He argued that the ruling party’s No won politically and legally with 49.8 percent, plus 1.3 percent of blank votes added to the 48.8 for the affirmative option, but “sociologically it did not pass 50 percent percent of the total number of voters.

The Uruguayan pollster thought it was a bad result and for the president “what he exhibited yesterday at the press conference was not at all successful” to assess the popular consultation.

Bottinelli, in a television interview, conveyed the impression that the president emerged from the referendum weakened, as did the coalition of right-wing parties he leads, and if you have 56 percent of Parliament and there is support from 48, “there is a weakening which implies the need to act to become stronger”.

He judged that the coalition did not work and they would have to make changes in forming, first of all a dialogue between the government-opposition because there are issues that transcend several periods of government, among which he cited the social security reform and the media law .

A panel of journalists who followed the referendum predicted changes in the Council of Ministers, targeting Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo and Interior Minister Luis Alberto Héber as targets of public criticism and accusations of errors by the head of government.

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