“Plebiscites, Politics, and the Fraught Rebirth of Uruguayan Civil Society”

• In Event: Human Rights and Democratic Transitions in the Southern Cone: Local, National, and Transnational Perspectives

Abstract

This paper explores the conditions surrounding Uruguay’s 1980 plebiscite which rejected the military government’s proposed constitution. By juxtaposing the military’s arguments in favor of the plebiscite, which were shrouded in a perverse discourse of democracy, from the opposition groups’ contentions against the new repressive measure, it argues that a unique moment of unified human rights claims emerged from a reawakening civil society. This vision centered on building a society that, very basically, would allow individuals to be free from disappearances, torture, and political imprisonment. While this human rights emphasis contributed to the ultimate success of the plebiscite and the rebirth of a domestic movement, this paper explores how the victory was paired with a crackdown by the military that ultimately resulted in an extremely difficult transitional process and a splintering of the human rights unity. I contend that these conditions, and the fracturing of a coherent rights vision, ultimately shaped the difficult accountability battles after the transition back to democratic rule.

Author

• Debbie V Sharnak, University of Wisconsin/Madison