Former guerrilla favoured to win Uruguay election

A former guerrilla fighter who was jailed for 14 years is poised on Sunday to become Uruguay's next president in a runoff vote seen as a referendum on the economic success of the country's ruling leftist coalition.

Jose Mujica, 74, who waged an armed revolt against Uruguay's democratically elected government in the 1960s and 1970s, leads by at least 6 points in opinion polls over his center-right rival, former president Luis Lacalle.

A Mujica victory would keep in power the ruling Broad Front coalition credited by many Uruguayans with lifting the country out of an economic slump earlier this decade and stoking growth this year in the face of the global slowdown.

A farmer and former agriculture minister and senator, Mujica has vowed to continue the investor-friendly policies that have helped the economy expand for six straight years.

He won the most votes in the election's first round on October 25, finishing with 48% to 29% for Lacalle, and falling just short of the outright majority needed to avoid a second round. The winner in the runoff assumes office on March 1 for a five-year term.

Lacalle has raised questions about Mujica's militant past, suggesting his opponent would be a more radical leader than he has portrayed himself in the campaign. But Mujica has pledged to maintain the moderate policies of current president Tabare Vazquez, Uruguay's first socialist leader. Vazquez is barred from seeking a second consecutive term.

"It's going to be the same dog but with a different collar," Mujica said.

He campaigned saying he would like to emulate Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lacalle, a 68-year-old lawyer from the National Party who governed from 1990 to 1995, has said he too would leave economic policy intact. He has pledged to fight crime, lower income taxes and reduce the size of government.

Former president Pedro Bordaberry, who finished third in the initial round, has thrown his support behind Lacalle, whose candidacy marks a comeback after his presidential term ended with corruption accusations involving several top aides.

But Vazquez's handling of the economy has given a boost to Mujica, even though he is politically to the left of the Uruguayan leader.