Uruguay's president-elect Luis Lacalle Pou speaks at a gathering in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, on Nov. 30, 2019. (Xinhua/Nicolas Celaya)
Lacalle Pou said he will exit the Montevideo Mechanism once he takes office on March 1, 2020, succeeding the progressive government of the ruling Broad Front party, which had spearheaded the mechanism along with Mexico.
MONTEVIDEO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay's president-elect Luis Lacalle Pou said Monday he will withdraw his country from a Uruguayan-led initiative to promote political dialogue and conciliation in crisis-hit Venezuela.
Lacalle Pou said he will exit the Montevideo Mechanism once he takes office on March 1, 2020, succeeding the progressive government of the ruling Broad Front party, which had spearheaded the mechanism along with Mexico.
Lacalle Pou, of the conservative National Party, said he was unconvinced by the "ideological affinity" that underpins the mechanism.
Asked whether his government will instead join the Lima Group, which calls for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro through tighter sanctions, Lacalle Pou acknowledged he has greater affinity with that group, saying "we agree" on certain things.
However, he added, "I don't know if (joining ideological blocs) is the path this government is going to take."
Lacalle Pou won a November runoff against the ruling party candidate by a slim margin of 48.8 percent of the votes versus 47.3 percent for his rival. ■
