Uruguay: controversy over first lady’s trip to Dubai

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A video of Uruguay’s first lady Lorena Ponce de León in Dubai sparked controversy after going viral on social networks with several users criticizing the financing of the trip.

Ponce de León attended the Dubai Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates, a mega business event comprising 190 nations from all over the world, and headed the inauguration of some of the stands and attractions Uruguay is exhibiting at the event.

After returning to Uruguay and aware of the criticism, she stated: “They invited me and paid all costs, so everyone calling for an investigation to determine how these costs were funded, can rest assured. The Executive is about to publish what I am telling you so that all those who have doubts may sleep peacefully.”

Luis Lacalle Pou’s wife acknowledged that “there are people who don’t like her” and, in an acid tone, reacted to her critics for her looks: “There are people who criticize the color of my hair. I was born this way and whoever doesn’t like theirs can dye it. There are great colors, I can recommend them. At the hairdresser’s you can get highlights.”

The viral videos show the First Lady dancing. Then, she is shown opening the “Sustainability Gate” and inaugurating the Sembrando stand, both initiatives that the Uruguayan government presented in its pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020.

Ponce de León chose to end the discussion and said that “we have to take it for what it was: a moment of visibility for our country.”

Among her numerous activities in Dubai, Ponce de León met with the Minister of International Cooperation and Director General of the Dubai Expo 2020, Reem Al Hashimi.