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Millennium Development Goals in Uruguay

Classed as a “high-middle income country” Uruguay falls into an ambiguous position in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). On the one hand there is low incidence of extreme poverty, especially since the 2005 introduction of the Plan for Nationwide Attention to Social Emergency (PANES), an MDG strategy to combat exclusion of the poorest. At the same time, Uruguay struggles to distribute the benefits of its modern economy - in 2006 26% of the population remained below a poverty line based on essential household needs. As this figure was 29.7% in the MDG baseline year 1990, it is clear that the country is significantly behind the target of halving poverty by 2015.

Uruguay is nevertheless making great strides towards the other MDGs, especially those related to education and health. Almost all children complete both primary and secondary schooling. However, Uruguay spends noticeably less on education than the average Latin American country and inequalities between children of different socio-economic backgrounds have grown. Gender equality in Uruguay also presents a very mixed picture. Girl to boy ratios in education are practically even, as are women to men literacy rates. Uruguayan women have the highest labour force participation rates in Latin America. On the other hand, fewer women than men receive unemployment insurance and domestic violence is a shocking problem: a recent survey found that 46% of women (married or living with a partner) suffered from violence in the last year.

Uruguay invests about 11% of its GDP on health care, one of the highest ratios in the world. Consequently the country is doing well in terms of reaching the MDGs for reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating diseases. In March 2006, Uruguay became the first country in Latin America to outlaw smoking in public places. This law was promoted by President Vázquez, himself a world-renowned oncologist.

Politics in Uruguay

Only in two small Latin American countries - Uruguay and Costa Rica - can democracy really be regarded as consolidated. Though Uruguay endured a military dictatorship between 1973 and 1985, the country has a stable democratic political system that dates back to the 1830s. In the annual Corruption Perceptions index published by Transparency International, Uruguay is positioned by some distance more favourably than any other country in the region. Until 2004, this political system centred around two parties: the liberal Partido Colorado and the conservative Partido Nacional, both parties founded in the 1830s. Modern elections focus first on parliamentary seats and, if any one party secures more than 50% of the votes, then its leader becomes president. Otherwise there is a presidential run off election between the two most successful party leaders.

Jorge Battle © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

The Colorados, led by Jorge Battle, were unable to survive the traumatic economic crisis brought on by the 1999 collapse of neighbouring Argentina’s economy. The effect on the population’s welfare (and particularly the increase in poverty and unemployment) led to great disillusionment with the government. In the 2004 elections that followed, voters displayed their disenchantment by ending over 150 years of government by their two traditional parties. The left-wing coalition Frente Amplio (Broader Front), led by Dr.Tabaré Vázquez ran for the third time, on this occasion certain that the wave of public support would carry them to victory, consistent with the success of leftist governments all over Latin America.

Tabaré Vázquez

Vázquez was successful in the first round and was inaugurated on 1st March 2005. One of the biggest changes has come in foreign policy; it seems improbable that Dr. Vázquez would estrange the United States, but within hours of being sworn in, he re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba, and signed an energy deal with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. In general however Dr.Vázquez has advocated unsensational reforms especially in management of the economy.
Human Rights in Uruguay

Today, Uruguay has a very good human rights record and a fair judicial system. Freedom of speech and the media are guaranteed by the Uruguayan constitution. Citizens have access to a wide range of perspectives with more than 100 private newspapers, more than 100 radio channels and about 20 television channels. The monitoring group, Reporters without Borders, drew specific attention to Uruguay’s advance in its 2007 report.

Sadly, this progress cannot erase the memory of the relatively recent history of human rights abuses under the military dictatorship that ruled from 1973 to 1985. These rulers largely defeated the Tupamaros (Uruguay’s version of the Latin American urban guerrilla movement) but torture was widespread, and about 250 people are thought to have been killed. Amnesty International calculated that, in 1976, Uruguay had more political prisoners per capita than any other nation on earth.

On the return to democracy, Uruguay had to decide between adamantly seeking out and punishing those responsible, or protecting the fragile government and not provoking the (still powerful) armed forces. Like most other Latin American countries that had lived through military dictatorships, Uruguay chose the latter by granting amnesty to all those accused of committing crimes under the dictators, as well as those committed by the left-wing guerrillas opposed to them. This blanket amnesty was implemented by President Sanguinetti in 1985, and then upheld by a referendum in 1989.

However, on taking office, Vázquez promised an investigation into the disappearances of opponents of the dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. In May 2005, criminal charges were filed against a former president, Juan María Bordaberry, for killings committed in 1976. Bordaberry is now in prison awaiting trial but further arrests are needed if Uruguay is to catch up with Chile and Argentina in this process of seeking accountability for the era of dictatorships. Proposals to compensate families affected by the trauma were rejected in parliament.
The Economy in Uruguay

Uruguay’s economy is characterised by an export-oriented agricultural sector increasingly dominated by soya planting, an educated workforce, high rates of social spending, and a developed industrial sector. The economy lives in the shadow of dependence on its two giant neighbours, Argentina and Brazil. This was acutely illustrated in the period after 1999 when Uruguay’s small economy was hit badly by Argentina’s economic collapse. By 2002, the country’s peso had lost about half its value, and in July the government shut down banks to prevent panic among depositors and a consequent banking collapse. From 1998 to 2002, unemployment almost doubled, and about 10% of the country’s three million citizens left to seek better opportunities overseas.

Uruguay’s economy is now recovering from the slump with several successive years of strong growth. Debts to the IMF of over $1 billion were repaid in 2006 in advance of the due date. Unemployment has been steadily declining from nearly 20% in 2002 to just over 10% in 2007. Although inequality as measured by the Gini Coefficient has increased in this period, Uruguay is considerably more successful in this regard than its peers in the Mercosur group.

In a most unusual referendum held on the same day as the 2004 elections, Uruguayan voters resolved to amend the constitution to stipulate that access to drinking water should be a human right and its provision the responsibility of government. Privatisation of water and sanitation services is therefore prohibited in Uruguay; nonetheless the MDG target of 98% access to clean water and 75% to safe sanitation remains formidable. In a further move reflecting the regional mood, the government has rejected proposals to sign a free trade agreement with the US.
The Environment in Uruguay

According to the World Bank, national environmental challenges include urban degradation (mainly waste management and air pollution), coastal contamination (of both the Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic Coast with its sound tourist economy), and industrial pollution. However, in the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index ranking (a composite index that ranks countries based on 21 diverse elements of environmental sustainability, including environmental, institutional, and socio-economic indicators), Uruguay was placed 3rd, trailing only Finland and Norway.

It is ironic, then, that Finland and Uruguay are now together involved in an environmental controversy. The Finnish company Botnia has built a giant paper and pulp mill on the Uruguayan side of the River Plate, at $1.2 billion the largest capital investment in Uruguay’s history. Concerned about the environmental impact, Argentineans have blockaded the crucial bridge crossing which is used by tourists entering Uruguay. Relations between the two countries grow frostier, but the plant opened in 2007 after two rulings by the International Court of Justice in Uruguay’s favour. A further application to the Court to force Argentina to open the bridge was however unsuccessful and the blockade is estimated to cost the Uruguayan economy about $400 million pa.



The OneWorld Uruguay Guide was first published in October 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Chloe Oliver

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