YAMANDU ORSI pledged to strengthen Uruguay’s social safety net and end years of economic stagnation as he became president on Saturday.

The inauguration of the former mayor and history teacher marks the return of Uruguay’s Broad Front – a mix of communists, trade unionists and moderates – after a five-year interruption by the country’s outgoing right-wing president, Luis Lacalle Pou.

Cheers erupted as Mr Orsi recited his oath of office before Congress on Saturday in Uruguay’s capital of Montevideo. Outside the chamber, in the city’s main square, thousands watching his swearing-in on giant screens shouted in support.