|
Uruguay THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT, 1973-85
The New Situation, 1973-80
In February 1973, a deep conflict emerged among the
president, the General Assembly, and the armed forces. The
army
and air force rebelled against Bordaberry's selection of a
civilian as minister of national defense. On February 9
and 10,
the army issued two communiqués proposing a series of
political,
social, and economic measures. Initially, the navy
maintained its
loyalty to the president but subsequently joined the other
military services. Bordaberry made an agreement with the
military, known as the Boisso Lanza Pact, that guaranteed
their
advisory role and their participation in political
decision
making. In effect, the pact constituted a quasi-coup. The
National Security Council (Consejo de Seguridad
Nacional--Cosena)
was created as an advisory body to the executive. Its
members
included the commanders of the army, navy, and air force,
plus an
additional senior military officer, and the ministers of
national
defense, interior, and foreign affairs.
The military then pushed for the final approval and
implementation of the State Security Law. However,
differences
with the General Assembly, which was investigating charges
of
torture committed by the military and felt that the
military had
exceeded its powers, continued until June 27, 1973. On
that date,
with the backing of the armed forces, Bordaberry dissolved
the
General Assembly and replaced it with the Council of
State, and
he empowered the armed forces and police to take whatever
measures were necessary to ensure normal public services.
In
essence, a de facto dictatorship had been announced. The
new
situation was supported by some Colorados (the Pachequist
faction) and some Blancos (Aguerrondo's Herrerists). But
the CNT
called for the occupation of factories and a general
strike that
lasted almost two weeks. When the civil-military
dictatorship was
consolidated, it banned the CNT, the PCU, and other
existing and
alleged Marxist-Leninist organizations, and it intervened
in the
university to quell dissident activities by the students.
The military's "Doctrine of National Security" was a
pseudoscientific analysis of society grounded in
geopolitics. It
posited that sovereignty no longer resided in the people
but
derived instead from the requirements of state survival.
This was
basically the same ideology made famous by the Brazilian
generals
after their takeover in 1964. The core of the doctrine was
articulated by Brazil's General Artur Golbery do Couto e
Silva in
his book Geopolítica do Brasil. Essentially, the
book
described a world divided into two opposing blocs--the
capitalist
and Christian West and the communist and "atheistic"
East--each
with its own values that were considered irreconcilable.
The
Brazilian and Uruguayan generals saw themselves as part of
the
Western bloc and were therefore engaged in an unrelenting
global
struggle with the opposition. This struggle called for a
war in
which there was no room for hesitation or uncertainty
against a
cunning and ruthless enemy. Thus, it was necessary to
sacrifice
some secular freedoms in order to protect and preserve the
state.
"Preventive" repression by the Uruguayan military
regime was
intense. To the dead and disappeared were added thousands
of
persons who went to jail because they were accused of
politically
motivated crimes. Many were tortured. Others were fired
from
their government jobs for political reasons. The regime
restricted freedom of the press and association, as well
as party
political activity. Amnesty International calculated that
in 1976
Uruguay had more political prisoners per capita than any
other
nation on earth. During these years, approximately 10
percent of
Uruguay's population emigrated for political or economic
reasons.
In June 1976, Bordaberry was forced to resign after
submitting a proposal to the military calling for the
elimination
of political parties and the creation of a permanent
dictatorship
with himself as president. National elections were to be
held
that year, although politicians could hardly be sanguine
after
the assassinations in Argentina of Uruguayan political
leaders
Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz (National Party) and Zelmar
Michelini
(Broad Front). Bordaberry was replaced by Alberto
Demichelli
Lizaso, president of the Council of State, who, through
Institutional Act No. 1, decreed the suspension of
elections.
Three months later, Demichelli was succeeded by Aparicio
Méndez
(1976-81), who essentially decreed the political
prohibition of
all individuals who had participated in the 1966 and 1971
elections. Political life thus came to a halt.
In 1977 the military government made public its
political
plans. Over the next few years, the National Party and the
Colorado Party would be purged, a new constitution would
be
submitted to a plebiscite, and national elections would be
held
with a single candidate agreed on by both parties. A
charter that
gave the military virtual veto power over all government
policy
was drawn up. In 1980 the armed forces decided to
legitimize
themselves by submitting this constitution to a
plebiscite.
Opposing the constitutional project were Batlle Ibáñez,
Ferreira, Carlos Julio Pereyra, a Herrerist faction led by
Luis
Alberto Lacalle de Herrera, Pachequist dissidents, and the
Broad
Front, who considered it authoritarian and in conflict
with
Uruguay's democratic tradition. When Uruguay's citizens
went to
the polls, they dealt the military regime a tremendous
blow and
rejected the proposed new constitution by 57 to 43
percent.
Data as of December 1990
|
