MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay –
Voters in the small South American nation of Uruguay headed to the polls to choose a new president on Sunday in a race between two moderates that defies regional trends of bitter division and democratic erosion.
The contest between Uruguay’s incumbent conservative coalition and its challenger, a center-left alliance, got underway with some 2.7 million eligible voters also casting ballots for Parliament and a contentious referendum on overhauling the social security system.
The pension vote — which would expand the fiscal deficit in one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries — has consumed more media attention in recent weeks than other top campaign issues, such as child poverty, education and security.
With the candidates in broad agreement over many issues, no one expects the outcome of the presidential vote to herald drastic change in this nation of 3.4 million people, long considered a model democracy and bastion of stability in the …