The politics of Uruguay abide by a presidential representative democratic republic, under which the President of Uruguay is both the head of state and the head of government, as well as a multiform party system. The president exercises executive power and legislative power and is vested in the two chambers of the General Assembly of Uruguay. The Judiciary is independent from the executive and legislature.
The Chamber of Representatives is the lower house of the General Assembly of Uruguay. The Chamber has 99 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation with at least two members per department.
The General Assembly of Uruguay or parliament is the legislative branch of the government of Uruguay, and consists of two chambers: the Chamber of Senators and the Chamber of Representatives. General Assembly has 130 voting members: 99 representatives and 30 senators, the Vice President of the Republic, who serves as President of the General Assembly, and the Senate has the right to vote. The legislature meets in the Legislative Palace in Montevideo. Both senators and representatives are chosen through proportional representation for five-year terms.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Uruguay:
The Order of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay was a decoration created by the 1973-1985 civic-military dictatorship to award to foreign personalities for extraordinary meritorious acts rendered to the country or for reciprocity purposes. It was eliminated after the repeal of the rule that created it by Law No. 15738. In 1992 the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay was created.
The president of Uruguay, officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. Their rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Along with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the President is part of the executive branch. In case of absence, their office is exercised by the vice president. In turn, the president of the republic is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces.
The legal system of Uruguay belongs to the Continental Law tradition.
The Uruguayan departments are subdivided into municipalities and, as of 2022, there are 125 municipalities. This second level administrative division system was created by Law No. 18567 of 13 September 2009 and the first municipalities were created in March 2010. In the municipal elections of 2010 municipal authorities were elected for the first time and they assumed office months later.
The system of orders, decorations and medals of Uruguay consists of both military and civilian honours presented by the authorities of Uruguay with the purpose of recognising and rewarding actions or services considered praiseworthy.
The Ministry of Social Development of Uruguay (MIDES) is the ministry of the Government of Uruguay that is responsible for proposing, generating and activating national social policies. It is headquartered in the 18 de Julio Avenue in Barrio Cordón, Montevideo. The current Minister of Social Development is Martín Lema, who has held the position since May 3, 2021, after Pablo Bartol was removed from office by the President.
The State Insurance Bank is a government-owned insurance company in Uruguay. Established on 27 December 1911, it operates under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and is controlled by the Court of Accounts and the Central Bank. It is an Autonomous State Entity with commercial and social purposes, as a state-owned enterprise with high decentralization.
The Office of Planning and Budget (OPP) is a dependency of the Presidency of Uruguay that is responsible for advising the Executive Power in the formulation of national and departmental plans, programs and policies as well as in the definition of the Government's economic and social strategy. It is headquartered in the Executive Tower, Montevideo. The Director of the Office of Planning and Budget is appointed by the President of the Republic at the beginning of the mandate. The position has the same requirements as that of Cabinet Minister and, in practice, has a similar hierarchy. He usually participates in the meetings of the Council of Ministers. The current head is Isaac Alfie, who has held the position since March 1, 2020.
The Uruguayan presidential line of succession is the set order in which officials of the Uruguayan government assume the office of head of state if the incumbent President of Uruguay becomes incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office. The line of succession is set out in Article 153 of the Uruguayan Constitution and follows the order of the Vice President and the Senator of the list most voted for of the political party by which they were elected.
The presidency of Luis Lacalle Pou began on 1 March 2020 when he was inaugurated as the 42nd president of Uruguay. Lacalle Pou, a member of the National Party took office following his victory over the Broad Front nominee Daniel Martínez in the second round of the 2019 general election, which ended the 15-year leftist rule in the country and the return of National Party to the Executive since his father was the president in 1990-1995. On 16 December 2019, after his victory in the second round and before his inauguration, he announced his cabinet consisting of leaders of National, Colorado, Cabildo Abierto and Independent parties, members of the Multicolor Coalition.
A natural-born-citizen clause, if present in the constitution of a country, requires that its president or vice president be a natural born citizen. The constitutions of a number of countries contain such a clause, but there is no universally accepted meaning for the term.
The municipality of Bella Unión is one of the municipalities of Artigas Department, Uruguay, established on 13 September 2009. Its seat is the city of Bella Unión. It replaced the Autonomous and Elective Local Board of Bella Union created in 1994.
A referendum on the Urgent Consideration Law was held in Uruguay to ask the electorate if 135 articles of Law 19,889 – approved by the General Assembly in 2020 and considered as the main legislative initiative of the coalition government of President Luis Lacalle Pou — should be repealed. It was the result of a campaign promoted by various social and political actors such as the national trade union center PIT-CNT and the opposition party Broad Front. On 8 July 2021, almost 800,000 adhesions were delivered to the Electoral Court, exceeding 25% of the total number of registered voters who are constitutionally required to file a referendum appeal against a law.
Doris Perla Morales Martínez is a Uruguayan lawyer who serves as a minister of the Supreme Court of Uruguay.
The Defence Staff is an advisory body of the Ministry of National Defense of Uruguay on issues related to the planning and coordination of activities carried out by the Armed Forces. Created from Law 18,650 of February 19, 2010, its current headquarters was inaugurated in 2011, and is located on Avenida Luis Alberto de Herrera at its intersection with Monte Caseros St.
