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Uruguay
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{{Template:Uruguay infobox}}
The '''Eastern Republic of Uruguay''' (
Spanish language Spanish: ''República Oriental del Uruguay'';
Pronunciation pron. International Phonetic Alphabet IPA {{IPA|[re'puβlika oɾien'tal del uɾu'ɣwaj]}}) is a country located in southern
South America. It is bordered by
Brazil to the north, the
Uruguay River to the west, the estuary of the
RÃo de la Plata (literally "River of Silver", but commonly known in English as "River Plate") to the southwest, with
Argentina on the other bank of both, and finally the South
Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. About half of its people live in the capital and largest city,
Montevideo. The nation is the second smallest independent country in South America, larger than only
Suriname (it is also larger than
French Guiana, which is not independent), and is one of the most politically and economically stable.
History
''Main article:
History of Uruguay''
The name "Uruguay" comes from
Guaranà language GuaranÃ, the original language of the native people of the region. It means "river of the painted birds."
The first
Europeans arrived in the area in the early
16th century. Both
Spain and
Portugal pursued the
European colonization of the Americas colonization of Uruguay, with the Spanish eventually gaining control. The future capital,
Montevideo, was founded in the early
18th century and became a rival to
Buenos Aires across the RÃo de la Plata. Montevideo, however, was thought of as a military center for the Spanish empire, while Buenos Aires was a commercial center.
In the early
19th century, independence movements sprung up across
South America, including Uruguay (then known as the ''Banda Oriental'', or "Eastern Area", referring to the area east of the RÃo de la Plata). Uruguayan territory was contested between the nascent states of
Brazil and
Argentina. Brazil annexed the area in
1821 under the name of ''Provincia Cisplatina'', but a revolt began on
August 25,
1825, after which Uruguay became an independent country with the
Treaty of Montevideo in
1828.
The original population of
Charrúa Indians was gradually decimated over three centuries, culminating on 11 April 1831 in a mass killing at
Salsipuedes, which was led by General
Fructuoso Rivera, Uruguay's first president. After that date the few remaining Charrúas were dispersed and a viable Charrúa culture was a thing of the past, although Charrúa blood still runs in the veins of many Uruguayans today as a result of extensive Charrúa-Spanish intermixing during colonial times. Four Charrúas — Senaqué, the leader Vaimaca Pirú, the warrior Tacuabé and his wife Guyunusa — were taken to Paris in 1833 to be displayed as circus attractions.
In the latter part of the 19th century, Uruguay participated in the
War of the Triple Alliance against
Paraguay.
Uruguay then experienced a series of elected and appointed presidents and saw conflicts with neighboring states, political and economic fluctuations and modernization, and large inflows of immigrants, mostly from Europe. The work of
President of Uruguay President José Batlle y Ordóñez made Uruguay an advanced nation with a complex
Welfare state welfare system; for most of the 20th century Uruguay was on par with European nations. Due to its advanced social system and its stable democracy, Uruguay came to be known as "the
Switzerland of
Americas the Americas".
The Uruguayan economy relies largely on agricultural exports. The world wars brought prosperity as Uruguayan beef and grain went to feed a war-ravaged Europe. World food prices dropped precipitously following the end of
World War II WWII, which triggered years of decline for the Uruguayan economy. By the 1960's, the stable social system began to break down as the economy spiralled.
The government started losing popular support as students, workers and lower-class families felt the pain of an economy unable to adapt to a post-agricultural world economy. The
Tupamaros, a radical leftist group, responded to the crisis with violence, which triggered government repression that ended with the suspension of individual rights by the president,
Jorge Pacheco Areco, and his successor,
Juan MarÃa Bordaberry. Finally, in
1973, the army seized power, ushering in 11 years of military dictatorship in what was once one of the most stable democracies in the region. In
1984, democracy was finally restored with the election of
Julio MarÃa Sanguinetti.
Politics
''Main article:
Politics of Uruguay''
Uruguay's
Constitution of
1967 created a strong
president presidency, subject to
legislative and
judiciary judicial controls. The
President of Uruguay president, who is both
head of state and
head of government, is elected by
popular vote for a five-year term, with the vice president elected on the same ticket. Thirteen
cabinet (government) cabinet ministers, appointed by the president, head
executive (government) executive departments.
The
parliament is the bicameral General Assembly or ''Asamblea General'', which consists of a 30-member
senate (''Cámara de Senadores''), presided over by the vice president of the republic, and a 99-member Chamber of Representatives (''Cámara de Representantes''). Members for both houses are elected by popular vote for a five-year term.
The highest court is the Supreme Court; below it are appellate and lower courts, and justices of the peace. In addition, there are electoral and administrative ("contentious") courts, an accounts court, and a military justice system.
For most of Uruguay's history, the Colorado and National parties have alternated in power. The elections of
2004, however, brought the
Frente Amplio Encuentro Progresista-Frente Amplio-Nueva MayorÃa, a coalition of various leftist parties, to power with majorities in both houses of parliament and the election of President
Tabaré Vázquez Tabaré Vázquez Rosas by an absolute majority.
Departments
Image:Uruguay mapa.png framed|Map of Uruguay
''Main article:
Departments of Uruguay''
Uruguay consists of 19 departments (''departamentos'', singular - ''departamento''):
*
Artigas Department Artigas
*
Canelones Department Canelones
*
Cerro Largo Department Cerro Largo
*
Colonia Department Colonia
*
Durazno Department Durazno
*
Flores Department Flores
*
Florida Department Florida
*
Lavalleja Department Lavalleja
*
Maldonado Department Maldonado
*
Montevideo Department Montevideo
*
Paysandú Department Paysandú
*
RÃo Negro Department RÃo Negro
*
Rivera Department Rivera
*
Rocha Department Rocha
*
Salto Department Salto
*
San José Department San José
*
Soriano Department Soriano
*
Tacuarembó Department Tacuarembó
*
Treinta y Tres Department Treinta y Tres
Geography
Image:Uruguay_T2.png thumb|right|Satellite photo of Uruguay
''Main article:
Geography of Uruguay''
Uruguay is the third smallest country in
South America, after
Suriname and
French Guiana. The landscape features mostly rolling plains and low hill ranges (''cuchillas'') with a fertile coastal lowland, most of it grassland, ideal for
cattle and
domestic sheep sheep raising. The highest point in the country is the Cerro Catedral at 514 m. To the southwest is the
RÃo de la Plata (River of Silver), the estuary of the
Uruguay River, which forms the western border, and the
Paraná River, that does not run through Uruguay itself. The only other major river is the
RÃo Negro (Uruguay) RÃo Negro. Several lagoons are found along the
Atlantic Ocean Atlantic coast.
The
climate in Uruguay is
temperate climate temperate, but fairly warm, as freezing temperatures are almost unknown. The predominantly flat landscape is also somewhat vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts, as well as to the
pampero, a chilly and occasionally violent wind blowing north from the
pampas plains in
Argentina.
Enclaves and exclaves
There is one Argentine
enclave within Uruguayan territory: the island of
MartÃn GarcÃa (co-ordinates {{coor dm|34|11|S|58|15|W}}). It is situated near the confluence of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, a mere kilometre inside Uruguayan waters, about 3.5 km from the Uruguayan coastline, near the small city of
MartÃn Chico (itself about halfway between
Nueva Palmira and
Colonia).
An agreement reached by Argentina and Uruguay in
1973 reaffirmed Argentine jurisdiction over the island, ending a century-old dispute between the two countries. According to the terms of the agreement, MartÃn GarcÃa is to be devoted exclusively to a natural preserve. Its area is about 2 km², and the population about 200 persons. In addition, Gloria Recoda has exclusive land rights on a quarter of the island.
Economy
:''Main article:
Economy of Uruguay''
Uruguay's economy is characterised by an export-oriented
agriculture agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending, as well as a developed industrial sector. After averaging growth of 5% annually in
1996–
1998, in
1999–
2001 the economy suffered from lower demand in
Argentina and
Brazil, which together account for nearly half of Uruguay's exports. Despite the severity of the trade shocks, Uruguay's financial indicators remained more stable than those of its neighbours, a reflection of its solid reputation among investors and its investment-grade sovereign bond rating — one of only two in South America. In recent years Uruguay has shifted most of its energy into developing the commercial use of IT technologies and has become the leading exporter of software in Latin America.
While some parts of the economy appeared to be resilient, the downturn had a far more severe impact on Uruguayan citizens, as unemployment levels rose to more than twenty percent, real wages fell, the peso was devalued, and the percentage of Uruguayans in poverty reached almost 40%. These worsening economic conditions played a part in turning public opinion against the
free market economic policies adopted by the previous administrations in the 1990s, leading to popular rejection of proposals for
privatization of the state petroleum company in 2003 and of the state water company in 2004. The newly elected
Frente Amplio government, while pledging to continue payments on Uruguay's external debt, has also promised to undertake a crash jobs programs to attack the widespread problems of poverty and unemployment.
Demographics
''Main article:
Demographics of Uruguay''
As a
Spanish language Spanish-speaking country of
Latin America, most Uruguayans share a
Spain Spanish cultural background, though about a quarter of the population is of
Italy Italian origin. Some 88% of the population is of European descent, with
mestizos (8%) and blacks (4%) forming the only significant ethnic minorities. Church and state are officially separated. Most Uruguayans adhere to the
Roman Catholic faith (66%), with smaller
Protestant (2%) and
Judaism Jewish and
Armenian (1%) communities, as well as a large nonprofessing group (31%).
Uruguay is distinguished by its high
literacy rate (98%), large urban middle class, and relatively even income distribution. During the past two decades, an estimated 500,000 Uruguayans have emigrated, principally to
Argentina and
Brazil. As a result of the low birth rate, high
life expectancy, and relatively high rate of emigration of younger people, Uruguay's population is quite mature.
Culture
''Main article:
Culture of Uruguay''
*
Music of Uruguay
*
List of Uruguayans
Uruguayan writers
*
Eduardo Galeano, writer and social commentator renowned throughout Latin America
*
Mario Benedetti, Uruguay's best-known novelist
*
Jorge Majfud
*
Juan Carlos Onetti
*
Horacio Quiroga
*
Juana de Ibarbourou
*
Maria Eugenia Vaz Ferreira
*
Delmira Agustini
Sports
''Main article:
Sports in Uruguay''
The most popular sport in Uruguay is football/soccer (called ''fútbol'' in Spanish), and the country has earned many honours in that sport, including gold medals at the
1924 Summer Olympics 1924 and
1928 Summer Olympics 1928 Olympics and two
Football World Cup World Cups in 1930, when the first football world championship was celebrated in Montevideo; and in 1950 in Brazil.
Rugby Union Rugby,
basketball and
diving are also popular
Miscellaneous topics
*
Communications in Uruguay
*
Foreign relations of Uruguay
*
Military of Uruguay
*
Reporters without borders World-wide press freedom index 2002: Rank 21 out of 139 countries (3 way tie)
*
Transportation in Uruguay
*
:WikiProject Uruguay
External links
Government resources
{{sisterlinks|Uruguay}}
-
INE - National Statistics Institute (in Spanish)
-
MEF - Official site of the Uruguayan Ministry of Finance (in Spanish)
-
Poder Judicial - Official site of the Uruguayan Judiciary (in Spanish)
-
Poder Legislativo - Official site of the Uruguayan Parliament (in Spanish)
-
Portal del Estado Uruguayo - Uruguayan State portal (in Spanish)
-
Presidencia de la República Oriental del Uruguay - Official presidential site (in Spanish)
General information
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Uruguay Total - Uruguayan portal (in Spanish)
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Portal Paysandu - Los inocentes de Siempre - Uruguayan portal (in Spanish)
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Uruguay.com - Uruguayan portal (in Spanish, with English links)
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Open Directory Project - Uruguay directory category (multiple languages)
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From Uruguay - Uruguayan blog (in English)
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Love,ani xo travel blog and information on Uruguay] (in English)
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Sociedad Alemana-Uruguaya - German Uruguayan society (in Spanish and German)
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Wine Uruguay - Uruguayan Wine Guide (in English, Spanish, German)
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Studio Stonek - Uruguayan photography studio and image bank (in Spanish and English)
Media
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El PaÃs - Montevideo daily newspaper
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La República - Montevideo daily newspaper
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El Observador - Montevideo daily newspaper
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El Espectador - Montevideo radio station
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Radio Sarandà - Montevideo radio station
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Montevideo.com - Montevideo news web site.
Travel and commerce
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Ministerio de Turismo del Uruguay - Government tourism information site (in Spanish, Portuguese and English)
* {{wikitravel}}
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Uruguay XXI - Investment and Export Promotion (in Spanish and English)
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Traveltouruguay.com - Touristic information and promotion
Sports
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Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol - Uruguayan Football Association (in Spanish)
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Federación Uruguaya de Basketball - Uruguayan Basketball Federation (in Spanish)
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Unión de Rugby del Uruguay - Uruguayan Rugby Union (in Spanish)
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