Democratic Uruguay
ALEXANDER, ROBERT J.
Democratic Uruguay Uruguay: Portrait of a Democracy. By Russell K. Fitzgibbon. Rutgers. 301 pp. $5.75. Reviewed by Robert J. Alexander The little Republic of Uruguay is an oasis of hopefulness in...
...There are certain small errors of fact, particularly in the discussion of labor...
...Uruguay has also been an experimenter in political organization...
...nationalizing the docks and the electric power system, while establishing powerful Government enterprises in the insurance, intercity-bus, petroleum-refilling and distribution fields the first use of the Government-operated economic "yardstick...
...Finally, one wonders about the great difference between Uruguay and Argentina, its powerful neighbor across the Rio de la Plata...
...Taking the lead in the field of social legislation...
...Uruguay has engaged in extensive economic experimentation in the years since Jose Ratlle y Ordonez became President for the second lime in 1911...
...yet, Argentina is the first American country to move toward an ideological totalitarian regime, while Uruguay is a model of democracy...
...The two countries are alike in historical background, ethnic composition and economics...
...Professor Fitzgib-bon seems insufficiently aware of a certain disillusionment among Uruguayan workers due to the slowing down of the reforms initiated by Batlle...
...It is a pity the author makes no attempt to solve this puzzle...
...A country whose economy is still largely based on grazing...
...The system is highly controversial and has still to win the unanimous approval of Uruguayan public opinion...
...All these things and much more are discussed in Russell K. Fitzgib-bon's exceedingly well-written book...
...Reviewed by Robert J. Alexander The little Republic of Uruguay is an oasis of hopefulness in our dreary, pessimistic world...
...The country has twice experimented with the "collegiate executive"—once during Batlle's lifetime, starting in 1917, and again starting in 1952...
...Naturally, there are things to be criticized in the book...
...At the same time, she has not adopted any of the straitjacket legislation on trade-unionism which is to be found in so many other Latin American countries...
...Moreover, the optimistic note is a little too stridently sounded...
...Long before the term was invented...
...The author takes his readers on a conducted tour of the country, outlines its history, and discusses its contributions to art, literature and music...
...Uruguay established various social-security funds before her Latin American neighbors and is still far ahead of most of them as regards old-age benefits...
...Uruguay had established a "mixed economy...
...In place of a President, there now rules a nine-man Executive Council, with a rotating chairmanship and representation for both of the country's major parties...
...Its people are firm believers in democracy, and its recent history helps restore some of one's faith in the possibility of "progress...
...Batlle introduced the idea of the plural executive, which he bad first studied in Switzerland, to counteract the Latin American penchant for dictatorship...
Vol. 37 • August 1954 • No. 34
