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Uruguay Baldomir and the End of Dictatorship
After his inauguration, and after suppressing a coup
attempt,
Baldomir announced his intention to reform the 1934
constitution
but then procrastinated on carrying out the project.
Several
months later, the opposition led one of the most important
political demonstrations in the history of the country,
demanding
a new constitution and a return to democracy. Under
pressure from
organized labor and the National Party, Baldomir advocated
free
elections, freedom of the press, and a new constitution.
Baldomir's administration could not avoid the
consequences of
World War II or the pressures and interests of the Allied
forces.
Although he declared Uruguay's neutrality in 1939, that
December
the Battle of the Río de la Plata took place. The badly
damaged
German battleship Graf Spee, cornered by a British
naval
force and required by the Uruguayan government to leave
its
refuge in the port of Montevideo, was blown up and
scuttled by
its own crew just outside the harbor. After this, Uruguay
assumed
a pro-Allied stance. In 1940 it began an investigation of
Nazi
sympathizers and finally, in 1942, broke relations with
the Axis.
The Blancos persistently attempted to obstruct
legislation
introduced by Baldomir and criticized the Colorados'
policy of
cooperation with the United States in hemispheric defense.
Baldomir's Blanco ally, Herrera, fought for neutrality,
and in
1940 Herrera opposed the installation of United States
bases in
Uruguay. In 1941 Baldomir forced his three Herrerist
ministers to
resign; they had been appointed to his cabinet in
accordance with
provisions of the 1934 constitution. Baldomir subsequently
appointed a board, without the participation of
Herrerists, to
study a constitutional reform. Finally, in February 1942
Baldomir
dissolved the General Assembly and replaced it with the
Council
of State (Consejo de Estado), composed of Batllists and
other
Colorados. This quasi-coup was carried out without
arrests,
deportations, or the closing of newspapers. It was an
in-house
agreement to overcome the institutional crisis initiated
on March
31, 1933, and to avoid enforcement of the existing
constitution.
Batllists and Communists welcomed the new situation, but
the
Socialists argued that Baldomir had been one of the
protagonists
of the 1933 coup. Independent Nationalists remained on the
sidelines. Herrerism, freely accused of being pro-Nazi,
proFranco , and pro-Argentine, was the big loser.
In November 1942, national elections were held.
Although an
electoral law had been passed in 1939 to avoid the
formation of
coalitions that would endanger the two-party system
(Blancos and
Colorados), Independent Nationalists were allowed to
participate
as a new political party, separate from Herrerism. Thus,
the
National Party divided into two splinter parties and
continued as
such until 1958. Socialists and Communists were also
split, a
situation that continued until 1971, when the Broad Front
Coalition was created. Batllists supported the Colorado
candidate, Juan José Amézaga (1943-47), who won the
election.
At the same time, a new constitution was submitted to
plebiscite and was approved by 77 percent of the
electorate. As
amended on November 19, 1942, the constitution retained
the
presidency, restored the General Assembly, implemented
strict
proportional representation in the Senate, and abolished
the
mandatory coparticipation imposed by the 1934 constitution
for
ministries and boards of autonomous entities.
Data as of December 1990
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