Tabaré Vázquez’s Way

by Pedro G. Cavallero *

Since coming into office in 2005, President of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez has followed a cautious path when tackling the domestic agenda or setting an international course. And despite leading a diverse coalition (that includes left-wing forces), Vázquez has clearly invested in the forging of a closer relationship with Washington. Perhaps these efforts have been made in search of a partnership that could give Uruguay the answers that a loyal, steadfast membership to Mercosur has failed to deliver.

A simple drive by the panoramic rambla that borders the ocean-like Rio de la Plata as it embraces Montevideo, reveals colorful graffiti boasting anticapitalist slogans. And the conspicuous salutes to the “Cuban revolution” stand as a last tribute to a fading era before it disappears altogether.

Nowhere does that era seem to be fading faster than in Montevideo’s Punta Carretas shopping mall. Before turning into a commercial landmark, this now vastly renovated building served as a prison where in 1971 Tupamaros (an urban guerrilla force led by the legendary Marxist activist Raul Sendic) staged a spectacular mass escape, foretelling the army’s brutal counteroffensive. Three decades later, almost every vestige of those days has vanished. And younger generations of Uruguayans gather on its grounds unaware of the memories preserved by its walls.

President Tabaré Vázquez – whose cabinet seats former Tupamaros, Socialist, Communist, and Christian Democrats, among others – has kept at arms length his Argentine and Brazilian counterparts. Surprisingly, all three governments share an ideological background and have presented themselves as standard bearers of “Latin America’s New Left.”

Last year, Vázquez’s meeting with President Bush signalled the beginning of a relationship few expected this former mayor of Montevideo would pursue. From that meeting, bilateral high-level free-trade discussions followed, in drastic contrast with the Southern Cone’s dogmatic opposition to any White House-sponsored trade-related initiative.

As a matter of fact, Mercosur’s “big brothers” Brazil and Argentina have warned President Vázquez against pursuing that path. Nevertheless, Finance Minister Danilo Pastori move forward and negotiated a Trade and Investment Agreement with Washington, which promises an expansion of Uruguay’s bonds with the States. And if voices opposing the agreement were heard within the ruling Frente Amplio coalition, President Vázquez felt comfortable enough to redouble his efforts. As if to confirm these developments, White House spokesmen announced that President Bush will visit Montevideo in his next trip to Latin America – scheduled for March.

However, Tabaré Vazquez’s forbearance and caution have not prevented the souring of relations with neighboring (and key partner) Argentina. A conflict over the installing of two European paper mills on the left bank of Rio Uruguay has escalated to unprecedented heights. And though the dispute has transcended the parties involved (permeating Mercosur), Uruguay’s president has held to a firm, but non-confrontational style. After all, that seems to be Tabaré Vazquez’s way.

* Pedro G. Cavallero is a foreign policy analyst based in Washington, DC.

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