Polls open in stable Uruguay in a vote free of political hostility seen elsewhere in the region WSOC TV [Video]

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — (AP) — Polls opened in the small South American nation of Uruguay on Sunday in an election race between moderates that defies regional trends of bitter division and democratic erosion.

Some 2.7 million registered voters in Uruguay are set to pick a new president in the race pitting an incumbent conservative coalition against a center-left alliance.

Voters will also pick 30 senators and 99 deputies and decide whether to overhaul the country’s social security system in a contentious constitutional referendum that would expand the fiscal deficit in one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries.

No one expects the outcome of the presidential vote to herald drastic change in this nation of 3.4 million people, long heralded as a model democracy and island of stability in the region.

With the main parties in broad agreement on many issues, the campaign is being fought over voter concerns like child poverty and security. Rising homicides and robberies represent the biggest concern for Uruguayans, polls show, even …