Conflict in the Port of Montevideo: union or internal political crisis between the MPP and the Socialist Party?
Conflict in the Port of Montevideo defines one of the most tense episodes of the Uruguayan political and union scene in 2025. What began as a labor dispute between the port union and the company Terminal Cuenca del Plata (TCP), led to a crossroads of accusations between sectors of the Broad Front and senators of the National Party, who attribute the conflict to an internal one between the Popular Participation Movement (MPP) and the Socialist Party (PS).
Origin of the union conflict at TCP
The conflict began with the implementation of the Navis N4 operating system in the Cuenca del Plata Terminal, operated mainly by the Belgian company Katoen Natie. The port union denounced that the new software automates tasks that could put jobs at risk.
The union measure included a strike that paralyzed more than 70% of the port's operations, generating million-dollar losses for exporters and transporters.
Navis N4 Software Implementation
Navis N4 replaced a system used since 2001. According to TCP, all workers were trained for three years to adapt to the new software. The company maintains that the change does not affect the workload nor does it imply layoffs.
However, the union argues that automation should make it possible to reduce six-hour work day, maintaining the salary corresponding to eight.
Union position and labor demands
The Single Port Union and Related Branches (SUPRA) maintains its position: not to lift the strike without guarantees. They rejected the proposal of Ministry of Labor to negotiate with the operating terminal, and evaluate extending the measures to other ports in the country.
The union was also criticized for citing a conversation with ChatGPT as an argument to justify productivity improvements, prompting ridicule from TCP.
Political accusations: whites vs Frente Amplio
Senators from the National Party, such as Javier García and Sebastián Da Silva, maintain that the conflict has a political background. García called the union “irrational” and accused the union of “taking over the port.”
Da Silva was more direct: “This is a mess between the tupas and the socialists,” in reference to the MPP and the PS. He pointed out that there were internal displacements in the National Ports Administration (ANP) that reflect a struggle for institutional control.
Reaction of the Socialist Party
Senator Gustavo González of the PS denied that the conflict has partisan origins. He stated that worked to summon to both parties to the Senate Labor Affairs Committee and described as “lack of respect” the statements that delegitimize union demands.
His most resonant phrase was: “Let them not dream of contradictions on the left, let them solve their problems, which are several and very big.”
Movements of the MPP in the ANP
According to press reports, the MPP managed to remove the PS from relevant positions in the Port of Montevideo in less than 90 days. The Minister of Transportation, Lucía Etcheverry, requested the resignation of the vice president of the ANP, Alejandra Koch, for voting for a promotion for her socialist spouse.
Etcheverry promoted the appointment of Tany Mendiondo as vice president and kept Pablo Genta in the presidency, consolidating the hegemony of the MPP in the ANP.
Economic and commercial impact
The strike at TCP directly affects Uruguayan foreign trade. Exporters denounce daily losses of up to 20 million of dollars, while transporters lose close to 500,000 dollars per day.
The situation generates concern in the Executive Branch, which called urgent meetings with the Ministers of Labor and Transportation to try to unblock the conflict.
What is behind the port conflict?
Beyond labor demands, the conflict in the Port of Montevideo reveals internal political tensions and disputes over institutional control. The combination of unionism, technological automation and partisan struggles turns this episode into an emblematic case of how labor and labor interests intertwine. politicians in Uruguay.
Do you think that the conflict in the port responds to legitimate union causes or to an internal political cause between sectors of the Frente Amplio?
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