Coparticipación

Coparticipación (Coparticipation), the doctrine under which the government administration in Uruguay was shared by the two traditional political parties, the Blancos and the Colorados. During the nineteenth century and until 1904, this system took the form of a territorial division, with departments under the control of one party or the other. Later, under the 1919 Constitution, Coparticipation was redefined as the share of the national government by the two parties, with the president sharing his power with a national bipartisan council. Between 1952–1966 the two parties formed the National Council of Government and with democratization (at the end of the 1980s) the two parties formed several coalitional governments. Notwithstanding, with the emergence of the left movement Frente Amplio (Broad Front) in 1971 the whole system began slowly to crack. In 2004 the Frente Amplio won the national elections for the first time.

See alsoUruguay, Political Parties: Blanco Party; Uruguay, Political Parties: Broad Front; Uruguay, Political Parties: Colorado Party.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Göran G. Lindahl, Uruguay's New Path: A Study in Politics During the First Colegiado, 1919–1933 (1962).

Additional Bibliography

Caetano, Gerardo. Marco histórico y cambio político en dos décadas de democracia: De la transición democrática al gobierno de la izquierda (1985–2005) en 20 años de democracia: Uruguay 1985–2005. Montevideo, Uruguay: Santillana, 2005.

                                                          Henry Finch

                                                    Vicente Palermo