Mujica Swings To The Left

With José Mujica's inauguration only weeks away, the president-elect has started to adopt a firmly leftist approach to his future cabinet. This contrasts starkly with his commitment to a more centre-left policy during his election campaign in 2009. Mujica replaced a moderate socialist welfare minister with well-know communist politician Ana Vignoli, and endorsed the candidacy of a communist as the Frente Amplio coalition's candidate for Montevideo's mayoral elections in May. Moreover, Mujica went against the wishes of his more centrist vice president and economy minister, Danilo Astori, introduce a left-wing hardliner as budget and planning minister.

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