The Broad Front’s dilemma in a divided Uruguay

At the age of 88, Uruguay’s former center-left president José Mujica — known for legalizing abortion, gay marriage, and marijuana between 2010 and 2015 — has reached the status of a true guru.

As an elder statesman with decades of political experience, Mr. Mujica’s opinions always carry heavy weight. And his endorsement of Yamandú Orsi in the center-left’s June 30 primary could end up being decisive.

Mr. Orsi is a former governor of Canelones, and not as well-known as his internal competitor Carolina Cosse, who rules the country’s capital Montevideo. But according to Mr. Mujica, Mr. Orsi is “the only candidate capable of beating the Whites,” as Uruguay’s conservative National Party is popularly known.

The center-left Broad Front coalition ruled Uruguay between 2004 and 2019 and is now favored to regain power, as incumbent center-right President Luis Lacalle Pou struggles with scandals and lacks a strong successor in a country where consecutive re-elections are banned.

But old mistakes must be avoided to ensure victory, Mr. Mujica believes. In his view, the Broad Front must resist the temptation of choosing a candidate too close to the capital, even if nearly 40 percent of Uruguayans live there, as Montevideo is a region where the center-left already excels. 

“Ms. Cosse is a great name, but she won’t beat the Whites since voters don’t support her in the interior of the country. And this is where we lost the elections in 2019,” Mr. Mujica said. Likewise, he added, the 2024 winner “will not be chosen by the party’s voters, but by the undecided.”

According to Marcelo Rossal, a social anthropology professor at the University of the Republic...