Nin Novoa was
Vice President of Uruguay, serving under President
Tabaré Vázquez, from 2005 to 2010. He succeeded
Luis Antonio Hierro López in that office. Vice President Nin's Chief of Staff,
Gonzalo Nin Novoa, has received wide media exposure on various issues including defence procurement and expense claims. By the end of 2007 the Nin brothers were facing hostility from ostensible colleagues, including
Juan Domínguez, and others, in the ruling
Frente Amplio coalition.
Complex political associations Nin Novoa's presence in the government of
Tabaré Vázquez exemplified the highly diverse nature of the coalition of forces which it represented. He heads the
Progressive Alliance, considered one of the rightmost groups of the Broad Front coalition and including the
Christian Democratic Party. The Progressive Alliance forms part of the
Liber Seregni Front along with
Uruguay Assembly of
Danilo Astori and
New Space of
Rafael Michelini, reflecting moderate, centre-left to centrist tendencies.
Relations with radical colleagues and opponents Having been active in his earlier phase of political life in a conservative party in an area of the Uruguayan interior (
Cerro Largo) not known for an overtly radical political culture, Nin Novoa later served in government alongside former
Tupamaro radicals, the outlook and priorities of whom are said to differ significantly. Indeed, given his background, Nin Novoa has had to accommodate himself to being sometimes referred to as 'Comrade Nin Novoa', e.g., by Socialist Party spokesmen. It would be fair to say, also, in the scheme of political associations and rivalries, that Nin Novoa's strongest critics would be numbered among his own political colleagues such as
Juan Domínguez, rather than among members of the political opposition to the ruling
Frente Amplio government. ==Foreign Minister of Uruguay==