Uruguay
Uruguay República Oriental del Uruguay | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Libertad o muerte (Spanish) "Freedom or death" | |
| Anthem: Himno Nacional Uruguayo | |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Montevideo |
| Official languages | Spanish |
| Demonym(s) | Uruguayan, Oriental |
| Government | Republic (presidential system) |
| Tabaré Vázquez Rosas | |
| Rodolfo Nin | |
| Independence from Brazil | |
• Oriental Revolution | 25 August 1825 |
• Declared | 28 August 1828 |
| Area | |
• Total | 176.215 km2 (68.037 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 1.5% |
| Population | |
• 2002 census | 3,399,237 |
• Density | 19/km2 (49.2/sq mi) (19) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2006 estimate |
• Per capita | US$ 6,007 (2006) (508) |
| Gini (2003) | 4.99 low |
| HDI (2004) |  0.863Error: Invalid HDI value (36th) |
| Currency | Uruguayan peso ($, UYU ) (UYU) |
| Time zone | ART |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (-2) |
| Calling code | 598 |
| ISO 3166 code | UY |
| Internet TLD | .uy |
Uruguay (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay; pron. IPA: [re'puβlika oɾjen'tal del uɾu'ɰwaj]) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.3 million people, of which 1.7 million live in Montevideo and its metropolitan area.
It is bordered by Brazil to the north, by Argentina across the bank of both the Uruguay River to the west and the estuary of Río de la Plata to the southwest, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is the second smallest independent country in South America, larger only than Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana . According to Transparency International, Uruguay is the second least corrupt country in Latin America (after Chile)[1], with its political and labor conditions being among the freest on the continent.
The name "Uruguay" comes from Guaraní. It has many possible meanings. Some of the proposed meanings are:
- "River of the uru" or "River of the country of the uru": a version attributed to Felix de Azara, which suggests that the name of the country comes from a small bird, called the urú, native to the banks of the Uruguay river (from uru, idem, gua, "place of", and y, "water")[2]
- "River of colorful or 'painted' chinchillas (birds)": poetic interpretation attributed to Juan Zorrilla de San Martín.
- "Rivers that have dead people of snails": an interpretation attributed to a collaborator of Félix de Azara (from arugua, "snail", and y, "water")[2]
- "River of those who bring food": an anonymous version which has been popularized since the discovery of an old document written by Jesuit Lucas Marton.
History
The inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were various tribes of hunter gatherer native Americans, the most well known being the Charrúa Indians, a small tribe driven south by the Guaraní Indians of Paraguay.
Europeans arrived in the territory of present-day Uruguay in the year of 1536, 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 Villa Soriano on the south-western coast of the Río Negro. In 1669-71, the Portuguese built a fort at Colónia do Sacramento. Spanish colonization increased as Spain sought to limit Portugal's expansion of Brazil's frontiers.
As a province of the Viceroyalty of La Plata, it was known as the Banda Oriental, or Eastern Strip, referring to its location east of the Rio Uruguay. The inhabitants called themselves "Easterners" or "Orientales", a term they still commonly use to refer to themselves.
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 conflicts 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.
The Uruguayans road to independence was much longer than those of other countries in the Americas. They began with the intent of dislodging the Spanish but later had to contend with its neighbors Argentina and Brazil who coveted the territory. It was not until 1828 when Britain, in search of new commercial markets, brokered a peace between the three factions and the new nation was created.
Politics
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 Blanco have alternated in power. The Partido Blanco has its roots in the countryside and the original settlers of Spanish origin and the cattle ranchers. The Partido Colorado has its roots in the port city of Montevideo, the new immigrants of Italian origin and the backing of foreign interests. The Partido Colorado built a welfare state financed by taxing the cattle revenue and giving state pickles and free services to the new urban immigrants which became dependent of the state. 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 Frente Amplio has displaced the Partido Colorado from its traditional urban welfare state constituency and is enjoying a boom in export commodity prices.
The Reporters Without Borders worldwide press freedom index has ranked Uruguay as:
- 57th of 168 reported countries in 2006[3]
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 on the Democracy Index, 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.[4]
Uruguay ranks 28th in the World CPI (Corruption Perception Index) composed by Transparency International.[5]
Direct democracy
The Uruguayan constitution allows citizens to challenge laws approved by Parliament by use of a Referendum, or to 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), to stop privatization of public utilities companies (See Economy: Public Sector), to defend pensioners' incomes, and to protect water resources. (See picture on the right).
Administrative divisions
Uruguay consists of nineteen departments ([departamentos] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), singular ["departamento"] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)). The first departments were formed in 1816 and the newest date from 1885 which is Flores. The departments are governed by an intendente municipal who is elected for five years. The members of the Departmental Assembly ([Junta Departamental] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) form the legislative level of the department.
| Department | Area (km²) | Population* | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artigas | 11,928 | 78,019 | Artigas |
| Canelones | 4,536 | 485,028 | Canelones |
| Cerro Largo | 13,648 | 86,564 | Melo |
| Colonia | 6,106 | 119,266 | Colonia del Sacramento |
| Durazno | 11,643 | 58,859 | Durazno |
| Flores | 5,144 | 25,104 | Trinidad |
| Florida | 10,417 | 68,181 | Florida |
| Lavalleja | 10,016 | 60,925 | Minas |
| Maldonado | 4,793 | 140,192 | Maldonado |
| Montevideo | 530 | 1,326,064 | Montevideo |
| Paysandú | 13,922 | 113,244 | Paysandú |
| Río Negro | 9,282 | 53,989 | Fray Bentos |
| Rivera | 9,370 | 104,921 | Rivera |
| Rocha | 10,551 | 69,937 | Rocha |
| Salto | 14,163 | 123,120 | Salto |
| San José | 4,992 | 103,104 | San José de Mayo |
| Soriano | 9,008 | 84,563 | Mercedes |
| Tacuarembó | 15,438 | 90,489 | Tacuarembó |
| Treinta y Tres | 9,676 | 49,318 | Treinta y Tres |
| * 2004 | |||
Geography
At 176,214 square kilometers (68,036 square miles) of continental land and 142,199 km² (54,903 sq mi) of jurisdictional waters and small river islands,[6] 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 Río de la Plata, the Uruguay River, the Laguna Merín and the Río Negro. The major internal river is the Río Negro ('black river'). 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 'Sierra de Carapé' mountain range. To the southwest is the Río de la Plata, the estuary of the Uruguay River, which forms the western border, and the Paraná River, that does not run through Uruguay itself.
Borders
Uruguay shares borders with two countries, with Argentina:
- Uruguay River to the west and Río de la Plata in the south.
and with Brazil:
- Chuy Stream 13 km (8.1 mi), straight line (Chuy) 8.7 km (5.4 mi), San Miguel Stream 13 km (8.1 mi), Merín Lagoon, 280.1 km (174 mi) Yaguarón River, 142.4 km (88.5 mi), Yaguarón 'Chico' River 18.5 km (11.5 mi), 'Arrollo de la Mina' Stream 20.4 km (12.7 mi), Aceguá straight line 37.2 km (23.1 mi), San Luis Stream 31.3 km (19.4 mi), North Branch of the San Luis Stream 3.6 km (2.2 mi), Straight line 8 km (5 mi), 'Cañada del Cementerio' 4 km (2.5 mi), Straight lines 0.6 km (0.4 mi), 'Cuchilla de Santa Ana' SE 168.5 km (104.7 mi), Rivera-Livramento 4.8 km (3 mi), 'Cuchilla de Santa Ana' 20.8 km (12.9 mi), 'Cuchilla Negra' 4189.3 km (2603.1 mi), 'Arrollo de la Invernada' Stream 37.8 km (23.5 mi), Cuareim River 313.4 km (194.7 mi)[7]
Climate
The climate in Uruguay is temperate: it has 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 in winter, and tropical air from Brazil in summer. Without mountains in 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. Although snow is not very common, it snowed in 1913, 1918, 1963, 1989, 1992, and 2007.
Enclaves and exclaves
Since 1984 Uruguay has the Antarctic base "General Artigas" on King George Island in Antarctica, part of the South Shetland Islands archipelago, at 62°11′04″S 58°54′09″W / 62.18444°S 58.90250°W, some 100 km (62 mi) from the Antarctic peninsula itself.
Economy
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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.[8] In recent years Uruguay has shifted some of its energy into developing the commercial use of IT technologies and has become the first exporter of software in Latin America.[9]
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,[10] has also promised to undertake a Emergency Plan (See section:Social Problems Poverty and inequality) to attack the widespread problems of poverty and unemployment.[11]
Agriculture
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, at its casco or administrative head. As another saying went, "Uruguay es la vaca y el puerto" ("Uruguay is the cow and the port").[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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
Approximately 88% of its population are of prevalently white European descent: Spaniards, followed closely by Italians, then British, Germans, French, Swiss, Russians, Portuguese, Poles, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Latvians, Dutch, Belgians, Croatians, Greeks, Scandinavians, Irish, and Armenians .8% are Mestizo, and the remaining are from Afro-Latin American ancestry. [3] [12]
Many of the European immigrants arrived in Uruguay in the late 1800s and have heavily influenced the architecture and culture of Montevideo and other major cities. For this reason, Montevideo and life within the city are reminiscent of parts of Europe. For example Barcelona, Thessaloniki or Tel-Aviv are said to be similar to Montevideo in different aspects.[citation needed]
Some Swiss colonies such as Colonia Valdense, Colonia Suiza and Nueva Helvecia were founded in the department of Colonia. There are also towns founded by early British settlers, like Conchillas and Barker. A Russian colony called San Javier is found in the department of Rio Negro. Mennonite colonies can also be found in the department of Rio Negro and in the department of Canelones. One of them, called El Ombu, is famous for its well-known Dulce de Leche "Claldy", and is located near the city of Young.
Uruguay has a large urban middle class, and literacy rate of 96.79% (1996 est),[13]. During the 1970s and 1980s, an estimated 600,000 Uruguayans emigrated, mainly to Spain, Italy, Argentina and Brazil. Other Uruguayans went to various countries in Europe, to the USA and Australia.
The birth rate is 16.73 births/1000 population.[14]
Religion
Church and state are officially separated since approximately 1916. 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.[citation needed]
Social Conditions
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.[15]
A recent Report compiled and published by the INE, National Statistic Institute[16] (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.[17]
A new ministry of Social Development was created by the Broad Front Party (Frente Amplio) government led by Tabare Vazquez, and an Emergency plan which targets the less favoured 200.000 Uruguayans.
Gender and race inequality
The average income of a woman in 2002 in Uruguay was 71.8% of the income of men for the same activity.[18] The average income of African heritage workers is 65% of that of those of European heritage.[19]
Settlement and precarious housing
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Although rents in neighborhoods 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, Villas Miseria in Argentina, Barrios in Venezuela, Arrabales in Spain, Poblaciones Callampa in Chile or Jacales in Mexico.
Sports
The main sport in Uruguay is football (soccer). The Uruguay national football team is one of only five nations to win the FIFA World Cup on two or more occasions. In 1930, Uruguay hosted the first ever World Cup and went on to win the competition, defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final. Uruguay won the 1950 FIFA World Cup as well, famously defeating the favored hosts, Brazil, 2-1 in the final. Uruguay is by far the smallest country, population wise, to win a World Cup. Out of the World Cup winners, the nation with the second smallest population is Argentina (winners of the 1978 and 1986 editions) who currently have just over 40,000,000 people according to the latest estimate; the 2002 census has Uruguay's current population slightly under 3,400,000. The Uruguay national team has also won the Copa América 14 different times, a record it shares with Argentina.
Basketball, rugby, and tennis are other popular sports in Uruguay.
International rankings
- Political and economic rankings
- GDP per capita - 60th highest, at I$11,969
- Human Development Index - 43rd high, at 0.851
- Income Equality - , at 44.9 (Gini Index)
- Literacy Rate - 51st, at 97.7%
- Unemployment rate - 112th, at 14.70%
- Health rankings
- Fertility rate- 139th most fertile, at 1.97 per woman
- Birth rate - 157th most births, at 13.91 per 1000 people
- Infant mortality - 128nd most deaths, at 1 per 1000 live births
- Birth rate - 157th most births, at 13.91 per 1000 people
- Death rate - 84th highest death rate, at 9.16 per 1000 people
- Life Expectancy - 47th highest, at 76.4 years
- Suicide Rate - 48th highest suicide rate, at 16.6 for males and 4.2 for females per 100,000 people
- HIV/AIDS rate - 108th most cases, at 0.30%
- Other rankings
- CO2 emissions - 125th highest emissions, at 1.65 tonnes per capita
- Electricity Consumption - 88th highest consumption of electricity, at 7,762,000,000 kWh
- Broadband Internet access - no data
- Global Peace Index - 24th
Footnotes
- ^ Transparency.org.
- ^ a b Etimología del Uruguay
- ^ Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006
- ^ [The Economist, The world in 2007, A Pause in democracy's march Page 93]
- ^ http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2006
- ^ [( Instituto Nacional Estadistica http://www.ine.gub.uy/biblioteca/uruguayencifras2006/Territorio%20y%20medio%20ambiente.pdf )]
- ^ ( Source: Servicio Geografico Militar http://www.ejercito.mil.uy/cal/sgm/principal1024.html )
- ^ About.com: Go South America, based on information from the CIA World Factbook.
- ^ Diego Stewart, Building out: Uruguay exports architectural services to India and Latin America," in Latin Trade, May 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ^ Michael Fox, Uruguay's Frente Amplio: From Revolution to Dilution, June 19, 2007. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1229360.stm (See leaders, President Tabare Vazquez 'On taking office he announced a $100m emergency plan to help the poor '
- ^ http://www.ine.gub.uy/biblioteca/raza/MODULO_RAZA.pdf INE, (in Spanish)
- ^ http://www.ine.gub.uy/socio-demograficos/ensenanza.htm
- ^ [1] and Brazil (16.56 births/1,000 population). [2]
- ^ http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2003/indicator/indic_126_2_2.html
- ^ http://www.ine.gub.uy/biblioteca/pobreza/Informe%20pobreza%20y%20desigualdad.pdf
- ^ http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:HjnG74WtxeQJ:www.undp.org/execbrd/word/DCPURY1.doc+plan+de+emergencia+uruguay+resultados&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=24&gl=uk
- ^ http://www.ine.gub.uy/biblioteca/genero/CAP%204%20-%20TRABAJO%20E%20INGRESOS02.pdf
- ^ http://www.ine.gub.uy/biblioteca/raza/MODULO_RAZA.pdf