Uruguay: Right-Wing Senators Support Former General Manini

Senators from the ruling National Party will meet on Tuesday to define their position on the removal of lawmaker Guido Manini, who was head of the Army between 2015 and 2019.

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The leader of the Cabildo Abierto (CA) party could be criminally charged for hiding the confession of ex-military Jose Gavazzo, who admitted his participation in the murder of a Tupamaro guerrilla during the civil-military dictatorship (1973-1985).

For this far-right politician to be prosecuted, 75 percent of the members of the Upper House must vote in favor of his removal, that is, 21 votes are needed.

So far, the 13 members of the left-wing Broad Front party, which ruled Uruguay between 2005 and 2020, announced that they will vote in favor of the removal of General Manini.

From the bench of the Colorado Party, two senators confirmed their vote in favor of the dismissal. Former President Julio Maria Sanguinetti, however, said that he will not support the proposal. The CA party members will not support the removal of their leader either.

During the electoral campaign, General Manini said that "he had nothing to hide" and that he would not take refuge in the special privileges granted to senators.

On March 30, local outlet El Observador published the minutes of a military court in which Gavazzo confessed details about the death of the Tupamaro guerrilla Roberto Gomensoro, whose body was thrown into the Negro river in 1973.

This case was not brought to justice because such confessions were omitted by the military court. According to the prosecutor Rodrigo Morosoli, General Manini committed a crime of omission because he did not report those confessions to his superior or civil authorities.