandú Orsi (57) was born on June 13, 1967, in Canelones. He has been married for 17 years to Laura Alonsopérez, with whom he has two children: Lucía and Victorio. They have lived in Salinas (Canelones) for 18 years (since 2007). His father was a rural worker, and his mother was a seamstress. Later, they became shopkeepers and owned a small store, where Orsi worked serving customers from a young age. He was also a folk dancer. Orsi is a History Professor, having graduated from the Instituto de Profesores Artigas (IPA). He worked as a teacher and student advisor in educational centers in Canelones, Florida, and Maldonado for more than a decade. His political career began as a grassroots activist for the Frente Amplio, which led him to become a member of the coalition’s National Plenary. Within political factions, he was initially part of Vertiente Artiguista before joining the Movimiento de Participación Popular (MPP). In May 2005, the MPP nominated him as the first alternate candidate for the Intendencia de Canelones. During Marcos Carámbula’s two terms as Intendente (2005-2015), Orsi served as Secretary-General of the municipal government. After Carámbula’s tenure, Orsi was nominated as the candidate for Intendente of Canelones and was elected in May 2015. In September 2020, he was re-elected with the support of more than 60% of the electorate in Canelones.

His administration in the Intendencia de Canelones was marked by policies promoting and supporting small producers, social inclusion initiatives, a strong focus on sports, and environmental protection.

In December 2023, Orsi was nominated as one of the presidential pre-candidates by the Frente Amplio Congress. In February 2024, when he resigned from the Intendencia to formally enter the presidential race, his administration had the approval of 70% of the department’s population. In the June 2024 internal elections, he emerged victorious. That same night, he completed the Frente Amplio’s presidential ticket with engineer and former Montevideo Intendenta, Carolina Cosse. In the October 2024 general election, the Orsi-Cosse ticket received the most votes in the first round but did not secure enough support to win outright, according to electoral regulations, requiring a second round. That second round took place in November. In the runoff election, Yamandú Orsi won with 49.8% of the vote, defeating Álvaro Delgado, the candidate of the republican coalition, who obtained 45.9%. On November 29, 2024, the Electoral Court officially certified Yamandú Orsi and Carolina Cosse as President and Vice President of the Republic. Today, Yamandú Orsi is being sworn in as the 43rd constitutional President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay for the 2025–2030 term.