The recent statements by Broad Front councilor Catalina Correa did not arise from a sudden ethical gesture or a recent discovery of irregularities. What she said on Radio Arapey—harsh criticism of the Adeoms union and former mayor Andrés Lima for hiring outside the legal framework—has a long and deeply personal history. Her words not only rekindled a long-standing conflict within the Broad Front of Salto, but also exposed a political rift that has been building for more than a decade.
To understand why Correa so directly targeted Lima and the leadership of the Adeoms union , we must go back to 2009. At that time, Andrés Lima was elected as a deputy, and she began to rise politically in his shadow. In 2012, with Lima's own encouragement, Correa was elected president of the Broad Front in Salto. Two years later, when Lima won a seat in the House of Representatives again, Correa replaced him and became a full deputy. But the seemingly solid political began to deteriorate in 2019, when she hoped to head the sector's list again and was displaced by Álvaro Lima, the former mayor's brother. According to Broad Front sources consulted by Uruguay Al Día , that moment marked the breaking point. "From love to hate" was the phrase used by one Salto leader to describe the change.
The rupture led to a critical narrative that Catalina Correa built over time and that today portrays her as an opposition figure within her own party. Her complaint about irregular hiring at the City Hall—based on the alleged complicity of Adeoms and the Lima political structure—fits into this process of estrangement and rivalry.
During his radio appearance, Correa stated that during Lima's administration, hiring was authorized without a competition or lottery, and that many of these positions were determined by political appointees during an election campaign. He pointed out that Adeoms not only failed to report the situation but was part of the scheme, and blamed its leaders for placing workers in a situation of legal vulnerability.
Although her accusations have an institutional component, the political charge is evident. The councilor isn't limiting herself to questioning procedures. What she's essentially arguing is that the public structure was used to reinforce partisan clientelist networks. But the focus isn't just on Lima or the union: it's also on her own past. Correa was part of that same political network until she was removed. And it's that wound that now reappears in the form of a complaint.
The underlying theme of his remarks, then, is not strictly the legality of the income nor union ethics. It is the shift in power, the loss of influence, and the need to establish differences within a Salta-based FA plagued by internal tensions. His criticism, rather than opening a new debate, serves as a reflection on the political practices still active in departmental governments, but also as a warning that poorly resolved internal conflicts can erupt at any moment.
