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$Pretitle{297}
$Title{Uruguay
Chapter 3.    Historical Setting}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{The Director Foreign Area Studies}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{president
uruguay
government
ch
blancos
colorados
country
de
montevideo
political}
$Date{1971}
$Log{}
Country:     Uruguay
Book:        Area Handbook for Uruguay
Author:      The Director Foreign Area Studies
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1971

Chapter 3.    Historical Setting

     In 1970 the early history of the country was clearly reflected in the
characteristics of the people and their culture. Spanish, the national
language, and Roman Catholicism, the prevailing religion, were legacies of the
colonial period. The virtual absence of mestizos (people of mixed European and
American Indian ancestry) was traceable to the fact that the Spanish settlers
did not superimpose the colony on an existing Indian civilization, as was the
case in some other parts of Latin America, and the indigenous tribes in the
territory were eliminated at an early date. The people's spirit of
independence and freedom of action may mirror the life of the wide-ranging
gauchos (cowboys) who opened up the country in colonial times, as well as the
nation's experience in contriving to survive, during its early history, as a
buffer state.

     The struggle between Spain and Portugal and, later, between Brazil
and Argentina for control of Uruguay loomed large in the early history of the
country. Lacking precious metals, the territory was not exploited by the
Spaniards until settlers moved in to gain a livelihood by slaughtering horses
and cattle for their hides.

     The people honor their national hero Jose Gervasio Artigas, who in
1820 launched an unsuccessful attempt to gain autonomy for the country
within the boundaries of a regional federation. In 1828 independence was
finally and formally gained after a war fought by Argentina and the Uruguayan
patriots against Brazil. Civil wars, foreign intervention, and invasions
harassed the country until the beginning of the twentieth century.

     A leader known as the Father of Modern Uruguay was Jose Batlle y
Ordonez, who served as president in the early twentieth century and
established the pattern for the future political development of the country.
Batlle initiated social and political reforms that were still in evidence in
1970-extensive welfare programs and widespread government control and
operation of enterprises.

     The early history of political rivalry is preserved in the names of the
two political parties. Colors worn for identification by the troops of the
two Uruguayan leaders who opposed each other at the battle of Carpinteria in
1836 were red (colorado) and white (blanco). The Colorado party, whose most
prominent leader in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was
Batlle y Ordonez, took up the cause of the urban middle and lower class
citizens, whereas the National Party (Partido Nacional), commonly known as
the Blanco party, represented the large landowners, the Church hierarchy, and
persons in big business. The Colorados, who controlled the government from
1865 to 1958, were defeated by the Blancos in the elections of 1958 and 1962
but returned to power after the 1966 election. Except for a period of rule by
decree between 1933 and 1938, politics in the twentieth century have been
conducted within a constitutional framework, and transfers of power from one
party to the other have been orderly.

     Throughout the history of the Republic, the economy has been based
primarily on pastoral and agricultural production and the export trade. Thus
the lives of the people have been directly affected by world conditions
determining the prices paid for their exports. In this connection the growth
of industry, commerce, and banking and the appearance of a middle class and
an articulate laboring class have tended to perpetuate the traditional
rivalry between the city and the countryside.

     In the mid-twentieth century the country faced serious economic
difficulties. Agricultural producers had not taken full advantage of modern
methods, exports failed to earn as much foreign exchange as was needed, and
industry was disrupted by strikes and demands for higher wages. Inflation ate
up the benefits originally intended for a vast number of recipients in one of
the most far-reaching social welfare structures in the world. In the face of
widespread dissatisfaction, governments in the mid-twentieth century were
making determined efforts to put stabilization programs into effect, but the
distribution of wealth had been so generous that it threatened to outrun the
productivity of the country's economy.

     Having been the target of numerous foreign interventions in the
nineteenth century, the country has had a foreign policy of non-intervention
in the affairs of other nations. It has played an active role, however, in
international organizations.

     History shows that a country originally peopled by frontiersmen who were
a law unto themselves became a laboratory of political and social
experimentation that has produced a society notably dependent on its
government for social services and everyday needs.

The Colonial Period

     In 1493 and 1494 papal bulls were issued dividing the New World between
Portugal and Spain, and the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) provided that the
line of demarcation should be drawn 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde
Islands. This line, which crossed the continent of South America near the
mouth of the Amazon, secured for Portugal the title to Brazil. All territories
to the west were to belong to Spain.

     Early in the sixteenth century Juan Diaz de Solis, sailing for Spain and
searching for a strait leading to the Pacific Ocean, landed with some of his
followers on the shores of the estuary of the Rio de la Plata. De Solis and
his companions were killed by Charruan Indians, and the remaining members of
the expedition loaded their ships with brazilwood and returned to Spain.

     The rivers emptying into the estuary were explored by Sebastian Cabot,
sailing for Spain, who named one of them the Rio de la Plata because of a
mistaken notion that silver deposits existed in the area. Another explorer,
who founded the settlement of Buenos Aires, was a Spanish knight named Pedro
de Mendoza, who led an expedition seeking a route from the estuary to the
Pacific. The settlement was attacked by Indians, and Mendoza returned to
Spain.

     During the sixteenth century most of the Spaniards who landed on the
eastern shores of the estuary were driven off by the warlike Charruas, who
fought with clubs, bows and arrows, and bolas (stones fastened to thongs).
Lacking precious metals, the land did not attract colonists to the extent that
other areas of the New World did, and it was the last region to be claimed for
Spain.

     Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries came to Uruguay in 1624 and,
gathering Indians in mission villages, spread Spanish influence. They played
an important role in holding Uruguay against the Portuguese, who founded Nova
Colonia de Sacramento on the Rio de la Plata opposite Buenos Aires in 1680.
In 1767, however, Jesuits were banned from Spanish territories in the New
World, and their settlements were gradually broken up. It was not until 1726
that the Spaniards established Montevideo as a stronghold against the
Portuguese in Brazil to the north (see ch. 10, Religion).

     In 1776 the lands of the Rio de la Plata region were separated from the
control of the viceroy in Lima, Peru, and the Viceroyalty of La Plata was
established with Buenos Aires as the viceregal seat. In the same year the
Spaniards seized Nova Colonia de Sacramento, which was formally ceded to them
by Brazil in 1777. This cession consolidated Spanish control over the Banda
Oriental, or eastern bank of the estuary, for the time being.

     In 1796 Spain was at war with England, and Spanish power was declining.
A series of British naval and military expeditions against the Viceroyalty
of La Plata revealed Spain's weakness to the criollos (see Glossary) of
Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and dissatisfaction with Spanish rule increased
as the people learned more about English government and the possible benefits
of trading with England. During a seven-month occupation of Montevideo in
1807, the British published a newspaper that praised the liberties enjoyed by
the English and pointed up the repressive government of the Spaniards. Thus
were sown seeds of rebellion. In 1808 Spanish prestige was further weakened by
the news that Napoleon had placed a Bonaparte on the Spanish throne.

     The Uruguayans' revolt against Spain was initiated in 1811 by Jose
Gervasio Artigas (1764-1850), a gaucho who became the hero of the
independence movement. Artigas, scion of a family that had settled in
Montevideo in 1726 and known to Uruguayans as the Father of Uruguayan
Independence, had been dissatisfied with the administration of the viceregal
government in Buenos Aires, particularly with its discrimination against
Montevideo in commercial affairs. He was influenced by federal ideas, and he
issued to delegates sent to a constituent assembly at Buenos Aires in 1813 a
set of instructions destined to become famous in South American history-The
Instructions of the Year Thirteen. The delegates were to urge adoption of a
declaration of independence and to propose the formation of a confederation
of the provinces in the former Vice-royalty of La Plata. The assembly,
however, refused to seat the delegates from Banda Oriental.

     In 1814 Artigas took command of Uruguay's army. Argentine rebel forces
captured Montevideo but were driven out by General Artigas. In 1815 Artigas
declared Uruguay independent, and the revolutionary government of Argentina
was compelled to recognize the independence of Uruguay.

     After fighting the revolutionary government at Buenos Aires, the Spanish
forces, and Brazilian troops, Artigas managed to dominate the city of
Montevideo. In 1816 Brazilian forces attacked Montevideo from the north, but
Artigas led his troops against them. Artiga's struggle against attackers
continued until 1820, when the Portuguese captured Montevideo and Artigas fled
to Paraguay.

     In 1821 Uruguay was annexed to Brazil and known as the Cisplatine
Province until 1825, when Uruguayan refugees from Buenos Aires, reinforced by
Argentine troops, crossed the Rio de la Plata and started a land and sea war
between Argentina and Brazil. The "Thirty-three Immortals," led by Juan
Antonio Lavalleja, issued a declaration of independence from Portuguese rule
in August 1825. In February 1827 the Brazilian forces were defeated by
Argentine and Uruguayan troops at Ituzaingo, and in May of the same year a
preliminary convention of peace was signed between Brazil and Argentina,
containing a provision that Uruguay should be independent and free. This
conflict between Brazil and Argentina over Uruguay came to an end when, with
English mediation, a treaty creating La Republica Oriental de Uruguay (The
Eastern Republic of Uruguay) was signed on August 27, 1828.

Independence

     A constituent assembly convened in November 1828 at San Jose and
appointed a provisional governor, after which Argentine and Brazilian troops
left the country. The name of the new nation, La Republica Oriental del
Uruguay was formally adopted and the constitution approved in 1830. The
following year Uruguayan representatives returned from Brazil and Argentina
to report that the governments of these countries had recognized the new
nation and accepted the constitution. In keeping with a proclamation of the
constituent assembly issued in July 1830, military and civil authorities swore
to defend and support the constitution, which was adopted on July 18, 1830.
Jose Fructuoso Rivera was elected the first president.

     The constitution provided for a centralized form of government. Executive
authority was vested in a president, a cabinet, and a permanent committee of
the congress empowered, during the recess of congress, to keep a watch on the
execution of the laws and the constitution. The president, who was given
important powers, was elected by the congress for four years. The cabinet was
composed of as many officers as might be necessary and the congress consisted
of a senate and a house. The units of local government were designated
departments; and in the chief town of each department there was a jefe
politico, or executive magistrate, appointed by the president (see ch. 12, The
Governmental System).

     In the summer of 1832 Juan A. Lavalleja, who had led the "Thirty-three
Immortals" in 1825, launched a revolt against the president. Two months later
the rebels were defeated at Tupambay and Lavalleja fled to Brazil. Two years
later he attempted another uprising, which was also put down.

     After the election to the presidency of Manuel Oribe, a general who had
figured prominently in the war for independence, the Republic appeared to be
entering on an era of peace and prosperity. President Oribe permitted
Lavalleja and his followers to return from Brazil. Juan Manuel de Rosas,
dictator in Argentina, sent soldiers to aid President Oribe against the
ex-president, Rivera, who had led a revolt, and in September 1836 President
Oribe defeated Rivera's forces at Carpinteria. It was in this battle that
Oribe's soldiers wore white hatbands and Rivera's troops, red hatbands or
badges. These colors became the symbols of the Blancos and the Colorados, the
two parties that continued to divide the sympathies of the people in 1970.

     In 1838 the Colorados, led by Rivera, defeated the forces of President
Oribe, who fled to Buenos Aires, and Rivera was again elected to the
presidency. In the following year President Rivera, with the support of the
French and of Argentine emigres, issued a declaration of war against Rosas.
With the aid of Rosas's troops, Oribe, who had joined Rosas in a plan for
uniting Argentina and Uruguay, then laid siege to the Colorado forces at
Montevideo.

La Guerra Grande

     Oribe's siege of Montevideo marked the beginning of La Guerra Grande
(The Great War), which lasted from 1843 to 1852. The struggle took on an
international character when England and France, with a view to protecting
their nationals and to preserving Uruguay as a buffer state, blockaded the
Rio de la Plata estuary in 1845 and sent troops to Uruguay. Likewise, the
Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and his "red shirts" joined the Colorados
in the fight against Rosas's forces. When Justo Jose de Urquiza, the
Argentine caudillo (political strongman) who unseated Rosas, lifted the siege
of Montevideo, the Colorados were left in power.

Years of Rivlary, 1852-1903

     After the termination of La Guerra Grande the country experienced a half
century of almost unrelieved turbulence. Most of the population were
frontiersmen with little regard for law and order, and Argentina and Brazil
continued to intervene in Uruguay's affairs. The political lines drawn in the
1830s evolved into two rival parties: the Colorados, supported originally by
followers of Artigas, who identified themselves as defenders of Uruguayan
sovereignty and as champions of the common man and liberalism; and the
Blancos, who stood for order and conservatism and declared themselves
protectors of the faith.

     General Venancio Flores, the Colorado who became president in 1854,
endeavored to maintain order by requesting Brazil to intervene. As a result
Brazilian troops were stationed in Uruguay for three years. In 1857 a
Uruguayan politician formed a plan for annexation of Uruguay to the province
of Buenos Aires, and invaders from Argentina bent on carrying out this scheme
were captured and shot.

     Certain administrative reforms were made in the late 1850s and early
1860s, but in 1865 the Brazilians helped Venancio Flores to overthrow his
Blanco rival. When the Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano Lopez came to the
assistance of the Blancos, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay formed a tripartite
alliance against Paraguay and waged a five-year war in which Paraguay was
decisively defeated. Thus the Colorados were left in power in Uruguay and
maintained control of the government until 1958.

     At the end of the Paraguayan War in 1870 a considerable number of
Uruguayans thought in national terms. The influence of the older type of
caudillo had declined. Fencing of lands had ended the free ranging of the
gauchos; railways had begun to unite the country; and a new middle class of
doctors, lawyers, and traders had appeared in the cities, where Spanish,
Italian, and other immigrants had settled.

     The Colorados put down an insurrection started by a Blanco in 1870. In
1872, through the mediation of the Argentine consul, an agreement was reached
that made concessions to the insurrectionary leaders and gave the Blancos a
share in the emoluments and functions of government.

     During the last three decades of the nineteenth century, there were
frequent confrontations and clashes between the Colorados and the Blancos
and among competing rival factions of the Colorados. A growing gulf between
the capital city and the interior contributed to a solidification of the
previously somewhat amorphous ideologies of the two parties as the Colorados
recruited the urban immigrant groups, especially the laborers, and the Blancos
represented the more conservative rural elements. Between 1875 and 1890 three
Colorado presidents administered authoritarian governments.

     The first of a succession of professional military men to dominate
Uruguay for some twenty years was Colonel Lorenzo Latorre, who came into power
in 1875. During a period of more than three years opponents of his rule were
assassinated or, in some cases, disappeared. At the same time suppression of
political expression appeared to divert energies into other fields, and Jose
Pedro Varela, influenced by educators in the United States and by Domingo
Faustino Sarmiento in Argentina, brought to fruition his remarkable work in
the educational field: in 1877 a public school system was established with
facilities for technical, as well as general, training. The University of
Montevideo, founded in 1849, was expanded and improved (see ch. 8, Education).

     Growth of commerce and industry in the early 1870s was only temporary,
and the year 1875, when public credit collapsed, was known as "The Terrible
Year." In 1880 President Latorre resigned in the face of opposition, and his
successor resigned two years later. In 1882 General Maximo Santos was elected
president for four years, and in the same year Uruguay concluded a treaty with
Spain acknowledging Uruguay's independence.

     President Santos was succeeded in 1886 by General Maximo Tajes, who
moved to the presidency from the Ministry of War. He placated some of the
dissident elements among the Colorados and Blancos-something that neither
Latorre nor Santos had done-and disbanded army units that he regarded as
unreliable. A prominent lawyer, Julio Herrera y Obes, who succeeded President
Tajes, administered the government with a firm hand and gained the distinction
of being the first president of Uruguay to serve out his constitutional term
without the necessity of fighting armed insurrectionists.

     A civil war started by the Blancos in 1897 under the leadership of
Aparicio Savaria was settled by an arrangement whereby the Blancos, who now
called themselves nationalists, were granted control of six of the nineteen
departments and given minority representation in the Chamber of
Representatives. This was the first time in Uruguayan history that foreign
mediation had not been utilized in the settlement of a major dispute (see ch.
14, Foreign Relations).

     In 1899 Juan L. Cuestas, who had served as provisional president after
the assassination of President Juan I. Borda, was elected constitutional
president. During his term of office a French company began operations to
improve the harbor of Montevideo. President Cuestas placed restrictions upon
the exercise of Roman Catholicism and tried to prevent admission to the
country of friars and priests (see ch. 10, Religion).

     By 1900 political instability and foreign intervention had interfered
with the orderly development of natural resources, had discouraged investment
by Uruguayans and of foreign capital, and had hindered immigration. Between
1830 and 1900 approximately forty armed revolts had taken place. With the
help of some 400,000 immigrants, however, the population had increased from
about 60,000 in 1830 to more than 900,000 at the beginning of the twentieth
century.

     In 1900 almost 50 percent of the citizens remained illiterate, and only
a small percentage of the national budget was allotted to education. During
the 1880s and 1890s the armed forces in the process of keeping one regime
or another in power, used from one-third to one-fifth of the budget, and the
foreign debt, principally to England, had burgeoned. In 1901 some 40 percent
of the budget went into service on foreign debts (see ch. 8, Education;
ch. 22, Finance).

     Such measures as improved seed selection, introduction of better stock,
and increased attention to soils had been retarded by recurring political
warfare. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century some progress had
been made in the production of processed foods, clothing, shoes, and
textiles, but the first packinghouse was not built until 1904 (see ch. 18,
Agriculture; ch. 19, Industry; ch. 4, Population and Labor Force).

Jose Batlle Y Ordonez and his Times

     The course of events between 1903 and 1929 was profoundly affected by
Jose Batlle Y Ordonez, president from 1903 to 1907 and from 1911 to 1915.
He dominated the Colorado party until his death in 1929, and his influence
was still felt in 1970.

     Batlle founded the newspaper El Dia (The Day) in 1886 and carried on a
crusade for "a moral force for the regeneration of the country." He believed
in a democratic form of government and in constitutional procedures and
promoted measures designed to protect the country against the emergence of
dictatorships. In his editorials he attacked leaders of both parties, running
the risk of severe reprisals, and created a body of liberal sentiment within
the Colorado party. He has been called the founder of modern Uruguay.

     When Batlle was inaugurated early in 1903 the Blancos, or nationalists,
controlled six departments that were virtually autonomous. Aparacio Saravia,
the gaucho leader of the Blanco revolt in 1897, commanded the Blanco guerrilla
bands in the north. In January 1904 war broke out. After almost nine months
of fierce fighting the rebel leader was killed and peace was signed at Acequa
in September 1904. The agreement provided for general amnesty, for recognition
of the government by the rebels, and for supervision of elections by party
committees. The rebels were to lay down their arms and surrender their
fortified towns, and funds were to be distributed among civil and military
leaders of the rebellion. These peace terms reflected President Batlle's
determination to unify the country and to proceed with social and economic
reforms.

     In 1907 President Batlle turned the office over to his political ally
Claudio Williman and sailed to Europe, where he spent four years studying
governmental systems. He was particularly impressed by the government of
Switzerland, with its executive responsibility vested in the Federal Council,
its national monopolies of public utilities, and its social legislation.

     Under President Williman a number of significant reforms were put into
effect. He reorganized the cabinet. Additional executive offices were created
to facilitate administration of the departments, capital punishment was
abolished, an organic law for the University of Montevideo was approved, and
another law set up a national institute for the deaf. The nation's revenues
were handled so carefully that President Williman completed his term with an
unprecedented surplus in the treasury.

     Batlle y Ordonez was elected president for the second time on March 1,
1911, sixteen days after he had returned from Europe. He immediately
announced proposed economic and political measures so novel and sweeping that
many members of his party were disturbed, and violent opposition was aroused
among the Blancos. Nevertheless, political persecutions ceased, and freedom
of the press was respected. The government initiated a study of the social
welfare of its people. The secretary of finance undertook to collect
statistics on living conditions and supply and demand in the labor sector.
Agricultural machinery and seeds were exempted from import duties, and a
luxury tax was levied on jewelry.

     President Batlle had the support of the workers, who recognized him as a
champion of social legislation; and as an effective foe of waste and
corruption, he won the admiration of many outside of his own party. After
leave the presidency in 1915 he continued his campaign for reform, urging in
his editorials that Uruguay abolish the office of president and substitute a
colegiado (national council or "collegiate executive") in which virtually all
elements of public opinion would be represented. When a constitutional
convention was convened in 1917 the drafters agreed on a compromise-to retain
the presidency but limit its powers to administration, national defense, and
foreign relations, and to establish a nine-member colegiado whose
jurisdiction would extend to education, health, commerce, public works,
industry, and finance. The budget, however, was to be a responsibility of the
president. The new constitution, which replaced that of 1830, also provided
for election of the president by direct popular vote and for complete
separation of church and state (see ch. 10, Religion).

     Other reforms advocated by Batlle y Ordonez, many of which were adopted
during his lifetime, were full freedom of speech and press, free and
effective suffrage, university education for women, free primary and
secondary rural schools, the eight-hour day for workers, the right to strike,
regulation of working conditions, minimum wages, and old-age pensions. With a
view to protecting domestic industry, he secured the adoption of high
tariffs.

     Not all the innovations proposed by Batlle met with great success or
universal popularity. Among these projects were the State Insurance Bank, a
government monopoly of the light and power business, a government-owned
railway system, government management of the port of Montevideo, and a
government-owned packinghouse (see ch. 19, Industry; ch. 21, Trade; ch. 22,
Finance).

     During World War I the Uruguayan vessel Rosario was sunk by a German
torpedo, and the government, in October 1917, broke off diplomatic and
commercial relations with Germany. In 1919 Uruguay signed the Treaty of
Versailles and joined the League of Nations (see ch. 14, Foreign Relations).

     After World War I the state monopoly companies enjoyed moderate success
during the prosperous period of the 1920s but, like the rest of the economy,
they were adversely affected by the drop in prices for meat, hides, and wool
resulting from the world depression of 1929. During the 1920s presidents and
councils could volley problems back and forth but, when the economic
depression set in, differences between the two led to a political crisis of
grave proportions. After a split between socialist and conservative elements
in the Colorado party, the conservative leader Gabriel Terra was elected
president.

     President Terra believed the Constitution of 1919 prevented him from
carrying out much-needed economic measures. Unemployment was increasing,
meat exports had dropped, various autonomous state operations were on the
verge of bankruptcy, and government deficits had burgeoned. In the face of
these developments and the ineffectiveness of a bickering council, President
Terra in 1933 dissolved the council and the congress and governed by decree
(see ch. 13, Political Dynamics; ch. 16, Political Values and Attitudes).

     In 1934 a new constitution, adopted after a plebiscite, abolished the
council and transferred its principal powers to the president. In 1934
President Terra was reelected and governed by decree until the end of his
term in 1938. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law, General Alfredo
Baldomir.

     By 1938 employment had risen, and the economic situation had improved.
During President Baldomir's term of office the Batlle tradition was revived.
President Baldomir, under pressure from organized labor and the Blanco party,
reestablished the council and insisted on free elections and freedom of the
press.

     The Blancos persistently attempted to obstruct legislation introduced
under President Baldomir and, during World War II, criticized the Colorados'
policy of cooperation with the United States in hemispheric defense. They
also opposed the government's severance of relations with the Axis powers in
January 1942. In the face of threatened disorder President Baldomir postponed
elections scheduled for February 1942 until the following November when
constitutional amendments were submitted to the electorate.

     The main goal of the constitutional amendments approved by the
electorate in November 1942 was to keep the minority opposition from blocking
action by the government. The revised constitution reflected the influence of
the late Batlle y Ordonez.

     When President Baldomir's successor declared war on the Axis powers in
1945, the Blancos, who had opposed President Baldomir when he broke relations
with the Axis in January 1942, were again antagonized. The country's
principal concern on the international front during the 1944-55 period was
the threat to Uruguay posed by the Argentinian leader Juan Domingo Peron
who, like Juan Manuel de Rosas, wanted to reunite the territories of the
former Viceroyalty of La Plata under Argentine leadership. When Peron
penalized Uruguay for refusing to move into an Argentine sphere of
influence-by instituting economic sanctions-the United States helped
counteract these actions by shipping wheat and extending loans (see ch. 14,
Foreign Relations).

     In 1951 President Martinez Trueba advocated revival of the colegiado,
and in a national plebiscite his proposal was adopted by a slim margin.
Subsequently a new constitution, promulgated in 1952, abolished the
presidency and vested executive power in a nine-man council. The late Batlle
y Ordonez's goal was thus achieved, but deadlocks often developed in council
proceedings when Blanco conservatives, who held a minority position in the
council, undertook to block legislation introduced by the Colorados.

     After the downfall of Peron in 1955 the people of Uruguay became keenly
aware of the fact that their basic problems were economic. Soaring prices
stimulated strikes for ever-increasing wages. The whole economy was affected
by the low price of wool, which had declined steadily after World War II. The
value of the peso (see Glossary) had dropped sharply, with a crippling effect
on the country's extensive social security system. The meatpacking industry
suffered severely. Communist groups increased their activity and student
unrest spread. In the election of November 1958 the Colorados, who had
controlled the government for ninety-three years, were overwhelmingly defeated
by the Blancos, who won majorities in both houses of Congress and six of the
nine seats in the council.

The Blancos, 1958-67

     The Colorados were defeated in an election in which the Blancos leveled
charges of wastefulness, padding of government payrolls with redundant
employees, failure to introduce austerity measures, and corruption and
inefficiency in the operation of government agencies. They also charged that
the Colorados had coddled the unions which made extravagant demands, that
they subsidized industries and imports which encouraged consumption habits the
people could ill afford, and that they expanded the social security system so
extensively that thousands of people in their fifties were able to stop
working and draw pensions.

     Led by eighty-five-year-old Luis Alberto de Herrera, the
Blancos-traditionally the champions of the bankers, conservative landholders,
businessmen, and high clergy-promised to restore the value of the peso and
to stimulate livestock and agricultural production. The pledge to restore the
value of the peso appealed particularly to people receiving pensions worth
only a fraction of their original value. When Herrera died in April 1959, a
month after the Blancos had taken office, Benito Nardone assumed party
leadership and promised to carry out the Blancos' election pledges.

     In 1959 inflation continued, strikes erupted, the worst floods in the
country's history wiped out crops and livestock and further reduced export
earnings, and the trade deficit reached an alltime high. The efforts of the
government to carry out promises made during the election were, for the most
part, ineffectual. After the election of 1962, in which the Blancos were
victorious but with a reduced majority in Congress, the government experienced
increasing difficulty in funding its social services. Efforts to prop up the
peso were abandoned, and the peso was further devalued (see ch. 22, Finance).

     In 1965 the government faced new financial and monetary crises.
Washington Beltran, president of the council, announced a new ten-year
economic program which aroused widespread opposition. Strikes protesting the
emergency measures made it necessary to use troops to operate public services.
Many union leaders and demonstrators were arrested and the council declared a
state of siege.

     In 1966 economic conditions showed some improvement. Wool and meat
exports increased to some extent, the tourist trade increased, and foreign
money once more flowed into the country's banks (see ch. 22, Finance; ch 21,
Trade).

     During his term of office Washington Beltran announced his intention
to abolish the council. In the national election held in November 1966 the
people, after a fifteen-year trial, voted to abandon the colegiado and to
choose a president for a five-year term. The Colorados won a decisive victory
and a retired air force general, Oscar Gestido, was inaugurated president in
March 1967.