URUGUAY

Uruguay, or República Oriental del Uruguay)is situated in east central South America, second smallest country on the continent, bounded on the north by Brazil, on the east by Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the Rio de la Plata, and on the west by Argentina. The Uruguay River forms the entire western boundary. The area of Uruguay is 176,215 sq km (68,037 sq mi). Montevideo is the country's capital, chief port, and economic center.

Land and Resources

Uruguay has 193 km (120 mi) of Atlantic coastline and 813 km (505 mi) of frontage along its boundary rivers, including 435 km (270 mi) on the Uruguay River and 378 km (235 mi) on its estuary, the Río de la Plata.

Physiographic Regions

The terrain in the south consists of grassy, rolling plains, except for tidal marshland along the Atlantic coast. In the north and northwest is a low plateau, the Cuchilla de Haedo, diversified by ridges of hills that rise to an extreme height of 377 m (1237 ft) above sea level. The eastern portion of the country is dominated by the Cuchilla Grande, which extends generally south from Brazil to a point near Punta del Este; it rises to 501 m (1644 ft) at Mirador Nacional, the highest elevation in Uruguay. Woodland occurs chiefly along the riverbanks. The Rio Negro is the principal river of the Uruguayan interior; only its lower portion is navigable. The Uruguay River is navigable from its mouth to Salto.

Climate

Uruguay has a temperate climate. The average temperature for the warmest months, January and February, is 21.7° C (71° F), and for the coldest month, June, 10° C (50° F). Rainfall is well distributed and averages about 890 mm (about 35 in) a year. During the winter months cold storms, known as pamperos, blow from the southwest, but frost is virtually unknown in most parts of the country.

Natural Resources

The country's principal resources are agricultural; minerals are scarce. The soils are generally very fertile, except for the sandy, marshy soils along the eastern coast. Hydroelectric power is of major importance in Uruguay. The principal hydroelectric power plant is Salto Grande on the Uruguay River; two other plants are in operation on the Río Negro, and another, on the Brazilian border, was constructed during the 1980s. The electric power industry is under the control of the government.

Plants and Animals

The predominant vegetation in Uruguay is tall prairie grass. A small purple flower grows in such abundance that Uruguay sometimes is called the Purple Land. Other flowering plants are the myrtle, mimosa, rosemary, and scarlet-flowered ceibo. Indigenous hardwood trees include the urunday, lapacho, carob, quebracho, jacaranda, willow, and acacia. Palms flourish in the southeast and in the valleys of the central region and the north. In the coastal area, pine and eucalyptus trees have been planted to halt the movement of sand. The poplar, cypress, oak, cedar, mulberry, and magnolia also have been introduced.

Puma, rhea (or American ostrich), tapir, and seal, which were relatively abundant when the Spanish first visited Uruguay, are now scarce. Deer, otter, wild hog, fox, wildcat, armadillo, anteater, and various rodents are the most frequently seen mammals.

Waterfowl include the swan, stork, crane, white heron, and duck. Other birds are the vulture, burrowing owl, partridge, quail, wild turkey, parakeet, lapwing, cardinal, and hummingbird. The principal reptiles are lizard, tortoise, rattlesnake, and a viper called the víbora de la cruz. Alligators are found in the upper waters of the Uruguay River. Large spiders are numerous.

Population

The people of Uruguay are predominantly of European origin, many of them foreign-born, and come chiefly from Spain and Italy and also from Brazil, Argentina, and France. Only about 5 to 10 percent are persons of mixed European and Native American ancestry. None of the small original Native American population remains.

Population Characteristics

The population of Uruguay (1993 estimate) was 3,175,050. The estimated population density was 18 people per sq km (47 per sq mi), concentrated near the coast. Only about 14 percent of the population was rural.

Principal Cities

The principal cities of Uruguay are Montevideo (population, 1985, 1,247,920), the country's capital, chief port, and economic center; Salto (population , 1985, 80,823), a center of commerce, shipping, and the meat-salting and meat-packing industries; and Paysandu (76,191), a port and center of the meat-packing and frozen-meat industry.

Religion and Language

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution of Uruguay. About 60 percent of the people belong to the Roman Catholic church. Spanish is the official language.

Education

Uruguay has one of the lowest rates of illiteracy (about 5 percent) in Latin America. Primary education is compulsory, and Uruguay is one of the few nations in the western hemisphere in which all education, including college and postgraduate work, is free. In the late 1980s primary schools numbered about 2380 and were annually attended by about 354,200 students; during the same period, about 275 secondary schools had an annual enrollment of about 175,700. Institutions of higher education include the University of the Republic (1849) and about 40 teacher-training schools.

Culture

A Western European tradition is widespread in Uruguay today. By the 19th century most of the Native Americans had been supplanted by Europeans, chiefly Spaniards and Italians. Since then the country has adopted the cultural institutions of these immigrants. As in Argentina, which has folk music and dances similar to those of Uruguay, the gaucho has been the subject of folklore and music. Colonial literature was largely limited to science, education, and religion. In the late 19th to the early 20th century Juan Zorrilla de San Martín wrote Tabaré, considered one of the genuine epic poems of America. Folk and popular music reflect the mood of the people and of the land. Both the government and the middle class support the theater, concerts, museums, and literary publications. Popular sports include soccer, polo, swimming, tennis, and golf. See LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE.

Cultural Institutions

All the major libraries in Uruguay are in Montevideo. They include the National Library; the Library of the National Historical Museum, known for its collection of engravings, maps, coins, and native Uruguayan material; the National Congress Library; and the library of the National Archives.

The principal museums include the National Historical Museum, the National Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Natural History, all in Montevideo. The Museo del Indo y del Gaucho, in Tacuarembó, has collections of Native American and gaucho art, weapons, and implements.

Economy

Agriculture, specifically stock raising, is of primary importance to the economy, although manufacturing is increasing in significance. Most of the economy is privately owned, but the government operates such enterprises as the state railways, the administration for electric power and telephones, the national airline, and the official broadcasting service. In the late 1980s annual budget figures showed some $1.2 billion in revenue and $1.3 billion in expenditure.

Agriculture

Stock raising is the principal agricultural activity of Uruguay and the mainstay of the economy, contributing more than 40 percent of yearly Uruguayan exports in the form of meat, wool, and hides. The moderate climate, with few local variations in temperature, and the even distribution of precipitation make it possible to pasture stock throughout the year. In the late 1980s livestock numbered about 10.4 million cattle, 26 million sheep, 473,000 horses, and 215,000 hogs. Wool production in the late 1980s was about 54,000 metric tons annually. Although only about 8 percent of the land is devoted to crops, the area under cultivation is gradually increasing. The principal crops are sugarcane, sugar beets, wheat, rice, potatoes, sorghum, and corn.

Forestry and Fishing

In the late 1980s about 3.3 million cu m (about 117 million cu ft) of roundwood were cut annually. Approximately 90 percent of the output was used for fuel. The fishing industry expanded dramatically during the 1970s. The total annual catch by the late 1980s was 107,300 metric tons.

Mining and Manufacturing

Mineral production in Uruguay is comparatively unimportant to the economy. The principal mining activity is the quarrying of sand and clay. The government has encouraged the development of export-oriented manufacturing industries; overall industrial production grew rapidly in the late 1970s but declined from 1980 to 1988. The leading industrial activities are the manufacture of woolen, cotton, and rayon textiles and the processing of food, primarily meat. Oil refining, cement manufacturing, and the production of clothing, steel, aluminum, electrical equipment, and chemicals are also important industries in the country. A steel-manufacturing plant at Nueva Palmira was opened in the early 1980s.

Currency, Banking, and Trade

The unit of currency of Uruguay is the new peso, consisting of 100 centésimos (945 new pesos equal U.S.$1; 1990). Uruguay has a well-developed banking system, with many private banks. The Bank of the Republic (1896) is a state bank and the financial agent of the government. The Central Bank of Uruguay (1967) is the sole bank of issue and controls private banking.

Foreign trade plays an important role in the economy of Uruguay. In the late 1980s annual exports were valued at about $1.4 billion and imports at about $1.1 billion. The leading trade partners are Brazil, Argentina, Germany, the United States, and Mexico. Textiles and textile products, meats, fish, rice, and hides are the most important exports. Tourism, especially from Argentina, is also an important earner of foreign exchange. Uruguay imports raw materials for manufacturing, fuel and lubricants, food products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, construction materials, synthetic plastics and resins, machinery and parts, and motor vehicles.

Transportation and Communications

About 90 percent of the Uruguayan railroad system was British-owned until 1947, when it was purchased by the government of Uruguay. The railroad system has a total of 2990 km (1860 mi) of track. Several foreign airlines operate flights to and from Uruguay, and a government agency provides domestic air service. Of a total of about 52,000 km (about 32,300 mi) of roads, about 11,960 km (about 7430 mi) are surfaced. River transport is extensive; navigable waterways total about 1250 km (about 780 mi).

In the late 1980s Uruguay had more than 100 radiobroadcasting stations and 20 television stations. About 14 daily newspapers are published, 10 in Montevideo.

Labor

The chief labor federation, the National Confederation of Workers, includes 200 unions with some 900,000 workers.

Government

According to the constitution of 1966, Uruguay has a democratic republican form of government with a popularly elected president and legislature. In 1973, however, the National Congress was dissolved by the military, and in 1976 the elected president was deposed. The country was subsequently ruled by a military-supported regime. General elections held in November 1984 paved the way for a return to civilian rule.

Executive

From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, executive power in Uruguay was held by a president elected by the Council of the Nation, a body composed of the Council of State (the legislature) and 25 high-ranking military officers. The electoral system restored in 1984 provides for a president chosen by universal suffrage for a five-year term.

Legislature

In 1984 a 99-member Chamber of Deputies and 30-seat Senate replaced the 35-member Council of State that had exercised legislative power since 1973.

Political Parties

Uruguay has essentially a two-party system, dominated by the National (Blanco) party and the Colorado party. The Colorados are generally liberal, and the Blancos conservative and Roman Catholic. The Communist party was legalized in 1985.

Local Government

Uruguay is divided into 19 administrative departments. Each department has an administrator appointed by the central government.

Judiciary

In 1977 the judiciary was placed under the direct control of the central government. The highest court, the Court of Justice, has five members, appointed by the executive to serve five-year terms. The administrative courts hear cases involving the functioning of state administration. Lower courts consist of 19 civil courts and 10 criminal and correctional courts in Montevideo, and departmental courts in the departmental capitals and other large towns.

Health and Welfare

The ministry of public health and its various appointed commissions have established health centers and clinics, checked the incidence of tuberculosis, and lowered the infant-mortality rate. In the late 1980s Uruguay had about 6680 physicians and more than 23,000 hospital beds. Life expectancy at birth in the late 1980s averaged 75 years for women and 68 for men.

The country is noted for its advanced social-welfare programs; coverage includes accidents, occupational illnesses, sickness, old age, maternity, and child welfare. A special fund issues grants to families; and laws have been passed to protect women and minors in employment.

Defense

In the late 1980s Uruguay had an active volunteer army of about 17,200 persons. The navy and air force were small, having forces of, respectively, 4500 and 3000. Military service is not compulsory.

History

The territory now included in Uruguay was discovered in 1516 by the Spanish explorer Juan Díaz de Solís, who, with his landing party, sailed into Río de la Plata. They were killed that same year on the riverbanks by the local population, the Charrua. Subsequent attempts to colonize the territory during the 16th century were discouraged by the Charrua. The first permanent settlement was made in 1624 by the Spanish on the Río Negro at Soriano.

International Rivalry During the Colonial Period

Between 1680 and 1683, contesting Spanish ownership of the region, Portuguese colonists in Brazil established several settlements along the Río de la Plata opposite Buenos Aires, such as the Novo Colonia do Sacramento. However, the Spanish made no attempt to dislodge the Portuguese until 1723, when the latter began fortifying the heights around the Bay of Montevideo. A Spanish expedition from Buenos Aires forced the Portuguese to abandon the site, and there the Spanish founded the city of Montevideo in 1726.

Spanish-Portuguese rivalry continued in the 18th century, ending in 1777 with the establishment of Spanish rule in the territory under the jurisdiction of the viceroy of Buenos Aires. In 1810 and 1811, Uruguayan revolutionaries, led by General Jose Gervasio Artigas, joined the patriots of Buenos Aires in revolt against Spain. The Spanish governor was driven from Montevideo in 1814, but in 1816 the Portuguese in Brazil—perceiving that the newly emancipated territory, known as the Banda Oriental (Eastern Shore) del Uruguay, was weak after its struggle with Spain—invaded the territory, ostensibly to restore order.

The Portuguese conquest was completed in 1821, when the Banda Oriental was annexed to Brazil. Insurgents, the so-called Immortal 33, led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, reasserted the independence of the country in 1825 and, aided by Argentina, fought a successful war with the Brazilians, who in 1828 recognized Uruguayan independence.

Independence and Civil War

The República Oriental del Uruguay was organized in 1830, but it was soon divided into hostile factions as a result of rivalry between the leaders of the revolt against Brazil. Civil war broke out in 1836 between the adherents of President Manuel Oribe and those of the first president, Fructuoso Rivera, with the former group called Blancos and the latter Colorados because of the color of their respective white and red flags. During the conflict, the Blancos, aided by Argentine forces, besieged Montevideo, which was held by the Colorados from 1843 until 1852. The Colorados, aided by Brazil and anti-Argentine forces, defeated Oribe and the Blancos. Rivera and the Colorados thereupon took power. The two factions renewed conflict in 1855 and continued it intermittently, with the Colorados retaining control almost continuously after 1865. Between 1865 and 1870 Uruguay was allied with Brazil and Argentina in a war against Paraguay.

Early 20th-Century Domestic and Foreign Issues

In the early 20th century, membership in the two rival political groups ceased to be merely a matter of traditional loyalties. The Blancos became the conservative party, attracting chiefly the rural population and the clergy, and the Colorados became known as progressive and proponents of advanced social legislation. During the presidency of the progressive José Batlle y Ordóñez, between 1911 and 1915, social legislation was enacted, and Uruguay soon became known as the most progressive nation in South America.

In 1917, during World War I, Uruguay broke off relations with Germany and leased German ships, seized in the harbor of Montevideo, to the United States. In that year a new constitution, dividing the executive authority between the president and the national administrative council and providing for the separation of church and state, was promulgated. Uruguay joined the League of Nations in 1920.

In 1933 President Gabriel Terra, who had taken office in 1931, demanded that the Uruguayan constitution be amended to allow the president wider powers. His demands brought threats of revolution, and he thereupon established a dictatorship. In 1934 another constitution was drawn up by a constituent assembly. During World War II (1939-1945), Uruguay severed diplomatic, financial, and economic relations with the Axis powers. In 1945 the country joined the United Nations.

Postwar Decade

Tomás Berreta, candidate of the Colorado party and former public works minister, was elected president in 1946, but he died a few months after taking office. Vice President Luis Batlle Berres completed the remainder of Berreta's term. The presidential and general assembly elections of 1950 brought Andrés Martínez Trueba of the Colorado party to power. In 1952 a Trueba-sponsored constitutional amendment, approved the year before, abolished the presidency and transferred executive power to a nine-member national council of government.

In retaliation against the Uruguayan policy of granting asylum to Argentine political refugees, the Argentine dictator Juan Peron imposed travel and trade restrictions on Uruguay. The government, in protest, severed diplomatic relations with Argentina in January 1953.

Meanwhile, declining wool prices and curtailed meat exports had led to increasing unemployment and inflation. To ease the economic situation, Uruguay entered into trade agreements during 1956 with the People's Republic of China and other Communist countries. The economy continued to deteriorate, however.

In 1958, after 93 years of Colorado government, the Blancos were elected by an overwhelming majority. The new government initiated economic reforms; it was faced, however, with leftist agitation and consequent labor unrest, and it charged that Uruguay was being made a base of international communism.

Political Deterioration

The Blancos continued in power until 1966. In that year they and the Colorados supported a measure for a return to the presidential system, which was approved by referendum in November. In general elections held at the same time, the Colorados won, and Oscar Daniel Gestido, a retired air force general, was elected president. After Gestido died, he was succeeded by the vice president, Jorge Pacheco Areco.

Pacheco's anti-inflationary policies triggered widespread unrest, and a guerrilla organization, the Tupamaros, stepped up its drive to overthrow the government and destroy capitalism. From June 1968 until March 1969, Uruguay remained under modified martial law. A fact-finding visit by Nelson Rockefeller, then governor of New York State, in June 1969 was met by violent demonstrations. Pacheco imposed a modified state of siege.

In elections on November 28, 1971, the Colorado candidate, Juan María Bordaberry, and the Blanco candidate were virtually tied. In February 1972 the Electoral Court proclaimed Bordaberry president, and he began a five-year term on March 1. Meanwhile, the Tupamaros' violence had escalated, and kidnappings and killings became common. After widespread arrests in 1971, some 150 Tupamaros escaped in two separate prison breaks. In April 1972 Congress declared a state of internal war and suspended constitutional guarantees; some 35,000 police and military searched for guerrilla hideouts. The state of war was lifted on July 11, but constitutional guarantees were further suspended until 1973. Bordaberry soon came under pressure, both from the Blancos and from dissident factions of his own party. Labor reacted to the government's stringent economic and social policies with strikes throughout 1972. Inflation soared, and the currency was devalued ten times in that year.

Military Takeover

In February 1973 Bordaberry yielded a measure of his executive authority to the armed forces, which had become more and more assertive as the action against the Tupamaros showed results. This led to a conflict with Congress. Bordaberry then dissolved the legislature, replacing it with a 25-member appointed Council of State, dominated by the military. The Communist-led National Labor Confederation (CNT) responded with a general strike, which was broken by the government, after violent confrontations, on July 11. On August 11 the autonomy of the unions was ended and the CNT was banned. In the following years the military extended its control to most of the country's institutions. In 1976 Bordaberry canceled elections scheduled for that year.

Such plans contrasted with the wishes of the armed forces for a gradual return to democracy, and Bordaberry was deposed in June 1976. A new National Council of 25 civilians and 21 military officers subsequently elected Aparicio Méndez, a former minister of public health, as president for a five-year term. Among the first acts of his government was the deprivation of political rights of people active in politics between 1966 and 1973.

Some banned politicians reacquired their political rights in the next few years, but many remained under ban until 1980, when the Blanco and Colorado parties were again legalized. A new constitution, submitted to a popular referendum in November 1980, was rejected. The government then canceled the scheduled elections. On September 1, 1981, General Gregorio Alvarez was installed as president for a term expiring in March 1985. Political parties sanctioned by the military held internal elections in 1982.

Civilian Government

Presidential elections were held in November 1984, with the armed forces exercising veto power over the choice of nominees. The winner, Julio María Sanguinetti of the Colorado party, a moderate, took office on March 1, 1985. An amnesty covering all members of the military accused of human rights violations from 1973 to 1985 was granted in December 1986 and upheld by referendum in April 1989. In November 1989 Luis Alberto Lacalle of the National party was elected president. Economic stagnation and rising inflation soon prompted him to implement an austerity program and announce plans to privatize state-run companies. In protest, labor leaders called a series of general strikes.

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