Oriental Republic of Uruguay

Origins

The Preliminary Peace Convention of 1828, mediated by Britain, ended the Cisplatine War between Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and made the former Cisplatina an independent state. Its first constitution was sworn on 18 July 1830, and Fructuoso Rivera became the first president.

Rule and society

Politics were long dominated by two parties, the Blancos and Colorados, whose rivalry led to the Guerra Grande of 1839 to 1851, with a nine-year siege of Montevideo. Immigration from Spain and Italy and exports of beef and wool brought prosperity. José Batlle y Ordóñez, president in the early 20th century, introduced social welfare, secular education and the eight-hour day. Political violence involving the Tupamaros guerrillas preceded a military dictatorship from 1973 to 1985.

To the present

Democracy returned in 1985, and the left-wing Frente Amplio governed from 2005 to 2020 under Tabaré Vázquez and José Mujica, legalising cannabis in 2013, and returned to power in 2025 under Yamandú Orsi. Uruguay ranks among Latin America's most stable democracies.