The presidency of Jorge Batlle began on 1 March 2000 when he was inaugurated as the 38th president of Uruguay. Batlle, member of Colorado Party, took office following his victory over the Broad Front Party nominee Tabaré Vázquez in the second round of the 1999 general election, where his party joined to defeat Broad Front that was the winning party in the first round.
This period of government was impacted by a series of crises and controversies, including the 2002 economic crisis and the livestock foot-and-mouth disease epidemic that led to the loss of international markets, but also featured progresses on human rights after for the first time since the return of democracy began the investigations of the crimes performed during the 1973-1985 civic-military dictatorship and the establishment of the Frame Law of Environment. Internationally this period implied the alignment and closer relationship with the United States, the rupture of relations with Cuba and the seed that led to have closer relations with Finland.
Background
By the first round of the general election in October, Colorado Party obtained 31.93% (703,915 votes) but lost against the Broad Front that obtained 39.06% (801,202 votes) and National Party reached 21.72% (478,980 votes), what required to run a second round between the two most voted parties to elect the presidential formula due to none reached the required turnout as the Constitution mandates after the new electoral system was established in 1996.
For the second round, the Colorado Party and the National Party agreed to make a coalition, encouraging National Party followers to vote for Colorado Party, and this ended up by granting the Colorado formula the victory over Broad Front: Jorge Batlle-Luis Hierro López obtained 54.13% (1,158,708 votes) against Tabaré Vázquez-Rodolfo Nin Novoa with 45.87% (981,778 votes), therefore winning Batlle the presidency.
Inauguration Jorge Batlle assumed as the President of the Republic, along with Luis Hierro López who took over as a vice president, the 1st March 2000, where he gave a speech referring to national unity. During his speech, he pledged to create a relief package to the agriculture sector, in economic matters promised an adjustment plan, and regarding human rights expressed his intention to start investigations to find out the location of forcibly disappeared Uruguayan people during the 1973-1985 dictatorship. On foreign affairs, expressed his will to expand Mercosur and the creation of an Inter-American free trade area. After the end of his speech, well received by their coalition partners in the National Party as well as by leaders of the opposition in Broad Front Party, he make the oath after the General Assembly as the Constitution requires and they went to the Executive seat in Liberty Building to receive the presidential sash from the outgoing president Julio María Sanguinetti.
Cabinet
Starting layout The newly president formed his cabinet taking into account the coalition agreement with National Party. From Colorado Party, appointed Luis Brezzo for the Ministry of National Defense, Guillermo Stirling for the Ministry of the Interior, and Didier Opertti for the Ministry of Foreign Relations, all of them from Foro Batllista sector; from Lista 15 sector appointed Alberto Bensión for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Horacio Fernández Ameglio for the Ministry of Public Health, Lucio Cáceres for the Ministry of Transport and Public Works and Alfonso Varela for the Ministry of Tourism; from other sectors of Colorado Party appointed Raúl Lago as the Secretary of the Presidency, Leonardo Costa as the Prosecretary of the Presidency and Ariel Davrieux as the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget.
From their coalition partners, the National Party, appointed Antonio Mercader for the Ministry of Education and Culture, and Carlos Cat for the Ministry of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment, both from Herrerismo sector; from other National sectors were appointed Gonzalo González for the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Sergio Abreu for the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, and Álvaro Alonso for the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. After the new Ministry of Sports was created, it was appointed, also from this party, Jaime Trobo.
Rupture of the coalition with National Party and resignation of Nationalist ministers With the economic crisis in the background, on 28 October 2002 the Board of National Party decided to remove their colleagues from the Executive, resolution that was not adopted unanimously but 9 against 6, supporting it were the Herrerism and National Alliance factions, while against it were the Wilsonist Current and some Intendants from the Uruguayan interior. The resolution accused the government of Jorge Batlle of pathological ineptitude to make decisions. The president of National Party Luis Alberto Lacalle even dared to say that Nationalists were responsible of allowing Batlle being elected and if it was possible to go backwards he would change his votes. On the other hand, those opposing this resolution argued that this was an act of irresponsibility.
This resolution was submitted to be deliberated by the National Convention of the party to decide if it would be kept, modified or revoked, scheduled for the next 3 November. The day of the meeting the Convention decided by 291 votes supporting it and 112 against it to maintain the resolution to withdraw their ministers as it was decided by the Board. This conference was held under a troublesome and hostile climate, where each band discredited and insulted the other. The factions that supported the Conventions' resolution were Herrerismo and Alianza Nacional, while against it were Desafío Nacional, Correntada Wilsonista and some Intendants from the Uruguayan interior.
On 13 November, Jorge Batlle, already aware of these series of events since the initial resolution of National Party's Board, accepted the resignation of the Nationalist ministers and appointed to replace them several politicians from Colorado Party.
Domestic affairs Conflicts with unions During the presidential term there was a high level of trade unions' conflicts already since the beginning of the period. At a national level, before the beginning of the 2002 economic crisis, there was a protest promoted by the trade union confederation PIT-CNT with political purposes in order to counteract the economically liberal policy that was being applied by the Batlle government. This union conflict eventually led to a general strike on 31 May 2000 to protest against the Law of Urgent Consideration from that time and the denationalization of companies stated in that law, but also in other work matters such as wage improvements. This strike, with several protest around the country, had in some cases violent incidents with stonings and insults.
At a departmental level, in Montevideo raised a conflict between union ADEOM, made of Montevideo's government functionaries, and the executive branch of Montevideo led by intendant Mariano Arana, due to the parftial privatization of the urban waste disposal service.
Since 23 September, in the University of the Republic started a strike with cease of activities, promoted by docents' and functionaries' unions, also supporting it the Uruguayan Federation of University Students, in order to achieve improvements in the Udelar's budget. This strike lasted until near the year's end when the strike was terminated by the students, without achieving most of what they wanted in the next Budget Law.
Environment and climate change Progress on environmental policy Regarding the environmental policy a new Frame Law on Environment No. 17,823 of 28 November 2000 was passed, extending the provisions from Constitution's article 47 as a way to fill the unregulated matters on the subject. The law draft was based on the previous work from the previous legislative period by technicians, non-governmental organizations, the Uruguayan Chamber of Industries and the University of the Republic. The goal of this law was to proclaim the environment as a general interest matter, to promote its protection, the preservation of biodiversity, the prevention and mitigation of the harmful consequences of climate change on the environment as well as the proper and regulated management of toxic or dangerous materials and waste, and also the regional and international cooperation on environment.
It acknowledged the right of the inhabitants of the Republic to be protected in a healthy and balanced environment, in addition to the duty of individuals and organizations to abstain from doing any act with grievous consequences on the environment. Moreover, the Government and other state organizations must protect the environment, to perform recovery operations or demand others to do so in the case of environment damage and to promote an environmentally sustainable development model, being that the one which fulfills the needs of the current generation without endangering the ability of future generations to fulfill their own. State organizations must also promote education on environment.
It also set as a priority to create a nacional policy on environment and sustainable development. The law make the Ministry of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment responsible for the coordination of the environmental management and to perform a yearly environment report. The law also enabled this Ministry to delegate tasks to departments' governments.
The law not only foresaw general aspects but also included special provisions related to the ozone layer, climate change, chemical substances, trash and biosecurity. Among them, it banned the emissions of substances or energies that put the human, biodiversity or environmental health into risk, in violation of the regulations on environment limits established by the authorities. It also provided that the Ministry would regulate the limits in production, trade and usage of substances that harm the ozone layer.
The parliamentary process was relatively fast: the law was passed in just seven months and almost unanimously in the full political spectrum. However, there was a specific issue that arose controversies: information on environment. Two members of parliament from the Colorado Party (Pais and Bergstein) raised their objections that any person could access to information on environment that emerged from reports, claiming that this would be excessive and obstructing, meanwhile from the opposition in Broad Front party they defended the free access to this kind of information, in order to democratize the discussion on environment. At the end the article was left intact, providing that any interested person could access the information. Another controversial aspect was the obligation of the Ministry to send copies of the yearly report to the General Assembly and to non governmental organizations that, according to Bergstein, in the first case it was not appropriate and in the latter was not clear if it had to be sent to some or every NGO. Finally the provision suppressed the obligation to send copies of the reports to NGOs, but added the mention of the departmental governments.
Environmental lead pollution and cases of lead poisoning