Uruguay and Brazil: Contribution to the end of Caudillo Era
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Running Head: URUGUAY AND BRAZIL: CONTRIBUTION TO THE

Uruguay and Brazil: Contribution to the end of Caudillo Era
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Introduction
Brazil and Uruguay are one of the most famous and well-known countries of Latin America. Brazil is the largest country in South America, while Uruguay is the second smallest country of the continent. Both the regions were indigenously populated in the ancient times until in the 15th century European explorers introduced the region to the modern world. They, after discovering the vast resources of the continent decided to occupy the area and as a result Brazil became a Portuguese colony while Uruguay was disputed between Argentina and Brazil.

Independence of Brazil and Uruguay

On 7th September 1822 Brazil prince son of John VI who represented the Portuguese Emperor announced independence, while Uruguay gained independence in 1823. In Brazil the prince became the emperor as Pedro I, while Uruguay became a republic one of the oldest republics in South America.

Dominion of War lords (Caudillo)

The term caudillo meaning military strong men is referred to South American Political leaders aroused in the 19th century war of independence in Uruguay and Brazil. Initially caudillos were generals possessing private armies and they often used their military power in order to gain domination and command in the newly born nations. Many of them were large landowners (hacendados) who always wanted to promote their own interest regardless of the interest of the common people and country. All these caudillos have some qualities in common that they had remarkable military skills, and possess charismatic personalities, which made it very easy for the common people to admire and respect them. In this manner they gain such allegiance, which is not common in the history of followers. These leaders were not associated to any specific political or social ideologies or philosophies except that they all began their political career by opposing the oligarchy, but after some time they also became oligarchs and thus no change occured in the socio-economical scene of the region. In reality they were all dictators and their authority was completely unchecked. They left their marks on the histories of nearly all South American nations. Some of them are Garcia Moreno in Ecuador, Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and Porfirio Díaz in Mexico, and Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina in the Dominican Republic.

Causes of the end of the caudillos

In the early 19th century many South American nations achieved independence and in these early days the law and order situation was not good enough and the newly born governments were not entirely in control of all parts and provinces of the country. In these circumstances those military leaders who fought in the struggle of independence got chance to found their own states within the state. As they had control over a large number of masses in the form of their soldiers and their workers who were only loyal to them, they were able to maintain their influence on the federal government.

In Uruguay in the beginning the idea of unity prevailed. In the political society this idea inspired the administrations of Juan Francisco Giró (1852-53), Gabriel Pereira (1856-60), and Bernardo Berro (1860-64). But very soon the caudillos started interfering and the conflict started and hatred and rivalry flared up, and the last Blanco president until 1958 Berro was over thrown by Colorado Venancio Flores who with the help of Brazil and Buenos Aires took power in the country (Fitzgibbon, 1966). Because of this revolution the country was now completely under the mercy of caudillos. They simultaneously formed and broke governments just for their own personal benefits resulting in the instability of the country. In 1870 National Party again led a revolt against General Lorenzo Batlley Grau's (1868-72) government; these violating acts not only weakened the state but were also the main cause of anarchy and poverty in the region. Common people were the most suppressed in the country and political instability also resulted in the absence of law and order situation in the country thus resulted in a declining economy. A permanent break in the cycle of near anarchy and repression was anticipated when José Ellauri (1872-75) was elected president. His administration was characterized by the predominance of university men over caudillos. A number of them, known as the "Girondists of 73" were sent to the General Assembly. Unfortunately, however, the ensuing economic crisis and the weakness of civil power paved the way for a period of militarism (Weinstein, 1975).

Modernization was also a main factor due to which dependency on agriculture decreased. Industrialization completely changed the socio-economical trend of the people and great urbanization made the industrial and commercial capital thus these hacendados were then unable to keep their domination and importance in the political and economical scenario of the region. When modern tools entered in the agricultural world then there was no need for large number of farmers on the ranches and farms since relatively small number of people were enough for this purpose as a result most of the population fleed from the rural areas in search of new opportunities and living, majority of them were soldiers and workers of these caudillos and thus they were no more powerful enough to interfere in the state affairs and they contented to concentrate on their farms only.

Works cited

" Fitzgibbon, Russell H. Uruguay: Portrait of a Democracy.
New York: Russell and Russell, 1966.

" Weinstein, Martin Uruguay: The Politics of Failure. Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1975.

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