Recently Yamandu Orsi has been elected as the President of which country ?
- (1)Paraguay
- (2)Uruguay
- (3)Venezuela
- (4)Guyana
Answer
Why
Correct — option (2), Uruguay.
Yamandú Orsi of the Broad Front (Frente Amplio), a left-wing coalition, won Uruguay's presidential run-off on 24 November 2024. He defeated Álvaro Delgado of the National Party, the party of the outgoing President, Luis Lacalle Pou.
The first round had been held on 27 October 2024. No candidate won it outright, so the top two went to the run-off.
On the exam date, 2 February 2025, Orsi was President-elect of Uruguay. He took office on 1 March 2025. Before the presidency he had served as Intendant, the elected head, of Canelones Department.
The idea to remember: Orsi, Broad Front, Uruguay (capital Montevideo): elected in the run-off of 24 November 2024, in office from 1 March 2025.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Paraguay — Paraguay's President on the exam date was Santiago Peña, in office since 15 August 2023. Paraguay is landlocked, with its capital at Asunción.
The two names are close, and both countries are South American neighbours of Brazil and Argentina. Orsi's election was in Uruguay, whose capital is Montevideo.
- (3)Venezuela — Venezuela's President on the exam date was Nicolás Maduro, sworn in for a third term on 10 January 2025 after the disputed election of 28 July 2024. Its capital is Caracas.
Venezuela's contested result was also in the news in late 2024, but Orsi was elected in Uruguay.
- (4)Guyana — Guyana's President on the exam date was Mohamed Irfaan Ali, sworn in on 2 August 2020. Guyana is an English-speaking country on the north coast of South America, with its capital at Georgetown.
Orsi's run-off on 24 November 2024 was in Uruguay, not Guyana.
Concept
Uruguay has a presidential system: the President is both head of state and head of government, elected directly for five years. If no candidate wins the first round outright, the top two contest a run-off.
Uruguay's constitution bars a President from immediate re-election. That is why Luis Lacalle Pou, President from 2020, was not a candidate in 2024; his National Party ran Álvaro Delgado.
The Broad Front had governed earlier, from 2005 to 2020, under Tabaré Vázquez and José Mujica. Orsi belongs to the Movement of Popular Participation within the Broad Front, and his win returned the coalition to power.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Major Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan, India and International Importance" under Current Affairs. National elections abroad fall under that line.
Uruguay is a small republic on the Río de la Plata estuary, bordered by Brazil and Argentina. With Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay it founded MERCOSUR, the South American trade bloc created by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991.
On 2 February 2025, Uruguay was between election and inauguration: Luis Lacalle Pou was still President, and Orsi was President-elect. Carolina Cosse was elected Vice-President on Orsi's ticket.
Key facts
- Yamandú Orsi of the Broad Front won Uruguay's presidential run-off on 24 November 2024, defeating Álvaro Delgado of the National Party.
- The first round of Uruguay's 2024 general election was held on 27 October 2024.
- Orsi took office on 1 March 2025, succeeding Luis Lacalle Pou; Carolina Cosse was elected Vice-President on his ticket.
- Before becoming President, Orsi served as Intendant of Canelones Department.
- Uruguay (capital Montevideo) founded MERCOSUR with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay under the Treaty of Asunción, 1991.
Orsi succeeded Luis Lacalle Pou of the National Party.
Study next
Common traps
- Swapping Uruguay and Paraguay, two South American neighbours of Brazil and Argentina with similar names. Paraguay's President on the exam date was Santiago Peña.
- Reading 'elected' as 'in office'. On 2 February 2025 Orsi was President-elect; he was sworn in on 1 March 2025.
- Placing Orsi in Venezuela because Venezuela's disputed election was also in the news in late 2024. Nicolás Maduro was sworn in again there on 10 January 2025.
A question can give a newly elected leader's name and ask for the country, or give the country and ask for the leader. A question can also ask for the new President's party, the date of the run-off, or the person the new President succeeded.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023 here once that paper is published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Whom did Yamandú Orsi succeed as President of Uruguay on 1 March 2025?
- (a)Álvaro Delgado
- (b)Luis Lacalle Pou
- (c)Santiago Peña
- (d)José Mujica
Answer(2) — Luis Lacalle Pou of the National Party was President until 1 March 2025. Option (1) was Orsi's opponent in the run-off; option (3) is the President of Paraguay; option (4) was an earlier Broad Front President of Uruguay, from 2010 to 2015. - practice — not a real PYQ
Yamandú Orsi, elected President of Uruguay in November 2024, was the candidate of which political force?
- (a)National Party
- (b)Morena
- (c)Broad Front
- (d)Justicialist Party
Answer(3) — Orsi was the Broad Front's candidate. Option (1) is the party of Álvaro Delgado and Luis Lacalle Pou; option (2) is the governing party of Mexico; option (4) is Argentina's Peronist party.