Uruguay

Uruguay, officially the Eastern Republic of Uruguay or the Republic East of the Uruguay (River) (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay; pron. IPA: [re'publika orjen'tal del uru'¥wai]), is a nation located in the southeastern part of South America. Home to 3 million people, 1.7 million of which live in Montevideo. It is bordered by Brazil to the northeast, the Uruguay River to the west, the estuary of the Río de la Plata (literally "River of the Silver", but commonly known in English as "River Plate") to the southwest, with Argentina on the other bank of both, and finally the South Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is the second smallest independent country in South America, larger only than Suriname and French Guiana, which is an overseas department of France. According to Transparency International, it is the second least corrupt country in Latin America (after Chile). Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.

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History of Uruguay

The inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were various tribes of hunter gatherer native Americans, the most well known being the Charrua Indians, a small tribe driven south by the Guaraní Indians of Paraguay. The name "Uruguay" comes from Guaraní. It has many possible meanings since Guaraní is a highly agglutinative language. Two of them are "river of the urus" (uru is a kind of bird) and "river of colorful or 'painted' chinchillas."

The Spanish arrived in the territory of present-day Uruguay in 1516, but the absence of gold and silver limited settlement in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries. Uruguay became a zone of contention between the Spanish and the Portuguese empires. In 1603 the Spanish began to introduce cattle, which became a source of wealth in the region. The first permanent settlement on the territory of present-day Uruguay was founded by the Spanish in 1624 at Soriano on the Río Negro. In 1669-71, the Portuguese built a fort at Colonia del Sacramento. Spanish colonization increased as Spain sought to limit Portugal's expansion of Brazil's frontiers.

The capital Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold; its natural harbor soon developed into a commercial center competing with Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires. Uruguay's early 19th century history was shaped by ongoing fights between the British, Spanish, Portuguese, and colonial forces for dominance in the Argentina-Brazil-Uruguay region. In 1806 and 1807, the British army attempted to seize Buenos Aires as part of their war with Spain. As a result, at the beginning of 1807, Montevideo was occupied by a 10,000-strong British force who held it until the middle of the year when they left to attack Buenos Aires.

Politics of Uruguay

Uruguay's politics takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Uruguay is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the General Assembly of Uruguay. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. For most of Uruguay's history, the Partido Colorado and Partido Nacional have alternated in power. The elections of 2004, however, brought the Frente Amplio, a coalition of socialists, former Tupamaros, former communists and mainly social democrats among others to power with majorities in both houses of parliament and the election of President Tabaré Vázquez by an absolute majority.

The Reporters Without Borders worldwide press freedom index has ranked Uruguay as:

  • 57th of 168 reported countries in 2006

According to Freedom House, an American organization that tracks global trends in political freedom, Uruguay ranked twenty-seventh in its "Freedom In The World" index. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Uruguay scores a 7.96, located in the last position among the 28 countries considered to be Full Democracies in the world. The report looks at 60 indicators across five categories: Free elections, civil liberties, functioning government, political participation and political culture.

  • Uruguay ranks 26th in the World CPI (Corruption Perception Index) composed by Transparency International.

Direct Democracy

The Uruguayan constitution allow citizens to challenge laws approved by the parliament by the use of a Referendum, or propose changes to the Constitution by the use of a Plebiscite. During the last 15 years the method has been used several times; to confirm an amnesty to members of the military who violated human rights during the military regime (1973-1985), stop privatization of public utilities companies (See Economy: Public Sector), defend pensioners income and protect water resources.

Geography of Uruguay

At 176,214 square kilometres of Continental Land and 142,199 square kilometres of jurisdictional waters and small river islands, Uruguay is the second smallest sovereign nation in South America (after Suriname) and the third smallest territory (French Guiana is the smallest). The landscape features mostly rolling plains and low hill ranges (cuchillas) with a fertile coastal lowland. A dense fluvial network covers the country, consisting of four river basins or deltas; the River Plate, the Uruguay River, Merin Lake and the Black River. The major internal river is the Black River or Río Negro. Several lagoons are found along the Atlantic coast. The highest point in the country is the Cerro Catedral at 513.66 meters (1,685 ft 3 in) in the 'Carape' mountain range. To the southwest is the Río de la Plata (River Plate), the estuary of the Uruguay River, which forms the western border, and the Paraná River, that does not run through Uruguay itself.

Borders
Federative Republic of Brazil: Chuy Stream, 13 km, straight line (Chuy), 8.7 km. San Miguel Stream 13 km. Merim Lake, 280.1 km Yaguaron River, 142.4 km. Small Yaguaron River, 18.5 km. Mine's Stream 20.4 km, Acegua straight line 37.2 km. San Luis Stream 31.3 km. North Branch of the San Luis Stream 3.6 km. Straight line 8 km. 'Cañada' of the Cemetery, 4 km. Straight lines 0.6 km, Santa Ana hill range SE, 168.5 km. Rivera-Libramento 4.8 km. Santa Ana hill range 20.8 km. Black hill range 4189.3 km. Invernada Stream, 37.8 km. Cuareim River 313.4 km.
Climate in Uruguay

The climate in Uruguay is temperate: warm summers and cold winters. The predominantly gently undulating landscape is also somewhat vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts. It receives the periodic influence of the polar air. Without mountains in the zone that act as a barrier, the air masses freely move by the territory, causing fast variations of the climate. The coolest month is June, while the warmest is January. The rainfall is equally distributed throughout the year, but tends to be a bit more frequent in the autumn months. There can be frequent thunderstorms in the summer.

Enclaves and exclaves

Since 1984 Uruguay has an Antarctic base on King George Island in Antarctica, part of the South Shetland Islands archipelago, at 62°11?04?S, 58°54?09?W, some 100 km from the Antarctic peninsula itself.

economy

Uruguay has a middle income economy, mainly dominated by the State services sector, an export-oriented agricultural sector and an industrial sector. Uruguay relies heavily on trade, particularly in agricultural exports, leaving the country particularly vulnerable to slumps in commodity prices and global economic slowdowns. After averaging growth of 5% annually in 1996-1998, in 1999-2001 the economy suffered from lower demand in Argentina and Brazil, which together account for nearly half of Uruguay's exports. Despite the severity of the trade shocks, Uruguay's financial indicators remained stabler than those of its neighbours, a reflection of its solid reputation among investors and its investment-grade sovereign bond rating — one of only two in South America. In recent years Uruguay has shifted most of its energy into developing the commercial use of IT technologies and has become an important exporter of software in Latin America.

While some parts of the economy appeared to be resilient, the downturn had severe impact on the local population. Unemployment levels rose to more than 20%, real wages fell, the peso devalued, . These worsening economic conditions played a part in turning public opinion against the mildly free market economic policies adopted by the previous administrations in the 1990s, leading to the popular rejection of proposals for privatization of the state petroleum company in 2003 and of the state water company in 2004. The newly elected Frente Amplio government, while pledging to continue payments on Uruguay's external debt, has also promised to undertake a Emergency Plan (See section:Social Problems Poverty and inequality) to attack the widespread problems of poverty and unemployment.

Agriculture of Uruguay

Agriculture played such an important part in Uruguayan history and national identity until the middle of the twentieth century that the entire country was then sometimes likened to a single huge estancia (agricultural estate) centred around Montevideo, where the wealth generated in the hinterland was spent, as its casco or administrative head. As another saying went, "Uruguay es la vaca y el puerto" ("Uruguay is the cow and the port).

Today, agriculture contributes roughly 10% to the country’s GDP and is still the main foreign exchange earner, putting Uruguay in line with other agricultural exporters like Brazil, Canada and New Zealand. Uruguay is a member of the Cairns Group of exporters of agricultural products. Uruguay’s agriculture has relatively low inputs of labour, technology and capital in comparison with other such countries, which results in comparatively lower yields per hectare but also opens the door for Uruguay to market its products as "natural" or "ecological."

Campaigns like “Uruguayan grass-fed beef” and “Uruguay Natural” aim to establish Uruguay as a premium brand in beef, wine and other food products.

Recently, an industry has developed around estancia tourism which capitalizes on the traditional or folkloristic connotations associated with gaucho culture and the remaining resources of Uruguay's historic estancias.

Demographics of Uruguay

Uruguay is primarily populated by people of European origin. According to a study done in 1997, 94% of its population is of white European descent, Spaniards, followed closely by Italians, including numbers of British, Germans, French, Swiss, Russians, Portuguese, Poles, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Latvians, Dutch, Belgians, Croatians, Greeks, Scandinavians, Irish, and Armenians.

Uruguay is the only country in the Americas where Amerindians are now absent. The remaining 6% of the inhabitants are of either African or Asian descent.

Some colonies such as Colonia Valdense, Colonia Suiza - also known as Nueva Helvecia (a Swiss colony) and Colonia Española were founded in the department of Colonia. Also, there are towns founded by early British settlers, like Conchillas and Barker. A Russian colony called San Javier, is found in the department of Rio Negro. Also there are mennonite colonies in the department of Rio Negro and in the department of Canelones. One of them, called El Ombu, is famous for its well know Dulce de Leche "Claldy", and is located near the city of Young.

Uruguay has a literacy rate of 96.79% (1996 est),it has a large urban middle class. During the 1970s and 1980s, an estimated 600,000 Uruguayans emigrated, principally to Spain, Italy, Argentina and Brazil. Other Uruguayans went to various countries in Europe, to the USA and Australia.

The birth rate is lower than neighboring countries Argentina (16.73 births/1000 population)

Religion in Uruguay

Church and state are officially separated. Most Uruguayans adhere to the Roman Catholic faith (62%), with smaller Protestant (4%) and Jewish (3%), as well as a large nonprofessing group (31%).

Although the majority of Uruguayans do not actively practice a religion, they are nominally church members in the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish communities. Political observers consider Uruguay the most secular country in the western and southern hemispheres.

Social Problems

Poverty and inequality

According to data published by the United Nations, the Gini index for Uruguay equals to 44.8 in 2003, where 100 stands for maximum inequality and 0 for even distribution of the wealth between the population.

A recent Report compiled and published by the INE, National Statistic Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica) of Uruguay, used 2 indicators to estimate the number of people living in poverty in the country.

  • Indigence line: income of the family is not enough for the basic alimentation.
  • Poverty line: income of the family is not enough for alimentation, clothing, health and transport.

The numbers obtained depends according with the methodology used, the inform uses 3 different methods. According to the one proposed by the Regional Workshop about poverty measurement in 1996, which produces the highest values of all, the results for the first quarter of 2006 are:

Population below Indigence line: 3.01%

Population below Poverty line: 18%

The reports shows the indicators are improving as the country is recovering from the last 2002 crisis, in 2004 poverty indicators reached an all time high.

A new ministry of Social Development was created by the Broad Front Party (Frente Amplio) government leaded by Tabare Vazquez, and an Emergency Plan which targets the less favoured 200.000 Uruguayans.

Gender and Race inequality

The average income of women in 2002 in Uruguay was 71.9% of the income of men for the same activity.

The average income of African heritage workers is 65% of that of those of European heritage.

Settlement and precarious housing

Although rents in neighbourhoods not in high demand are not very expensive in Uruguay, it is usually required to have another property as a warranty for the contract, or leave a deposit which many can not afford. This first condition makes renting a property especially difficult for the least favoured sectors of the population. According to the INE 23, 3% of the population lives in a place neither owned nor rented. Some of them are proper built houses, but others are precarious constructions built illegally in public or private empty land just outside the cities. Thus, whole new poor neighborhoods have emerged in the last decades. They are called Asentamientos or more colloquially Cantegriles in ironic allusion to the fashionable Neighborhood of Cantegril in [[Punta Del Este]]. The phenomena is similar to the favelas in Brazil, Villa Miseria in Argentina, or Barrios in Venezuela. Because Montevideo lacks the elevations of Rio or Caracas, the geographical segregation is horizontal, leaving the settlements not in the top of the mountains, visible from anywhere, but on the city border, and then it is possible to transit large parts of the city without noting them. Nevertheless, even in the better off areas of the cities, poor children and horse propelled chariots of people which make a living recycling garbage reminds Uruguayans of the inequalities in their society.

60% of the population in the settlements are living below the poverty line. They are the 14% of the Uruguayan population under the poverty line. The problem of the settlements is not only the bad quality of the construction and lack of access to services, but the geographic and social exclusion that they create. Avoiding the possibility to interact with people from different social and economic backgrounds.

The Uruguayan government, through the Ministerio de Vivienda (Ministry of Housing), the local governments and many NGO have several programs to provide decent housing and address the problem.

Crime & Public Safety

In 2005 there were 188 homicides in Uruguay, 9,486 assaults and 1,167 sexual crimes.

Health and Sanitation

The government of Uruguay has done much to improve its health conditions. Under the national constitution, the State is responsible for all medical functions in Uruguay, and provides free medical care for those who qualify for it, particularly for the aged and those who cannot afford medical costs. This is done by the 'Ministerio de Salud Publica', Ministry of Health, who owns and operate a network of hospitals and clinics all over the country. The biggest one, called Hospital de Clínicas depends of the Medicine Faculty of the University of the Republic (Uruguay). As a result, over time it changed from having one of the highest mortality rates in Latin America to one of the lowest. For example, in 1995, infant mortality was 19.6 per 1,000 in 1995, 17.5 per 1,000 in 1996 to 11.61 per 1,000 in 2006, showing a steady and continuous drop in the future.

The government also continues to expand various forms of medical practice to offer the population diverse options of medical treatment in the nation's 65 medical facilities, as well as various forms of state-sponsored insurance plans, on which much of the population depends.

The Ministry of Health in Uruguay has gone to great lengths to provide the nation's 3.4 million people with healthy drinking water. The 1985 census revealed that 15.9% of the population either had no access to drinking water or lived in unsanitary conditions. Estimates now are that only 1.2% of the population has difficulty accessing clean drinking. The State owns the water utility company OSE.

Educational establishments

Science

Mathematics

Some Uruguayan mathematicians and their contributions are mentioned below:

José Luis Massera (1915-2002), Massera Theorem, Invertibility of second Liapunov Theorem.

Jorge Lewowicz, Instituto de Matematica y Estadistica Rafael Laguardia (IMERL), José M. Muñoz 1085, ap. 4, Montevideo - MO 11300, Uruguay. Jorge Lewowicz is a renowned mathematician who has made fundamental contributions to the field of the interaction between the topology of the space and the motion. His major research accomplishment concerns the classification of discrete expansive systems on surfaces, and the systematic use of Lyapunov functions (and quadratic forms) to study expansivity and other dynamical properties. Lewowicz was and continues to be the mentor of the Dynamical Systems group at Montevideo, contributing greatly to the education and training of outstanding young researchers.

Biology
  • Pasteur Institute (Montevideo) (Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo)
  • Clemente Estable

Culture of Uruguay

There is a Secretary for Education and Culture named Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. The high ratio of literacy, and numerous public and private Radio and TV Broadcasting stations helps to promote communications and culture. The SODRE (Acronym for "Official Service for broadcasting Radio, TV, and Performing Arts") is a noted governmental institution generating cultural activities for the whole country. Created on year 1929, it manages a Symphonic Orchestra, a Chamber Music and Ballet ensembles, and a Choir, among others. Each main city authorities are promoting many other cultural activities as well. By way of example, Montevideo's City Hall (Intendencia Municipal) manages a Philarmonic Orchestra, a Symphonic Band, a Music school, several theaters, among other activities, and promotes many artists to perform all over the city.

Music and Arts in Uraguay

Tango

Carlos Gardel, Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, Julio Sosa, Romeo Gavioli, Manolo Guardia, Lágrima Ríos, Francis Andreu, Malena Mullaga, José Galbarini, Patricia Barone, Gustavo Nocetti, Ledo Urrutia, Luis Di Matteo, Julio Brum, Elsa Moran, Horacio Ferreri, Eduardo Gilardoni.

Electronic Tango

Bajofondo Tango Club: Juan Campodónico, Luciano Supervielle.

Milonga/Canto Popular

Alfredo Zitarrosa, Daniel Viglietti, Los Olimareños, Eduardo Mateo, José Carbajal, Washington Luna, Eustaquio Sosa, Tabaré Etcheberry.

Other genres

Jaime Roos, Jorge Drexler, Abel Carlevaro, Eduardo Young, Federico Bruera, Esteban Klisich, Fernando Cabrera, Laura Canoura, Ruben Rada, Eduardo Darnauchans, Eduardo Larbanois, Mario Carrero, Santiago Chalar, Erika Busch, Jorge Schellemberg, Hugo Fattorusso, Osvaldo Fattorusso, Roberto Capobianco, Gaston Ciarlo (Dino), Victor Lima, Mariana Ingold, Roberto Darwin, Jorge Galemire, Jorge Lazaroff, Ignacio Copani, Jorginho Gularte, Leo Masliah, Martin Buscaglia, Jorge Nasser, Roy Berocay, Antonio Virabent, Emil Montgomery.

Uruguayan writers

Delmira Agustini, poet · Mario Benedetti, poet and novelist · Eduardo Galeano, writer and social commentator renowned throughout Latin America · Felisberto Hernandez, short-story writer and essayist · Juana de Ibarbourou, poet · Jacobo Langsner, playwright · Mario Levrero, short-story writer · Jorge Majfud, essayist and novelist · Horacio Quiroga, short-story writer · Juan Carlos Onetti, novelist · José Enrique Rodó, essayist and philosopher · Florencio Sánchez, playwright · María Eugenia Vaz Ferreira, poet · Idea Vilariño, poet Julio Herrera y Reissig, poet. Serafin J Garcia, writer. Washington Benavidez, poet. Andrés Caro Berta, playwright, novelist, essayist, poet. Julio Muniz, poet. Horacio Ferrer, poet and composer. Francisco Espinola, writer. Juan Jose Morosoli, writer. Montevideo has been the birthplace of three noted French poets: Isidore Lucien Ducasse, Jules Laforgue and Jules Supervielle.

Cuisine of Uruguay

Uruguayan Food is traditionally based on its European roots. Mediterranean foods, especially from Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Many foods from those countries such as pasta, sausages, and desserts are common in the nation's diet. The Uruguayan barbecue, asado, is one of the most exquisite and famous in the world. A sweet paste, Dulce de Leche is the national obsession, used to fill cookies, cakes, pancakes, milhojas, and alfajores. The alfajores are shortbread cookies sandwiched together with Dulce de Leche or a fruit paste. Dulce de Leche is used also in flan con Dulce de Leche. The national drink is the Grappamiel. Grappamiel is an alcoholic drink which is very popular in rural areas. It is made with alcohol and honey. It is often consumed in the cold mornings of autumn and winter to warm up the body.

One traditional drink is an infusion called mate. The dried leaves and twigs of the yerba mate plant (Ilex paraguariensis) are placed in a small cup. The drink is sipped through a metal or cane straw called bombilla. Hot water is poured into the gourd at near-boiling point so as to not burn the herb and spoil the flavour.

Sports in Uruguay

Uruguay has an enormous tradition in sports with important achievements in football (The most popular sport in Uruguay, by far, is association football (fútbol), in which the country, represented by the famous Uruguayan national football team of the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol has earned many honours, including two Gold medals in the Olympic Games: 1924, 1928 and two World Cups. The two main football clubs (Nacional and Peñarol) are both three times World Champions.

Basketball

Basketball is also an important sport in Uruguay. The national basketball team, representing the Uruguayan Basketball Federation, won 12 South American championships, 2 Olympic bronze medals (one in 1952 and the other in 1956), and has participated in many panamerican and world championships. Currently, there is one Uruguayan, Esteban Batista, playing in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks.

Rugby

Rugby union (see Rugby union in Uruguay) is also a popular sport in Uruguay, with the national team, called "Los Teros" having qualified for both the 1999 Rugby World Cup and the subsequent 2003 world cup. The team is currently the second highest ranked in South America.

Wikipedia Article "Uruguay"



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