URUGUAY. Eastern Republic of Uruguay
A country in the southeastern part of South America, bordered to the south by the Atlantic Ocean. Area - 176.2 thousand km².
Capital - Montevideo (1.6 million). Administrative-territorial division - 19 departments. Population - over 3.2 million (2005); Uruguayans (mainly descendants of European - Spanish and Italian - immigrants), Spaniards, as well as Italians and Portuguese. Official language - Spanish. Religion - Catholicism. Currency - Uruguayan peso = 100 centesimos.
Has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with the Russian Empire on December 10, 1857).
Diplomatic relations, which were suspended in 1917, were re-established with the USSR in 1926. They were interrupted by the Uruguayan side in 1935 and then restored in 1943.
National holiday - August 25 - Independence Day (1825).
Uruguay is a presidential republic. The constitution came into effect on March 1, 1967. The head of state and government is the president (since March 1, 2005 - T. Vázquez), elected by universal direct suffrage for a term of 5 years. The highest legislative body is the General Assembly, consisting of the Senate (30 senators) and the Chamber of Representatives (99 deputies), elected for 5 years. The last elections were held on October 30, 2004.
In October 2004, presidential and parliamentary elections were held simultaneously in Uruguay. The coalition of leftist forces "Progressive Encounter - Broad Front" ("PE - BF") won, and its chairman T. Vázquez officially took office as president of the country on March 1, 2005.
Political parties: Broad Front - a coalition that was organizationally formed in February 1971, which included leftist and centrist groups. Based on the Broad Front, the movement "Progressive Encounter - Broad Front - New Space" was created, gaining strength in the 1990s and winning the general elections in 2004. The National Party "Blanco" - founded in the 1830s, unites large landowners, trade-financial and industrial bourgeoisie linked to foreign capital (divided into factions). Leader - J. Larrañaga. The "Colorado" party (or Batllist party - named after the founder of the most important faction J. Batlle y Ordóñez) - created in 1836, relies on civil servants, small bourgeoisie, and military (divided into factions). Leader - J. M. Sanguinetti.
The largest trade union association - the Inter-Union Plenary of Workers - National Convention of Workers (MPT - NCT) - was officially formed in 1966.
The first Spaniards penetrated the territory of Uruguay (in the colonial period - the province of Eastern Shore) in 1515, but they only firmly established their power over its territory in 1750, defeating the Portuguese. In 1776, the territory of modern Uruguay was included in the Spanish governorship of La Plata as the province of Eastern Shore. The war for independence, led by J. J. Artigas in 1811, ended colonial rule. In 1825, the independence of the Republic of Uruguay was proclaimed, and in 1830 the first constitution of the independent Eastern Republic of Uruguay was adopted. In the early 20th century, English and American capital began to penetrate the country.
In 1973, President J. M. Bordaberry, with the support of the reactionary wing of the armed forces command, staged a coup, dissolved parliament, and canceled most provisions of the constitution. However, resistance from the opposition and the broad masses of workers forced the government to announce general elections in November 1984. The president of the country was elected from the "Colorado" party candidate J. M. Sanguinetti.
Uruguay is a member of the UN (since 1945), OAS (since 1948), and LAOS (since 1975).
The government is implementing a moderate course aimed at tax reform, attracting foreign capital, creating jobs, and developing key sectors of the economy. Great attention is paid to social programs, including support from regional credit and financial institutions.
In bilateral relations, Uruguay traditionally focuses on developing cooperation with Latin American countries, primarily with Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, with which it participates in processes of economic integration and the formation of the Common Market of Southern Cone countries (MERCOSUR). Special attention is given to participation in the Rio Group, which is seen as an important mechanism for political and economic interaction in the region.
Uruguay is one of the relatively developed countries in Latin America. The country's poverty in mineral resources (only in the 1980s were deposits of iron ore discovered in the north of the country) and the presence of vast pasture lands contributed to the livestock specialization of its economy. GDP in 2005 amounted to over 13 billion dollars, or about 4 thousand dollars per capita (one of the highest indicators in Latin America).
The share of agriculture, forestry, and fishing accounted for 6% of GDP, industry, electricity, gas, and water supply - 28%, construction - 3%, transport, warehousing, and communications - over 6%, trade and services - 57%.
The economic policy of the government is aimed at increasing the profitability of the national economy, strengthening export-oriented sectors, and stabilizing the financial system. The state controls the production of electricity, petroleum products, cement, meat products, rail, air, and urban transport; it owns the country's subsoil resources. Foreign monopolies hold leading positions in metallurgy, electrical engineering, chemicals, food processing, and textiles; they own 30% of agricultural land and control half of the operating banks in the country.
Industry is mainly represented by enterprises processing agricultural raw materials. The main sectors are food processing, oil refining, chemicals, and textiles. The installed capacity of power plants is about 1500 MW. 96% of electricity is generated at hydroelectric power stations, the capacities of which more than doubled after the completion of the construction of the Uruguay-Argentina Salto Grande Hydroelectric Power Station (1800 MW) and the Uruguay-Brazil Palmar Hydroelectric Power Station (300 MW). About 50% of electricity is exported.
Agriculture practically fully provides the country with basic food products and is the main source of export income. Agricultural land accounts for 98% of Uruguay's territory, of which pastures make up 78.5%, and arable land - 8.4%. There is a high concentration of land ownership. The main branch of the economy is pasture livestock farming, predominantly extensive, focused on meat and wool production. The cattle population is 12 million, and sheep - 2 million. Uruguay is one of the largest producers and exporters of wool, meat, and leather in the world.
The main grain crops are wheat, corn, and rice, and fruits and citrus are also grown.
About 90% of freight transportation is carried out by road. The length of highways is over 50 thousand km, of which over 10 thousand km are paved. The railway network has a fan configuration with a center in Montevideo, with a length of 3 thousand km. The total length of navigable rivers is 1250 km. The main foreign trade port of the country is Montevideo.
Foreign trade turnover in 2004 amounted to 6 billion dollars, including exports - 2.9 billion dollars (meat, leather, rice, textiles, wool, etc.), imports - 3.1 billion dollars (machinery and equipment, oil, etc.). The main trading partners of Uruguay are MERCOSUR member countries (50% of trade turnover), the EU, the USA, China, and Japan.
The currency and financial situation remains complicated. The external debt is equivalent to the volume of the country's GDP. Inflation in 2004 was 7% (in 2003 - 10%), and unemployment was 12.28% of the working-age population.
There are 14 universities in Uruguay, and 37 daily newspapers are published, including "El País" (130 thousand copies), "La República" (60 thousand), "Últimas Noticias" (30 thousand), "El Observador" (20 thousand), and 5 magazines. Broadcasting and television are controlled by the state service - the National Communications Administration.