Senator Luis Lacalle Pou visited the Radio Communications class taught by Esteban Leonis, where he answered questions from the students.
“Why did I go into law? I’m glad I did; I consider myself a man of the law,” the legislator said. “I started out in business administration; I don’t remember exactly when I switched to law. I don’t think I had a strong calling to the legal profession, but I do believe I had an innate understanding of the law and a sense of justice.”
When asked how he became a politician, he recalled that he had been involved with the National Party and political activism his entire life.
I believe that politics allows you to become a better person; for me, politics has made me a better person. I am grateful to politics for awakening in me a sense of generosity, sensitivity toward others, and a willingness to put my own interests aside for a moment.
Lacalle Pou described himself as a rebel, “a harmful rebel,” for most of his life, he said. “At 23, I changed my mindset and said, ‘I want to be a rebel my whole life, but a positive one.’ And I wake up every day trying to change the world from my perspective. That’s what keeps me alive.”
“I’ve lived with stereotypes and prejudice my whole life,” he said, adding, “Prejudice is a natural part of being human.”
He said that prejudices “are wonderful” because “you didn’t even give yourself the chance to form an opinion, to say, ‘This is what I thought.’” He explained that this really motivates him, especially when it comes to people with whom he has the most differences.
Uruguay gives you the chance to go head-to-head, to get in there and battle it out; I love that—it’s what I enjoy most.