URUGUAY

officially Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Spanish Repblica Oriental del Uruguay South America's second smallest country after Suriname, situated in the southeastern part of the continent, covering an area of 68,037 square miles (176,215 square km). The capital is Montevideo. Uruguay extends about 310 miles (500 km) from north to south and about 290 miles (470 km) from east to west. It is bordered on the north and northeast by Brazil, on the south by the estuary of the Ro de la Plata, and on the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean; the entire western border is defined by the Uruguay River, which separates the country from Argentina. The population in 1990 was estimated at 3,011,000. officially Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Spanish Repblica Oriental del Uruguay country located on the southeastern coast of South America. (Oriental designates its position on the eastern shore of the Uruguay River.) It has an area of some 68,000 square miles (176,120 square kilometres). Almost half of the population is concentrated in the metropolitan area of Montevideo, the capital. The remaining half is distributed throughout the rest of the national territory, with the populations of the largest provincial cities just fractions of that of the capital. The wedge-shaped country is bounded by Brazil on the north and east, by the Atlantic Ocean on the southeast, and by the Ro de la Plata, an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, on the south, while the Uruguay River serves as its western boundary with Argentina. After Suriname, Uruguay is the smallest country on the continent. With an economy based largely on agricultural exports, chiefly livestock products, Uruguay developed throughout much of the 20th century as one of Latin America's more progressive societies. During that time the nation was recognized for its political stability and advanced social legislation. Social unrest grew out of economic problems that developed in the 1960s, giving rise to the Tupamaros, an urban guerrilla movement named after Tupac Amaru II, an 18th-century Inca who had rebelled against Spanish rule. The violent activities of the guerrillas so disrupted public life that the democratic governmental structure was, under military leadership, abridged for more than a decade. It was not until 1985 that the military government, under increasing social and economic pressure, reluctantly relinquished political control to a popularly elected civilian government. Additional reading Geography General introductions to the geography, economy, culture, and history of Uruguay include George Pendle, Uruguay, 3rd ed. (1963, reprinted 1985); Marvin Alisky, Uruguay: A Contemporary Survey (1969); Thomas E. Weil et al., Area Handbook for Uruguay (1971); Jorge Chebataroff, Geografa de la Repblica Oriental del Uruguay (1979); and Preston E. James, C.W. Minkel, and Eileen W. James, Uruguay, in Latin America, 5th ed. (1986), pp. 450462. Studies of the people include Carlos M. Rama, Las clases sociales en el Uruguay: estructura, morfologa (1960); and Csar A. Aguiar, Uruguay: pas de emigracin (1982). Works concerning the economy and the government include Luis Macadar, Uruguay, 19741980: un nuevo ensayo de reajuste econmico? (1982); Jorge Notaro, La poltica econmica en el Uruguay, 19681984 (1984); Luis Costa Bonino, Crisis de los partidos tradicionales y movimiento revolucionario en el Uruguay, trans. from French (1985); German W. Rama, La democracia en Uruguay (1987); and Martin Weinstein, Uruguay, Democracy at the Crossroads (1988). See also Alejandro Rovira, Subversion, Terrorism, Revolutionary War: The Uruguayan Experience (1981; originally published in Spanish, 1981). History Historia Uruguaya, 7 vol. (197587), is a multiauthored work covering Uruguayan history from European discovery to 1958, published by Ediciones de la Banda Oriental. The politics, economy, and social system during the period 18301930 are described in detail in Eduardo Acevedo, Anales histricos del Uruguay, 6 vol. (193336); Juan E. Pivel Devoto and Alcira Ranieri de Pivel Devoto, Historia de la Repblica Oriental del Uruguay (18301930), 3rd ed. (1966); Juan A. Oddone, The Formation of Modern Uruguay, c. 18701930, chap. 13 in Leslie Bethell (ed.), The Cambridge History of Latin America, vol. 5 (1986), pp. 453474; and Alberto Zum Felde, Proceso histrico del Uruguay, 10th ed. (1987). Peter Winn, British Informal Empire in Uruguay in the Nineteenth Century, Past & Present, no. 73, pp. 100126 (November 1976), explains British political and economic imperialism in Uruguay. Jos P. Barrn and Benjamn Nahum, Historia rural del Uruguay moderno, 7 vol. in 8 (196778), is the major interpretive history of rural Uruguay. John Street, Artigas and the Emancipation of Uruguay (1959), is a concise, documented study. Simon G. Hanson, Utopia in Uruguay: Chapters in the Economic History of Uruguay (1938, reprinted 1982), studies the economic effects of Batlle's reforms from 1911 to 1930. Gran G. Lindahl, Uruguay's New Path: A Study in Politics During the First Colegiado, 191933, trans. from Swedish (1962), reviews politics of the first plural executive. Jos P. Barrn and Benjamn Nahum, Batlle, los estancieros y el Imperio Britnico, 8 vol. (197987), analyzes the sources and resistance to Batlle y Ordez' reforms to 1916; the first volume is also a pathbreaking history of turn-of-the-century Uruguay. Milton I. Vanger, Jos Batlle y Ordoez of Uruguay: The Creator of His Times, 19021907 (1963, reprinted 1980), and The Model Country: Jos Batlle y Ordoez of Uruguay, 19071915 (1980), are the most important biographies of Batlle, with historical analyses of the era of his presidencies. M.H.J. Finch, A Political Economy of Uruguay since 1870 (1981), presents the best historical explanation of Uruguay's economic stagnation. More recent events are described in Edy Kaufman, Uruguay in Transition: From Civilian to Military Rule (1979), on the 1973 military coup and its aftermath; Charles G. Gillespie, Uruguay's Transition from Collegial Military-Technocratic Rule, in Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe C. Schmitter, and Laurence Whitehead (eds.), Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Latin America (1986), pp. 173195; and Juan Rial Roade, Uruguay, elecciones de 1984: sistema electoral y resultados (1986). Marvin H. Alisky Milton I. Vanger Administration and social conditions Government Uruguayans lived under successive constitutional governments from 1903 until 1973, when, under deteriorating economic conditions, the military took control to quell civil disorder fomented chiefly by an urban guerrilla group, the Tupamaros, and other civil dissenters. Constitutional rights guaranteed by the 1966 constitution were suspended during the military regime, which lasted until 1985. The elected government that took office in that year once again followed the structure of the 1966 constitution. A president and the Council of Ministers hold executive power, and a vice president serves as president of the legislature. The president and vice president are elected for five-year terms by a simple majority vote. The legislative branch, the General Assembly, consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives, whose members are elected for five years by direct popular vote. All Uruguayans 18 years of age or older may vote. The legislature, or Departmental Board, for each of the 19 departamentos formulates local policies. Each departmental capital has a chief executive who combines some of the duties of a departmental governor and a mayor under the title intendente municipal. The two principal traditional political parties are the Colorado Party (which traditionally has had a liberal urban base), and the Blanco, or National, Party (supported by the more conservative landowners). A third party, the Broad Front (Frente Amplio), representing a coalition of Christian Democrats, Socialists, Communists, and dissident members of the two other parties, was outlawed by the military regime, but the member parties of the coalition were reinstated in 1984 and 1985. The revolutionary Tupamaros were also allowed to form a political party after the civilian government took office. At the head of the judiciary is the Supreme Court, composed of five justices. They are elected by the General Assembly for a term of 10 years, and they are eligible for reelection five years after their previous term ends. A screening commission presents a list of outstanding candidates to the assembly for debate and selection for each vacancy. The Appellate Tribunals, each composed of three judges, form the next-highest judicial level, followed by the Courts of Record. The Supreme Court justices select Appellate Tribunal judges for confirmation by the Senate. The Electoral Court of nine judges monitors elections, both national and local. Education Uruguay has long been renowned for its progress in education, after reforms instituted in the late 19th century that established a system of free, compulsory, coeducational, and secular education. This progress is reflected in the high literacy rate, which exceeds that of most Latin-American countries. The University of the Republic (founded in 1849) has 10 faculties, including a distinguished medical school that draws students from many South American countries. It also includes the School of Agronomy and the Federico E. Capurro School of Librarianship and Related Sciences. There is a privately supported Institute of Higher Studies devoted to scientific research. Vocational training is given by the Labour University of Uruguay. Cultural life Uruguayan culture reflects some of the same characteristics as are found in neighbouring Argentina. Both countries are strongly European in their orientation and, unlike many South American countries, Uruguay is minimally influenced by the original Indian inhabitants. The tradition of the gaucho has been an important element in the art and folklore of both countries. Uruguay's theatre and music have not been the province of a small elite, as in Bolivia and Peru and some other Latin-American nations, but rather are broadly based in terms of support and participation. The Italian influence in language and customs is also shared by Uruguay and Argentina. The arts Jos Enrique Rod, a modernist, is considered Uruguay's most significant literary figure. His book Ariel (1900), which stresses the importance of upholding spiritual (Latin-American) over materialistic (U.S.) values, continues to influence young writers. Outstanding among Latin-American playwrights is Florencio Snchez; his plays, written around the beginning of the 20th century and dealing with contemporary social problems, are still performed. From about the same period and somewhat later came the romantic poetry of Juan Zorrilla de San Martn, Juana de Ibarbourou, and Delmira Agustini and the short stories of Horacio Quiroga. In the 1960s and '70s the works of the radical writer Carlos Quijano and the economic historian Luis Carlos Benvenuto remained highly popular. The folk and popular music of Uruguay shares with Argentina not only its gaucho roots but also the tango, a dance form that originated in Argentina. One of the most famous tangos, La Cumparsita (1917), was written by the Uruguayan composer Gerardo Matos Rodrguez. Early classical forms showed heavy Spanish and Italian influence, but in the 20th century a number of composers of classical music, including Eduardo Fabini, Vicente Ascone, and Hctor Tosar, have made use of Latin-American musical idioms. The 19th-century painter Juan Manuel Blanes, whose works depict historical events, was the first Uruguayan artist to gain widespread recognition. The Postimpressionist painter Pedro Figari achieved international recognition for his pastel studies of subjects in Montevideo and the countryside.