Blackwell Reference Online

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In the mid–1950s, economic and political crisis was apparent in Uruguay. After a long period of domestic growth and the formation of a welfare state, Uruguay's fledgling domestic industry was battered by economic stagnation resulting from economic recovery in the core countries after the Korean War (1952) and dry weather, which reduced agricultural production. In factories, trade unions were divided among different political ideologies, reducing the effectiveness of organizing. But in 1956, workers went on a long strike in the refrigeration industry – Uruguay's largest (by number of workers employed) and, because of the national export of meat products, most significant industry. The powerful militant pressure emerging from among workers at the grassroots factory level forced national union leaders to rebuild bridges to the rank and file. In 1964 the National Convention of Workers (CNT) was founded as a trade union coordinating body, planning the complete formation of a new labor federation in 1966. Concomitantly, the government, falling further into debt, signed the first Letter of Intent with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and initiated systematic alignment with the United States through adopting a program to suppress worker and labor union opposition (a policy remaining in force until March 2005) and the election of the leftist Frente Amplio (Broad Front, FA) government. ... log in or subscribe to read full text