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Definitions of Uruguay’s identity during the first Frente Amplio government

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Vol. 52 No. 195 (2020): January-April
https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-3769.2020.57256

Abstract

Since the process of redemocratization, Uruguay has had to face several changes in the international system, and more immediately in the regional economic and political context, which has led to substantial changes in the country’s foreign policy. Based on the study of the main changes in foreign policy since the opening of democracy (1985), with special attention to the principles on which foreign policy has been structured since the beginning of the 21st century, more specifically since the Frente Amplio (FA) took office as government in 2005, this paper analyses the dilemmas that Uruguay has had to face in terms of international insertion and their consequences. To this end, it is essential to identify the roles and positions of the main government decision-makers (President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Service) as well as the different positions within Uruguayan society during that period. In this regard, it was essential to carry out a critical analysis of the agenda linked to the trade negotiations with the United States during the first government of Tabaré Vázquez (2005–2010). In order to do so, I based my analysis on primary sources, that is, documents issued by official bodies of the Uruguayan State as well as regional bodies, mainly MERCOSUR, and on journalistic sources from the same period. The constructivist approach of International Relations was used to identify which identities were under debate and which prevailed. The conclusions indicate that Uruguay was debated between two state identities, that of a member of MERCOSUR, distant from the United States, and that of a state not so committed to the regional bloc and close to the United States, with the former prevailing, although without fully consolidating itself, since conditions survive such that the discussion of the country’s identity could be restarted in the future.

Keywords:

Foreign Policy, Uruguay, International Insertion, MERCOSUR, Identity, Parties

Author Biography

Nastasia Barceló Severgnini, Universidade de São Paulo

Doctoranda en Ciencias por la Universidad de San Pablo. Magíster en Relaciones Internacionales por el Programa San Tiago Dantas. Licenciada en Relaciones Internacionales por la Universidad Federal de la Integración Latinoamericana. Trabaja principalmente en temas de historia de las relaciones internacionales de los siglos XIX y XX y de política exterior de Uruguay y Brasil. Investigadora en el Laboratorio de Estudios sobre Brasil y el Sistema Mundial (Lab-Mundi) de la USP.

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How to Cite
Barceló Severgnini, N. (2020). Definitions of Uruguay’s identity during the first Frente Amplio government. Estudios Internacionales, 52(195), 111–132. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-3769.2020.57256
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Estudios Internacionales
Instituto de Estudios Internacionales
Universidad de Chile
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