Wednesday, May 27th 2026 - 20:41 UTC
Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi is this week facing public questioning over the purchase, eight days before his inauguration on 1 March 2025, of a zero-kilometre Hyundai Santa Fe SUV for an invoiced value of USD 54,000, although the model was being offered by the same company at around USD 78,990. The difference, close to USD 25,000, was confirmed by the presidential entourage as a “discount or rebate” on the transaction, without specifying whether it corresponded to a standard commercial policy of the dealership or to a particular condition extended to the then-president-elect.
The information was revealed by Patricia Madrid, host of the radio programme Así Nos Va, following queries directed at the Uruguayan presidency after she detected discrepancies in Orsi's most recent sworn statement of assets filed before the Board of Transparency and Public Ethics (Jutep). In that document, the vehicle is listed with a value of 3,396,570 Uruguayan pesos, equivalent to around USD 79,000 at the February 2025 exchange rate. The invoice, by contrast, issued by the Oliva Automotores dealership on 21 February 2025, records the price actually paid by the president as USD 54,000.
