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It would seem that Orsi doesn't want to accept or hear criticism of his administration. Various testimonies state that, after a request or complaint was made on the social network X to President Orsi's official account, they were blocked.

One of these is my case: I can't follow or make any kind of comment on his official account, which personally doesn't bother me, but eventually does affect many citizens who genuinely want to interact or express their discontent with the country's current situation.

Apparently, there is an effort to protect Orsi's image on social media by cutting off citizens' free expressions. As of today, the number of blocked accounts is unknown, but the pattern is usually the same: after criticism or complaints regarding his administration, both as mayor and now as president, blocking follows.

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Orsi tries to project an image of dialogue and democratic consensus, with supposed "social dialogues" outside parliament, which are nothing more than staged performances without representation. The reality is that he turns his back on the people and doesn't tolerate any criticism, especially if it goes against the narratives he wants to establish among the population.

Does Orsi intend to block freedom of expression?

Uruguay's first president to block people on social media goes further and also raises censorship at the international level, something that seems to originate in Brazil with Lula, as leader of the São Paulo Forum or current Puebla Group.

At the "Democracy Always" summit, held in Santiago de Chile in July, Orsi proposed creating public agencies to combat "disinformation" on social media, warning about the advance of political extremism in the region.

According to him: "There must be some kind of regulation of fake news, where there is a space for verification. Lying is not good." The problem arises when governments establish control over the truth, typical of authoritarian regimes, and it becomes an instrument of censorship.

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In my opinion, the aim is to create "ministries of truth" to control freedom of expression, something very dangerous for democracy and for the image of a president who presents himself as a proponent of dialogue, but with a totalitarian idea that brings him closer to the regimes of Venezuela and Cuba.

If this is Yamandú Orsi's behavior as president—blocking and censoring criticism—how will the implementation of these truth control agencies be, which he presents alongside leftist leaders like Lula?

Social media has become the last barrier of dissent, without absolute government control. There, people can express their ideas directly, whether or not it pleases those in power.

Brazil's influence

It seems that leftist leaders also have a common goal of undermining freedom of expression, controlling social media and news. In addition, Yamandú Orsi does Lula a favor by establishing Uruguay as a "puppet state" in the international sphere, to fulfill the agenda of the Latin American left.

In Brazil, the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, an ally of Lula, declared that "regulation of social media is inevitable." Lula himself confirmed that he asked China's dictator, Xi Jinping, for advice to advance control mechanisms.

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Ultimately, a danger for Uruguay, our freedom of expression, and our democracy. It is not a good thing to take as an example countries that curtail freedoms, imprison and convict journalists, and seek advice from dictatorships to control social media.