Page 68 - Across the Andes: Chile’s Atacama Desert & Argentina’s Northwest

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mass unemployment, and a steep drop in the standard of living for Uruguayan workers. This
led to student militancy and labor unrest. The collective ruling council was unable to agree
on harsh measures that were required to stabilize the economy. As the demand for Uruguay’s
export products plummeted, the collective leadership tried to avoid budget cuts by spending
Uruguay’s currency reserves and then began taking foreign loans. Uruguayan peso was
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to improve the economy they advocated the return to a strong Presidency. Once again, after
a constitutional referendum the Council was replaced by a single Presidency by the new
Constitution of 1967. Elections of 1967 returned Colorados to power, who became increasingly
repressive in the face of growing popular protests and Tupamaros insurgency.

Military Dictatorship

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robbing banks and distributing food and money in poor neighborhoods, then undertaking
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embarrassing, and then destabilizing, the government.

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Uruguayan police and intelligence in policing and interrogration techniques. The Uruguayan
Chief of Police Intelligence, Alejandro Otero, told a Brazilian newspaper in 1970 that the OPS,
especially the head of the OPS in Uruguay, Dan Mitrione, had instructed the Uruguayan police
how to torture suspects, especially with electrical implements.

President Jorge Pacheco declared a state of emergency in 1968, and this was followed by a
further suspension of civil liberties in 1972 by his successor, President Juan María Bordaberry.
President Bordaberry brought the Army in to combat the guerrillas of the Movement of
National Liberation (MLN), which was led by Raúl Sendic. After defeating the Tupamaros, the
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even regular citizens. Torture practices extended until the end of Uruguayan dictatorship in
1985. Uruguay soon had the highest per capita percentage of political prisoners in the world.
The MLN heads were isolated in improvised prisons and subjected to repeated acts of torture.
Emigration from Uruguay rose drastically, as large numbers of Uruguayans looked for political
asylum throughout the world.
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by Alberto Demicheli. Subsequently a national council chosen by the military government
elected Aparicio Méndez. In 1980, in order to legitimize their position, the armed forces
proposed a change in the constitution, to be subjected to a popular vote by a referendum.
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unpopularity of the de facto government, that was later accelerated by an economic crisis.

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