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Uruguay FAMILY LIFE
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the
traditional
pattern of patriarchy was breaking down in Uruguay. The
relative
emancipation of women put Uruguay far ahead of the rest of
Latin
America in terms of legal rights and social custom. Civil
marriage became legally required in 1885, and the
influence of
the church declined. Divorce on the grounds of cruelty by
the
husband was legalized in 1907, and in 1912 women were
given the
right to file for divorce without a specific cause.
Married women
were allowed to maintain separate bank accounts as early
as 1919.
Women also were provided with equal access to educational
opportunities at all levels early in the twentieth
century, and
they began to enter the professions in increasing numbers.
In
1938 women voted for the first time in national elections.
Nevertheless, there was a paternalistic flavor to many of
the
reforms, which were often seen as protecting women rather
than
guaranteeing their inalienable rights.
One factor that made it easier for middle-class women
to go
out of the home to work was the widespread availability of
domestic servants willing to undertake cooking, cleaning,
and
taking care of children for comparatively low wages. By
the
1960s, one-quarter of all adult women worked. This
proportion
continued to rise steadily, reaching over 45 percent in
Montevideo by 1985. In 1975 one-fifth of all households
were
headed by women. Nuclear families made up 61.2 percent of
all
households, while there were almost as many single-person
households (14.6 percent) as traditional extended families
(17.6
percent). The average number of persons in each household
was
3.4.
The small size of Uruguayan families by Latin American
standards was related to the widespread practice of birth
control
and the middle-class aspiration to provide the best
possible
education for children. Families tended to be larger in
rural
areas, where the birth rate was much higher. In rural
areas,
however, there was an imbalance in the sex ratio because
women
had a much higher propensity to migrate to the towns in
search of
work, particularly as domestic servants. Poor families in
rural
areas were often unstable; common-law marriage and
illegitimacy
were widespread. Although abortion was illegal, there was
no
legal distinction between children born in and out of
wedlock.
In rural areas, the maintenance of symbolic kinship
ties
remained common. When babies were baptized, they often
were given
a godfather (compadre) chosen from among the
members of
the local elite. This practice, known as
compadrazgo, was
intended to provide the children with useful connections
in later
life. It formed an important link in the pattern of
interaction
between rural elites and subordinate classes. Reciprocal
obligations ranged from help from the godparent in finding
employment to the requirement of loyalty in voting on the
part of
the godchild.
Relations between husbands and wives in Uruguay were
relatively equal by Latin American standards. The divorce
rate
had grown steadily from 1 per 10,000 population in 1915 to
14 per
1,000 in 1985. In 1927 the compulsory civil marriage
ceremony was
amended so that the bride no longer promised obedience,
but both
man and woman vowed to treat each other with respect. It
was not
uncommon for women to keep their surnames after marriage.
Often,
they simply added the husband's name to theirs. Children
had
their father's surname followed by their mother's.
Uruguayan children, and especially girls, had a
relatively
high degree of freedom compared with their counterparts in
many
other Latin American countries. Chaperonage was rare. It
was
expected that women would have careers, and by 1970 almost
half
the total school population was female.
During the 1960s, the phenomenon known as the
"generation
gap" began to be acutely felt in Uruguay. Young people
rebelled
against their parents and adopted permissive life-styles.
In many
cases, they were drawn into radical politics; in fact, in
1990
youth was still one of the strongest predictors of
left-voting in
Uruguay.
Family ties remained strong in Uruguay despite the
rebelliousness of youth. Children frequently lived in the
parental home well into their thirties, in some cases even
after
marriage. The usual reason for staying at home was
economic
necessity; many couples found affordable housing hard to
come by.
Despite the relative freedom of women, attitudes toward
gender roles and sexuality remained traditionally
stereotypical.
The pattern of machismo was less pronounced than in much
of Latin
America, but males were expected to show "masculine"
traits;
"feminine" characteristics were seen as inferior. At
social
gatherings, women tended to congregate with other women,
and men
with men.
Upper-middle-class Uruguayans usually tried to escape
Montevideo for the beach resorts on weekends and during
the long
December to January summer holidays. Family gatherings
typically
centered on outdoor barbecues (asados), in which
large
quantities of meat were consumed. Another typical custom,
symbolic of family and friendship ties, was the sharing of
yerba maté, a form of green tea. A hollowed-out
gourd (the
maté) or sometimes a china cup is packed almost
full with
the green tea. A metal straw is then inserted into the
tea, and
boiling water is poured on top. The maté is then
passed
around in a circle, each person adding a little more hot
water.
This custom was particularly significant under the
military
regime of 1973 to 1985, when citizens were often afraid to
congregate in public squares for fear their gossip might
be seen
as political. An innocent maté ceremony could
hardly
arouse suspicions.
As in other countries, the advent of television has
reduced
movie and theater attendance precipitously, causing more
leisure
hours to be spent in the home. Uruguayans remained
enthusiastic
in their participation in competitive sports, however.
Amateur
soccer continued to thrive among the middle and lower
classes,
whereas the upper-middle classes preferred tennis, golf,
and
sailing. For the elite, membership in a country club was
an
important focus of leisure activity and a symbol of social
status.
Data as of December 1990
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