Page 70 - Across the Andes: Chile’s Atacama Desert & Argentina’s Northwest

The Colorado and National Parties continued their legislative coalition, as neither party by
itself won as many seats as the 40% of each house won by the Broad Front coalition. The
formal coalition ended in November 2002, when the Blancos withdrew their ministers from the
cabinet, although the Blancos continued to support the Colorados on most issues.

-L_WWPɪ^ ʭaP dPL] _P]X bL^ XL]VPO Md PNZYZXTN ]PNP^^TZY LYO `YNP]_LTY_d ʭ]^_ bT_S _SP $$$
devaluation of the Brazilian real, then with the outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (aftosa)
TY @]`R`Ldɪ^ VPd MPPQ ^PN_Z] TY LYO ʭYLWWd bT_S _SP [ZWT_TNLW LYO PNZYZXTN NZWWL[^P
of Argentina. Unemployment rose to close to twenty percent, real wages fell, the peso was
devalued and the percentage of Uruguayans in poverty reached almost forty percent.

These worsening economic conditions played a part in turning public opinion against the free
market economic policies adopted by the Batlle administration and its predecessors, leading
to popular rejection through plebiscites of proposals for privatization of the state petroleum
company in 2003 and of the state water company in 2004. In 2004 Uruguayans elected Tabaré
Vázquez as president, while giving the Broad Front coalition a majority in both houses of
parliament. The newly elected 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.

In 2009, former Tupamaro and agriculture minister José Mujica, was elected president,
subsequently succeeding Vázquez on March 1, 2010.

70