ABSTRACT
Nobody was really surprised by the outcome of the 2004 presidential election in Uruguay. Yet, this will unquestionably be remembered as an historical election. For the very first time in Uruguay’s 176 years as an independent state, a party other than the two “traditional” ones (the Blanco and the Colorado) won the presidency. This time the winner was the center-left party Encuentro Progresista-Frente Amplio-Nueva Mayoría (EP-FA-NM), a party composed of Socialists, former Tupamaro guerrillas, Communists, Christian Democrats, and other smaller political groups. Traditional parties have governed Uruguay for 168 years, authoritarian rule being a real exception in Uruguayan history. This change will probably have profound implications for the political life of the country. However, in spite of its scale, this electoral earthquake took place calmly and the transition to the new government was remarkably smooth (Altman and Castiglioni 2006).
