Pre-Crisis Phase (March 1, 1911-March 12, 1933): Jose Batlle Ordonez of the Colorado Party (CP) was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1911. Feliciano Viera of the CP was elected president by the Congress in 1914, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1915. Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held on July 30, 1916. A new constitution was approved on October 17, 1917, and the constitution went into effect on March 1, 1919. The constitution provided for the direct, popular vote for president, and created a nine-member Administrative Council to share executive powers with the president. Baltasar Brum of the CP was elected president by the Congress in 1918, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1919. Gabriel Terra of the Battlista faction of the Colorado Party (CP) was elected president, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1931.
Crisis Phase (March 13, 1933-March 1, 1943): President Gabriel Terra mobilized the military against the Congress and Administrative Council on March 13, 1933. President Gabriel Terra dissolved Congress and the Administrative Council on March 31, 1933. The Constituent Assembly was convened in March 1934. A new constitution, which abolished the Administrative Council, was approved in a referendum on April 20, 1934. Several political parties had boycotted the referendum. The government suppressed a rebellion by members of the CP and Independent Nationalists (IN) in January 1935. General Alfredo Baldomir was elected president by the Congress in 1937, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1938. The government arrested 12 Nazi leaders on June 17, 1940, but the individuals were released after the intervention of the German embassy. President Alfredo Baldomir dissolved Congress, and took control of the government on February 21, 1942. President Alfredo Baldomir appointed a Council of State to draft constitutional reforms on February 23, 1942. Juan Jose Amezago of the liberal faction of the CP was elected president on November 29, 1942, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1943. The Council of State was dissolved on February 12, 1943, and the Congress was convened on February 15, 1943. Some 100 individuals were killed during the crisis.
Post-Crisis Phase (March 2, 1943-June 12, 1968): Tomas Berreta of the CP was elected president on November 24, 1946, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1947. President Berreta died on August 2, 1947, and Vice-President Luis Batlle Berres of the CP assumed the presidency on August 3, 1947. Andres Martinez Trueba of the CP was elected president on November 26, 1950, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1951. An amendment to the constitution was approved in a referendum in December 1951, which transferred executive power from the president to a nine-member National Council of Government (Consejo Nacional de Gobierno – CNG). The CNG headed by Andres Martinez Trueba assumed control of the government on March 1, 1952. Luis Conrado Batlle Berres of the CP took over the chairmanship of the CNG on March 1, 1955. Martin Recaredo Echegoyen Machicote of the National Party (NP) took over the chairmanship of the CNG on March 1, 1959. The Movement for National Liberation (Movimiento de Liberacion Nacional – MLN) was established in opposition to the government in 1962. Daniel Fernandez Crespo of the NP was elected president in November 1962, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1963. General Oscar Diego Gestido of the Union Colorada y Battlista (UCB) was elected president on November 27, 1966, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1967. President Gestido died on December 6, 1967, and Vice-President Jorge Pacheco Areco assumed the presidency on December 7, 1967.
Crisis Phase (June 13, 1968-April 14, 1972): The government declared a state-of-emergency on June 13, 1968. The Uruguayan Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Orientales – FARO) was established in opposition to the government in 1969. Cuba provided military assistance to FARO. One individual was killed during riots in Montevideo on January 21, 1969. The government lifted the state-of-emergency on March 15, 1969. MLN rebels attacked the naval base in La Paloma on April 28, 1969. On June 24, 1969, the government declared a limited state-of-siege following more than two months of labor unrest. MLN rebels killed one policeman in Montevideo on July 7, 1969. MLN rebels captured Pando on October 8, 1969. Ambassador Geoffrey Jackson of Britain was kidnapped and held from January 8 to September 9, 1971. The government and MLN rebels agreed to a cessation of military hostilities in October 1971. Parliamentary elections were held on November 28, 1971, and the Colorado Party (Partido Colorado – PC) won 41 out of 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The National Party (Partido Nacional – PN) won 40 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Juan Maria Bordaberry of the PC was elected president on November 28, 1971, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1972.
Conflict Phase (April 15, 1972-July 11, 1972): Congress declared a 30-day “state of internal war” on April 15, 1972. Some 35,000 military and police personnel were deployed against the MLN rebels beginning on April 15, 1972. The government lifted the “state of internal war” on July 11, 1972. Some 300 rebels and 50 government soldiers were killed during the conflict.
Post-Conflict Phase (July 12, 1972-August 3, 1984): President Juan Maria Bordaberry and the military signed the Boisso Lanza Pact on February 12, 1973, and the military-dominated National Security Council (Consejo de Seguridad Nacional – COSENA) was established on February 13, 1973. President Juan Maria Bordaberry dissolved the Chamber of Deputies on June 27, 1973, and established the 25-member Council of State on June 30, 1973. The military occupied Montevideo on July 1, 1973. On August 11, 1973, the National Confederation of Workers (Confederacion Nacional de Trabajadores – CNT) was abolished by the government after the group called for a general strike. Some 400,000 Uruguayans fled as refugees to neighboring countries. President Juan Maria Bordaberry was overthrown by the military on June 12, 1976, and Vice-President Alberto Demicheli was appointed as provisional president. Some 105 individuals fled as refugees to Mexico City between June 24 and July 2, 1976. Aparico Mendez was appointed as president by the Council of the Nation (25 civilians and 21 military officers) on July 14, 1976, and he was inaugurated as president on September 1, 1976. The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemned the government for human rights abuses on July 16, 1976. The US imposed military sanctions (suspension of military assistance) against the government in September 1976. A new constitution was rejected in a referendum on November 30, 1980. Lt. General Gregorio Alvarez Armelino was sworn in as transitional president on September 1, 1981. The government banned political party activity on August 2, 1983. Some 25,000 individuals demonstrated against the government in Montevideo on September 25, 1983, and 300,000 individuals demonstrated against the government on November 27, 1983. The military and several political groups, known as the Multipartidaria, signed a pact on August 3, 1984, which provided for presidential and congressional elections. Some 200 individuals were killed, and some 400,000 individuals were displaced as a result of political violence between July 1972 and August 1984.
Post-Crisis Phase (August 4, 1984-present): Legislative elections were held on November 25, 1984, and the PC won 41 out of 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Julio Maria Sanguinetti Cairolo of the PC was elected president on November 25, 1984. The U.S.-based non-governmental organizations, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the International Human Rights Law Group (IHRLG), sent short-term observers to jointly monitor the legislative and presidential elections. Julio Maria Sanguinetti Cairolo was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1985. Legislative elections were held on November 26, 1989. Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera of the PN was elected president with 37 percent of the vote on November 26, 1989, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 1990. Julio Sanguinetti Cairolo of the PC was elected president with 31 percent of the vote on November 27, 1994. Jorge Battle of the PC was elected president with 52 percent of the vote on November 23, 1999. Tabare Vazquez of the Broad Front/Progressive Encounter/New Majority (Frente Amplio/Encuentro Progresista/Nueva Mayoria – FA/EP/NM) was elected president with 52 percent of the vote on October 31, 2004, and he was inaugurated as president on March 1, 2005. Legislative elections were held on October 31, 2004, and the FA/EP/NM won 52 out of 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The PN won 36 seats, and the PC won 10 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
[Sources: Banks and Muller, 1998, 995-1000; Bannon and Dunne, 1947, 560-580; British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), October 30, 2004, October 31, 2004, November 1, 2004; Clodfelter, 1992, 696, 1185; Degenhardt, 1988, 408; Dupoy and Dupoy, 1977, 1344; Facts on File, November 24-30, 1950, February 13-19, 1969, July 3-9, 1969, December 2-8, 1971, January 29-February 5, 1972, March 5-11, 1972, March 12-18, 1972, April 16-22, 1972, July 16-22, 1972, February 11-17, 1973, July 1-7, 1973, June 19, 1976, July 24, 1976, September 11, 1976; Jessup, 1998, 778-780; Keesing’s Record of World Events, January 29-February 5, 1972, March 18-25, 1972, August 5-12, 1972, July 16-22, 1973, August 27, 1976, October 29, 1976, February 25, 1977, March 6, 1981, December 4, 1981, January 1984, November 1989, November 1999; Langer, 1972, 1062, 1255; Munro, 1961, 197-211; New York Times (NYT), March 1, 2005; Radu and Tismaneanu, 1990, 347-355; Robertson, 1943, 238-250; Weinstein, 1988.]