The night is coming for the Communist Party

Prosecutor Gilberto Rodríguez summoned Laura Alberti, former treasurer of SUNCA and the Communist Party, today as a person of interest

The Secretary of Finance of the National Construction Workers Union (SUNCA) and the Communist Party of Uruguay (PCU) must appear before the Prosecutor's Office for Economic and Complex Crimes

The summons is part of the investigation into the diversion of more than one million dollars from the Workers' Housing Social Fund (Fosvoc)

What until recently seemed to be a case limited to expelled former leaders of the union is beginning to impact the central structures of Uruguayan communism. Alberti, a significant figure in the finances of both the union and the party, was mentioned in the testimonies of several of those already convicted

Prosecutor Rodríguez has been clear: there is a solid presumption that part of those funds, diverted from their original destination — the construction of housing for workers — ended up financing activities of SUNCA and the PCU itself

The Fosvoc case: from internal complaint to convictions

The investigation, which has been ongoing for over a year, was activated following a complaint from the fund's own board. An irregularities scheme was detected that allowed the diversion of at least 1.1 million dollars

In June 2025, three former SUNCA leaders and historic PCU militants — Bruno Bertolio, Santiago Bernaola, and Víctor Rivero — were convicted for their involvement in the maneuvers

In their statements before the prosecutor's office, these former unionists did not act alone. They pointed to a broader structure and mentioned significant names, including Laura Alberti. Prosecutor Rodríguez, in a press conference, confirmed that the traceability of the funds and the statements of the convicted individuals constitute consistent indications that part of the money was allocated to party and union financing

So far, the PCU maintains an absolute denial stance. In an official statement, it strongly rejected having received any money from Fosvoc and attributed the accusations to convicted individuals seeking to involve the party

However, the judicial reality is moving along a different path: justice does not stop at party denials when there is banking traceability and matching testimonies

Laura Alberti at the center of the storm

Alberti is not a grassroots militant. For years, she held (and according to recent information, still holds) a responsible role in the finances of SUNCA, one of the most powerful unions in the country and traditionally linked to the PCU. Her summons as a person of interest is not a minor procedure: it implies that the prosecutor believes there are sufficient elements to interrogate her within the framework of a case for economic crimes

Her lawyer has already indicated that he will clarify all doubts. The PCU, for its part, has publicly supported her firmly. But party support does not erase the facts: three convicted individuals mentioned her, the prosecutor speaks of solid presumptions, and the workers' housing fund money ended up, at least in part, in circuits that justice is investigating as linked to the party

A party in the mud

The Communist Party of Uruguay is facing one of the most delicate chapters in its recent history. For decades, it presented itself as the option of honesty, discipline, and defense of workers against bourgeois corruption

Today, its former leaders are convicted for diverting funds from workers' housing, and its Secretary of Finance is summoned for questioning in the same case

The institutional silence of the PCU — interrupted only by generic denial statements — contrasts with the strength of the evidence held by the prosecutor's office. Óscar Andrade and Daniel Diverio, communist legislators and former SUNCA leaders, have also been mentioned in the case file, although they are not currently charged. The prosecutor does not rule out expanding the circle of those being questioned

Meanwhile, Laura Alberti maintains her responsible position in the union. SUNCA expelled ten members linked to the irregularities, but the financial leadership remains in office

The night that is approaching

Today's summons is not the end of the judicial path, but it marks a turning point. For the first time in a long time, Uruguayan justice is scrutinizing not only grassroots militants or fallen former leaders but a central figure in the finances of the Communist Party

The PCU can continue to deny. It can keep talking about informants and attempts at discrediting. But the facts are stubborn: money from the workers' housing fund appeared in circuits that the prosecutor links to the party. Three militants have already been convicted. The Secretary of Finance of the PCU and SUNCA has been summoned as a person of interest

The Communist Party is facing a storm. And this time, the old narrative of ideological purity is not enough. Justice has the final word. And the construction workers, whose funds were diverted, deserve to know how far the hand of those who claimed to represent them reached