Uruguay—Getting Rid of Critics

Until the 1960s, Uruguay enjoyed a unique reputation in Latin America. In a continent renowned for its political instability, extremes of wealth and poverty and endemic violence, Uruguay was for many years an island of parliamentary democracy, with respect for civil liberties and human rights, advanced social welfare legislation and a high per capita income. In this atmosphere, intellectual and cultural life flourished, Uruguay was a haven for persecuted intellectuals from the rest of the continent, educational standards were high and the country boasted the lowest illiteracy rates in the continent. The weekly Marcha was widely regarded as the best of its kind in Latin America. This picture began to change in the sixties. Economic stagnation, a rising rate of inflation and rapidly declining living standards led to intensified social conflict and political tensions. Uruguay's traditional liberal values were gradually undermined as the state became increasingly more authoritarian. Under the government of Pacheco Areco (1968–71), press censorship was introduced, emergency powers came into almost continuous use, and cases of police brutality against students and striking workers became more and more frequent. The emergence of an urban guerrilla organisation, the Tupamaros, in the late 1960s increased this climate of repression. The civil/military coup of 1973 was thus a culmination of a long process. That year saw the closing of parliament, the banning of political parties and trade unions and military intervention in the university. The persecution of the opposition, whether liberal, democratic, conservative or socialist, has since involved the imprisonment, torture and forced exile of vast numbers of intellectuals, a process which has been described as ‘cultural genocide’. The following article briefly outlines what has taken place since the coup. It is accompanied by some short stories, written by Eduardo Galeano, who now lives in exile in Spain.