Resumen

RUIZ VALERIO, José. Institutional Traditions and Democratic Consolidation in Uruguay. CONfines relacion. internaci. ciencia política [online]. 2005, vol.1, n.1, pp.133-163. ISSN 1870-3569.

This paper analyzes the role played by institutional traditions in Uruguayan democracy by focusing attention on two main issues. First, I describe the context in which the current Uruguayan political parties arose and the relationships established among them. Second, although it is true that parties naturally express alternative visions about politics, I contend that the building of a democratic system requires a basic consensus on which to base a set of rules that govern and contain dissidence. I discuss these two themes beginning with the emergence of Uruguay as an independent state until the term of Julio María Sanguinetti's second presidency in 2000.