The Uruguayan “Republican Impulse” of the 1900: The Political Reform of the “First Batllismo” (1890–1930)

Abstract

Throughout the following pages, we hightlight some of the most important landmarks and proposals of what we call the “republican impulse”, a period which has deeply marked the contemporary Uruguayan democracy. In our perspective, this period has developed fundamentally between 1890 and 1930, decades in which the main struggle of the Uruguayan ideological families of the 1900’s took place: on the one hand the “liberal conservatism” and the “solidarity republicanism” on the other. We consider this political and ideological confrontation as a crucial moment for the construction of the most distinctive features represented in the Uruguayan democracy of the 20th century. From the republican perspective, the “first batllismo” - of which the two times President José Batlle y Ordónez was the founder and leader – has played a significant role within this ideological struggle. Therefore, we analyse the republican landmarks of some of his reformist proposals on both the political and institutional field.