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1 1 (May 8, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govzfj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Cogesoa Reeac Servic May 8, 2018 Uruguay: An Overview Uruguay, a small nation of 3.4 million people, is located on the Atlantic coast of South America between Brazil and Argentina. The country stands out in Latin America for its strong democratic institutions; high per capita income; and low levels of corruption, poverty, and inequality. As a result of its domestic success and commitment to international engagement, Uruguay plays a more influential role in global affairs than its size might suggest. Successive U.S. administrations have sought to work with Uruguay to address political and security challenges in the Western Hemisphere and around the world. Political and Economic Situation Uruguay has a long democratic tradition but experienced 12 years of authoritarian rule following a 1973 coup. During the dictatorship, tens of thousands of Uruguayans were forced into political exile; 3,000-4,000 were imprisoned; and several hundred were killed or disappeared. The country restored civilian democratic governance in 1985, and analysts now consider Uruguay to be among the strongest democracies in the world. President Tabard Vizquez of the center-left Broad Front was inaugurated to a five-year term in March 2015. This is his second term in office-he previously served as president from 2005 to 2010-and the third consecutive term in which the Broad Front holds the presidency and majorities in both houses of the Uruguayan General Assembly. The coalition holds 50 seats in the 99-member Chamber of Representatives and 15 seats in the 30-member Senate; Vice President Lucfa Tuplansky provides the Broad Front with a 16th vote in the upper chamber. Vizquez's initial election ended 170 years of political domination by the center-right National and Colorado parties. The Broad Front governments have maintained orthodox macroeconomic policies while gradually expanding social welfare programs, establishing a more progressive tax system, and implementing union-empowering labor laws. This policy mix, combined with a boom in international demand for Uruguay's agricultural commodity exports, has contributed to strong economic growth and considerable improvements in living standards. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Labor Organization, respectively, Uruguay's real gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by an average of 4.5% per year and real wages have increased by nearly 56% since 2005. Government statistics indicate that the poverty rate, which had spiked during a 1999-2002 economic and financial crisis, fell from 39.9% in 2004 to 7.9% in 2017. Some groups continue to face more challenging circumstances, however, as nearly 17% of Afro- Uruguayans remain below the poverty line. https:/crsrepc Fifure I.Urufuay at a Glance Sources: CRS Graphics, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica de Uruguay, Pew Research Center, and the International Monetary Fund. The Broad Front also has enacted several far-reaching social policy reforms, some of which have been controversial domestically. The coalition has positioned Uruguay on the leading edge of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Latin America by allowing LGBT individuals to serve openly in the military, legalizing adoption by same-sex couples, allowing individuals to change official documents to reflect their gender identities, and legalizing same-sex marriage. Uruguay also has legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy and has become the first country in the world to legalize and regulate every aspect of the cannabis market, from production to consumption. President Vizquez has spent much of his second term in office dealing with economic challenges. Uruguay's economic growth slowed to an annual average of 1.6% from 2015 to 2017, depressed by a decline in international commodity prices and recessions in Argentina and Brazil- two of Uruguay's top trading partners and fellow members of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) customs union. The economic slowdown has led to higher levels of unemployment, depressed revenue collection, and larger fiscal deficits. In an attempt to stabilize public-debt levels, the Vizquez Administration enacted a fiscal adjustment that deferred some public spending and increased taxes on businesses and higher-income earners. At the same time, the government has sought to boost economic growth by entering into public-private partnerships and investing $12.5 billion in infrastructure by 2020. Although the IMF expects economic growth to accelerate to 3.4% in 2018, President Vizquez enjoys little popular support. Leftist sectors of the Broad Front have been disappointed by the government's austerity measures and have pushed the Vzquez Administration to spend more on education and social assistance programs. Corruption scandals also have taken a toll on the president's image. In orts.congress.gov 0

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