About Uruguay

Index

Uruguay - A Profile

Geography and climate

Population and language  

Political and legal system

Living in Uruguay

History

Geographical Situation and Climate

Uruguay - A Profile

Independence Square, Montevideo.

Geography and climate

Uruguay is one of the smallest countries in South America; it lies on the Atlantic coast between Brazil in the northeast and Argentina in the west.

It has an area of approximately 68,000 square miles (176,000 square kilometers), excluding the continental shelf.

There are no remarkable topographic features. Most of the country consists of gently undulating plains crossed by long rivers with natural forest.

The climate is mild throughout the year. Temperatures average 70 F to 80 F (21° C to 27° C) in summer and 50 F to 60 F (10° C and 16° C) in winter, but there are occasional cold spells. Rainfall occurs in all seasons but is generally heavier in the autumn months.

The major cities are Montevideo, the capital and most important port, Paysandú and Salto on the River Uruguay; and Las Piedras near Montevideo.

Punta del Este, on the Atlantic coast, 140 kilometers east of Montevideo, is one of the best-known seaside resorts in South America, but is active only during the summer season.

Population and language

The population of Uruguay is currently estimated at 3.3 million, of which some 1.3 million live in Montevideo and surroundings. Approximately 89 percent of the population outside Montevideo also lives in cities.

Most Uruguayans are of European descent, mainly Spanish and Italian.

The population growth is one of the lowest in Latin America: 0.6 percent per annum, similar to the majority of the developed countries.

Regarding human resources, the economically active population totals 1.5 million people. There are 62,000 university students with 20% enrolled in technology-related majors. Two-thirds of workers in private companies are highly qualified with technical or professional studies. Approximately 10,000 students graduate each year in foreign universities in languages such as English, German, French and Italian.

Spanish is official language. The teaching of French and English has traditionally been emphasized, and English is the foreign language most used by the business community. Currently, learning Portuguese is also widespread as a result of the MERCOSUR integration scheme.

Political and legal system

Political system and government

Uruguay is politically organized as a democratic republic under a presidential system. The State is organized in three independent powers: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.

In accordance with the present Constitution, the members of the government are elected every five years under a universal vote system. The Executive Power is in the hands of a President and a cabinet of 12 ministers. The Legislative Power is represented by the General Assembly, or Parliament, composed of the chamber of Senators and the Lower Chamber (House of Representatives). The Judiciary Power consists of the Supreme Court of Justice, courts and judges on a nationwide basis.

Legal system

The Uruguayan legal system is based on written law passed by the Parliament and promulgated by the President. The ultimate source of law is the Constitution.

There are separate judges with jurisdiction on civilian/commercial, labor, penal and family. Although the verdict of a court or a judge may provide guidance for other cases, such verdicts are not a binding precedent as found in countries where, by tradition, jurisprudence is a source

of law.

Constitution (Matriz) Square, and in the back the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral

Old City (Sarandí and Juan Carlos Gómez Streets), Montevideo.

Living in Uruguay

Life in Uruguay may pass in a safe, peaceful and pleasant manner. The country offers better security than most locations in Latin America and Central America . There are no racial, religious or other conflicts and public meetings are generally peaceful.

Vehicle circulation is relatively fluid even in urban centers. Commuting time to working sites is short. Cities have spacious green areas and because of the continuity of the winds and the lack of pollutant industries, there is hardly any environmental pollution.

Uruguay ranks 6th in the world in the Environmental Sustainability Index, elaborated by the World Economic Forum together with the Universities of Yale and Columbia.

A mild climate, the lack of environmental pollution, the extent of the sanitation, potable water and medical care networks afford a healthy environment for the population.

Being a small country, distances to leisure locations such as parks, forests, countryside and sea, river or lakeshores beaches, are quite short. The national sport is soccer, which captures the interest of the majority of the population at all social levels. There are numerous private clubs with excellent sport fields, particularly remarkable golf courses. Montevideo and other main cities offer important cultural activities comprising a range of theater, movies and musical shows.

The Uruguayan market offers consumer goods from many origins and high quality, at international prices...

Source: “Doing Business in Uruguay”, Chapter 1. “Uruguay – A Profile”, Uruguay XXI, June 30^th, 2002.

Hints for the visiting businessman

 

Visas: In general, visiting businessmen do not require any documentation other than a valid passport, except for a few specific cases in which visas must be obtained before traveling. Visas are granted for ninety days.

 

On the other hand, nationals of the MERCOSUR countries (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay and of the associate member countries, Bolivia and Chile) require only their identity card.

 

Currency: The unit of local currency is the Uruguayan peso; $ is the official symbol within Uruguay.

 

Business hours: Usually, stores and private businesses are open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Stores also open from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. There are several shopping centers, which open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday to Sunday. Banking hours are from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (certain banks open from 11:00 a.m.) but a vast ATM network is available around the clock. The public offices are open from 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm in winter and 7:00 am to 2.30 pm in summer.

 

Business information services: Business information to foreign businessmen visiting Uruguay can be obtained at the nearest consulate or diplomatic offices or at the web site www.uruguayxxi.gub.uy.)

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The Palacio Legislativo and the Libertador Avenue,

Montevideo.

History

The territory now occupied by the Republic of Uruguay was discovered in 1516 by Juan Diaz de Solis, leader of a Spanish expedition which, looking for a route to the Indies via the New Continent, sailed up the Rio de la Plata. Noticing the presence of natives in the shore, he landed at the head of his men and was immediately killed. Then, and throughout the whole period of the conquest, the natives put up such a brave resistance that even today the Uruguayans are proud to call themselves "Charruas" in memory of the indomitable spirit and the total refusal to surrender to the foreign invaders manifested by the tribe which inhabited the southern part of the country.

The territory took a long time to conquer, not only because of the strong resistance of the natives, but also by reason of a lack of interest on the part of the Europeans who did not discover there the precious metals they had found in Peru. In 1617 Hernando Arias de Saavedra (Hernandarias), Governor of the Rio de la Plata, realized that the region´s real assets lay in its extensive prairies and its inexhaustible reserves of water, together with its relative flatness and splendid climate, all offering great possibilities for livestock farming. It was the Governor himself who introduced the first bovines; they bred remarkably rapidly, soon spreading all over the country and establishing the bases for its future economy. Later, England and Portugal came to envy Spain this prosperous colony.

With the passing of the years the descendants of the early settlers—criollos—felt their freedom restricted under the Spanish administration which denied them self-government and prevented them from enjoying a flourishing economy and improving their social status. Gradually, and under the influence of the American and French revolutions, this dissatisfaction led to a revolutionary movement which erupted in 1811. It was then that Jose Gervasio Artigas came on the scene, a military officer who gained popular recognition and became the leader of the revolution. His ideas on independence, republicanism and democracy very soon marked him as one of the greatest statesmen of the American Continent.

The struggle extended over several years, first against the Spaniards, who after a series of victories were definitively defeated in 1814, and then against the Portuguese. Betrayed by several of his allies, Artigas retired to Paraguay, where he died far from the battlefields. But the flame of patriotism which he had kindled on the soil of his own country was revived in the hearts of thirty-three men who, commanded by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, embarked upon the Crusade of Liberation which, backed by the people as a whole, reached its climax in the Declaration of Independence in 1825 and the creation of the State of Uruguay in 1828.

In 1830 the first Constitution of the Republic was proclaimed and General Fructuoso Rivera was elected President. During the first few years of its existence the new State, like nearly all other American countries, had to cope with considerable difficulties, the major ones being the maintenance of internal peace, the promotion of the economy, and the solution of numerous international problems. But as the years passed the country settled down and began to prosper in all fields, reaching its high point in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At that time, very advanced social legislation was introduced, and production was encouraged to the point where the

national currency became stronger than the dollar. In the cultural field, figures emerged who achieved world-wide fame.

This sound economic and social situation enabled Uruguay to survive the crisis of 1929 without encountering the serious difficulties which assailed the rest of the world.

The Second World War did not disturb the peace of the Uruguayans; the country was directly involved in only one episode, the Battle of the River Plate which resulted in the scuttling of the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee.

The sale of Uruguay's traditional products—beef, leather and wool— continued until after the Korean War (1950-54), maintaining the country's stability.

But then a serious crisis arose which spared no sector of Uruguayan activity. It led to the stagnation of production, foreign debts, uncontrolled State intervention and paternalism, the inordinate growth of bureaucracy, and permanent inflation. The social consequences were inevitable: unemployment, unrest among workers and students, constant strikes, increasing violence and socio-economic upheaval.

In 1973, amid increasing economic and political turmoil, the armed  forces closed the Congress and established a civilian-military regime. A new constitution drafted by the military was rejected in a 1980 plebiscite. Following the plebiscite, negotiation s were held with representatives of the political parties and a plan for the return to civilian rule was agreed on. National elections were held in Nov. 1984 and in Nov. 1989. The political process has solidified and Uruguay has returned to its traditional system of freedom and constitutional government. The last national election was held in Nov. 1999 and the next one will be in Nov. 2004.

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Independence Square II, Montevideo.

Geographical Situation and Climate

La "República Oriental del Uruguay" (the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, here in after referred to as Republic of Uruguay or Uruguay) owes its name to its location to the East of the Uruguay River. It is because of this geographical factor, and for certain historical reasons, that Uruguayans used to be called -and still are at times- "Oriental" although Uruguay obviously belongs to the Western Hemisphere. As to the word "Uruguay" itself, it comes from the Guarani language and can be translated as "the river of the beautifully colored birds".

The Republic of Uruguay lies in the Western Hemisphere between longitudes 53 and 58, and in the subtropical zone between latitudes 30 and 35 South.

Geographically, Uruguay lies in the Southern sub-tropical zone of the South American continent; its territory extends over the Western part of the Atlantic coast. 

Topographically, it is located in the area of transition between the Brazilian plateaux and the plains of the Pampas.

The Northern and North-Eastern frontiers separating Uruguay from Brazil follow natural mountain topography. Uruguay is separated from Argentina by the Rio de la Plata in the South and by the Rio Uruguay in the West. The Eastern frontier is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean.

Uruguay covers 176,215 square kilometers, which may not seem a large area compared with the size of its two big neighbors. Nevertheless, Uruguay is larger than Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua or Costa Rica among American countries, and larger than Greece, Portugal, Austria or Ireland, among the countries of Europe. It could contain within its frontiers Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Denmark combined, and there would still be plenty of space left.

The Uruguayan territory is divided into 19 Departments, with Montevideo as its capital.

In addition to this land area, there are 125,057 square kilometers of jurisdictional waters represented by the great rivers and frontier lakes.

The territory of Uruguay features gently sloping hills and elevations of modest altitude, separated by rivers which flow down to the sea or into other and larger rivers. There are no high mountains or vast plains, no impenetrable forests or desert regions. Earthquakes are unknown. The highest point is the Cerro Catedral, altitude 513 meters.

The coastal plain boasts many beaches along the Atlantic coast and on the shores of the Rio de la Plata. The climate is temperate throughout the country; there are no regional variations.

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