There’s a tiny country in South America
that puts most of the world to shame
when it comes to civil liberties.
It’s Uruguay —
in Latin America.
And although it’s often overlooked,
Uruguay has been quietly thriving for decades.
In fact,
Uruguay is a world leader in civil liberties.
But how did it manage to get there?
Hey guys, it’s Dena.
And this is part two of our series
“What the U.S. Can Learn” from other countries.
Today we’re looking at Uruguay’s progressive policies
and the powerful lessons it could teach the U.S.
about democratic leadership
and political participation.
With a population of just 3.5 million,
Uruguay is a small country — but a civil rights giant.
Nearly 99% of its population
could read and write as of 2018,
courtesy of Uruguay’s free public education,
which ranges from elementary school
all the way to university.
Around 87% of the population over 65
is covered by the national pension system.
And more than 90% of Uruguayans have access
to running water, electricity and sanitation.
Marriage equality, abortion and
the controlled growing and selling of cannabis
were all legalized between 2012 and 2013.
Most recently, in 2018,
Uruguay passed a law that defines
gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy as a right,
making sure that these treatments
get paid for by the state.
And this year, Parliament is discussing a bill
to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide.
A recent poll found that
62% of the population is in favor of assisted suicide
and 82% support euthanasia.
All these initiatives are extraordinary
because we’re talking about a region
that’s largely conservative.
The Catholic Church has had
a strong influence on politics
ever since Spain colonized the region
in the late 15th century.
So how did this tiny country
— sandwiched between giants
Brazil and Argentina —
manage to become this progressive?
The country’s most significant moves were
and
This movement or this welfare state
had a strong leader that
had a very advanced set of ideas at the time.
The strong leader Professor Arocena
is referring to is this man:
Many of Uruguay’s progressive traditions
can be traced back to his secular government
of the early 1900s,
which abolished the death penalty,
legalized divorce,
introduced women’s voting rights
and expanded workers’ rights
by implementing eight-hour work days,
a pension system
and unemployment compensation.
Not only did this period of time
lay the foundation for today’s welfare state,
it also passed on its secular spirit
all the way to modern-day Uruguayan society.
Religion plays a very small role
in public life in our country.
Religiosity, now in Uruguay, is strongly associated
with some personal belief,
not much linked to an institutional church.
Preaching religion in public schools
was and still is prohibited,
but students are allowed to miss school
for religious holidays.
is celebrated as
a widely celebrated day
by Catholics in Latin America, is
It’s called
But that doesn’t mean Uruguayans aren’t religious.
Almost 90% of the population
believes in some God.
Only 10% [are] atheists.
It just means that in Uruguay,
religious institutions don’t influence politics
as much as they do in other countries.
And that’s partly why it’s been able
to build a solid democracy over time.
Uruguay is currently
the 15th most democratic country in the world,
and it’s recognized as a
by The Economist’s Democracy Index.
The U.S., on the other hand,
ranks 25th and is considered a
And it may not come as a surprise
that this has a lot to do with
political participation.
The average voter turnout in Uruguay
is around 90%.
Why?
Because unlike in the U.S.,
voting there is compulsory.
And it doesn’t only change
the way voters behave,
but political parties as well.
Another skill Uruguayans have honed well
to get to this point is
the art of distributing power.
The intense nationalism you often see
in Latin America and in the U.S.
is a rare sight in Uruguay.
These strong emotions that people put into
charismatic and populist leaders,
in Uruguay, it doesn’t work.
Our culture is not, kind of, in tune
with these kind of expressions of emotions.
It comes from reality.
From having these
two very strong powers beside us.
We ground our nationalism in soccer, in football.
Oh, there yes. We are very, very nationalist.
But this doesn’t mean that Uruguay is a utopia.
Despite certain successes,
in many areas, there’s still a lot of work to do.
Racism toward Uruguay’s Black communities,
which account for nearly 10%
of the country’s total population,
remains pervasive.
Nearly 19% of Black Uruguayans
live in poverty.
The poverty rate of white Uruguayans,
in contrast, is 7.4%.
You have to be very narrow-minded
not to recognize that Uruguay
had and still has a problem of racism
towards the Black population.
Most of Uruguay’s Black population are
descendants of enslaved people
who came through the port of Montevideo,
Uruguay’s capital, during the colonial period.
The Spanish crown had designated this port
as a hub for slave trade in the region.
People thought that there was no racism in Uruguay.
But once data started to be produced,
it was very evident that
the Black population had the worst incomes,
lived in the worst neighborhoods,
had the lowest life expectancy
and they all said they suffered
some kind of discrimination
because of skin color during their lives.
Violence against women
and femicides are on the rise,
with at least 30 femicides recorded in 2018.
It’s the ninth highest rate among
Latin American and Caribbean countries -
higher than Mexico and Brazil.
And in recent years,
significant increase in crime has led to
public concern over safety.
A record 414 murders were reported in 2019,
a 45% increase from the year before.
It’s clear that Uruguay’s progressive politics
have their limits.
But there are a few areas
where the U.S. could learn
from the country’s successes in democracy
and civil rights over the past century.
I think one of the weaknesses nowadays
with the political system
in the United States is the
Between
of the population votes for
the presidential elections.
I think it’s very, very low.
And I think it weakens the way
the Americans select
and elect their presidents.
Compulsory voting means that
most Uruguayans have a say
in the direction their country takes.
Uruguay’s progressive politics
are driven by a belief in principles
that go beyond parties and politicians.
So what are those principles?