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Uruguay Political Elites
Uruguay's party leaders were sometimes viewed as
forming a
"political class." Many of the surnames of those active in
politics in the 1980s would have been familiar to
Uruguayans a
century earlier. Blanco leaders were more likely than
Colorados
to have attended private secondary schools and to describe
themselves as practicing Catholics, although this
distinction was
breaking down. With the exception of an apparent increase
in the
late 1960s, these politicians only rarely had business
careers,
apart from ranchers in the National Party. Rather, most
made
their living as lawyers and as public servants.
The leaders of Uruguay's leftist parties were drawn
from a
somewhat wider spectrum of backgrounds than the Colorados
and
Blancos. Among the leaders of the former were many
white-collar
workers, especially educators, and a few labor union
leaders.
The power of traditional political bosses, or
caudillos, has
resided in their ability to mobilize voters by means of
patronage
machines. This system of doling out favors, such as
public-sector
jobs and pensions, through local political clubs had,
nevertheless, declined by 1990. Young voters were more
motivated
by ideology than their parents, which is one reason that
the
membership of Uruguay's leftist parties was growing,
whereas that
of the traditional National and Colorado parties was
declining.
Data as of December 1990
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