Frente Amplio Research Articles

Análisis discursivo de las campañas anticipadas a la presidencia de México rumbo al 2024

The selection of candidates for the presidency of Mexico presents an unprecedented scenario of anticipated internal processes by political parties, outside the times established by law, but endorsed by the electoral body. The rules established by the political actors themselves, represented by the official party, Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional (MORENA) and the Frente Amplio por México (FAM), formed by the traditional parties: Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD), create a scenario of internal contests that expose the candidates to the electorate, and encourage them to construct messages that capitalize on the sympathy of the voters to achieve the candidacy. In this study we analyze the messages of the aspirants in the internal processes of the parties through a matrix of political discourse analysis, based on the contesting or polemic rhetoric, developed by Hatzisavvidou. The collection of information comes from the platforms of social networks (Facebook and Twitter or X), of the aspirants, elaborated from June to September 2023. Among the findings, it stands out that the discursive appeals are confrontational to the current regime and its dominant narrative, and that the key discursive element is credibility (ethos), which is lacking in the opposition's message.

Marching and Campaigning: Social Links in the Chilean Frente Amplio (2017 - 2023)

Este artículo busca explicar por qué el Frente Amplio chileno no ha logrado consolidar vínculos establescon los principales movimientos sociales del país, a pesar de haber emergido en un contexto de movilización social. Secundariamente, se busca contextualizar el caso del Frente Amplio en el marco latinoamericano a través de casos paradigmáticos de partidos que han logrado desarrollar y mantener vínculos con organizaciones sociales. El artículo aborda cuatro posibles explicaciones: el carácter autónomo y apartidista de la movilización social; el rápido y costoso acceso de la coalición a la institucionalidad; la consolidación de una estructura organizacional menos abierta a la influencia deorganizaciones sociales; y, de manera transversal, la disposición adoptada por el conglomerado en momentos clave de su trayectoria hacia la sociedad civil organizada. El artículo concluye destacando la importancia tanto de factores contextuales como de explicaciones asociadas a la agencia de los partidos.

El campo de lo común y lo común en el campo. Posibilidades, límites y alcances en la gestión colectiva de las experiencias de acceso a la tierra mediante el Instituto Nacional de Colonización en Uruguay (2005-2019)

The article investigates and reflects on the forms of production of the common in collective experiences of land access, mediated by state intervention through the public policy of the National Colonization Institute (INC) in Uruguay. The period from 2005 to 2019, corresponding to the three administrations of the Frente Amplio government, is taken as a reference, during which the promotion of collective land access policies was one of the key initiatives. Six collective experiences involved in livestock farming are examined, which reveal the implications of collective organization along with the emerging subjectivities, capturing the voices and experiences of the protagonists. The aim is to achieve a dynamic perspective that accounts for the conflicts and changes occurring both in the organization and in the formation of the subjects. The perspective of Marxism and cultural studies enriches the discussion, bringing into dialogue the analysis of collective experiences in light of three central concepts: labor, culture, and the production of the common. The debates around these categories are essential for the current understanding of hegemonies and social relations in contemporary Uruguayan agriculture.

The phenomenon of the political party Cabildo Abierto in Uruguay

The party-political system of Uruguay has always been characterized by stability and constancy. For many years, the development of the country was determined by two "traditional" parties - Partido Nacional (Blanco) and Partido Colorado - as well as the Frente Amplio coalition. The completed electoral cycle has shown that the current sys-tem is changing from both the right and the left side. In particular, the “Cabildo Abierto” party founded in May 2019, received strong support from the voters, changing the land-scape of the country's right-wing forces. This article discusses the history of the party, the factors of its formation and success, analyzes the domestic and foreign policy program, gives strokes to the political portrait of the party's founder, Guido Manini Rios.

Agents of Representation: The Organic Connection between Society and Leftist Parties in Bolivia and Uruguay

Parties are central agents of democratic representation. The literature assumes that this function is an automatic consequence of social structure and/or a product of incentives derived from electoral competition. However, representation is contingent upon the organizational structure of parties. The connection between a party and an organized constituency is not limited to electoral strategy; it includes an organic connection through permanent formal or informal linkages that bind party programmatic positions to social groups’ preferences, regardless of the electoral returns. This article analyzes how the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement toward Socialism, MAS) in Bolivia and the Frente Amplio (Broad Front, FA) in Uruguay developed two different forms of relationship with social organizations that result from the interplay of historical factors traceable to the parties’ formative phases and party organizational attributes. Party organizational features that grant voice to grassroots activists serve as crucial mechanisms for bottom-up incorporation of societal interests and demands.

Supervisión escolar y cambio educativo. Uruguay a la luz de la experiencia internacional (2005-2020)

School supervisors constitute a fundamental link in any process of educational transformation. This article aims to understand its role in the multiple innovations implemented in Uruguay during the «progressive era» (2005-2020) in which the national government was led by a center-left party, the Frente Amplio. The article was nourished by bibliography on teachers´ supervision and on change processes, with contributions from both Pedagogy and Political Science. The research carried on was descriptive and explanatory, qualitative in nature and with a comparative tone. As main findings, the document emphasizes that, under the same institutional framework, the position of Primary supervisors towards innovations diverged from that assumed by supervisors in the Secondary level. At an explanatory level, it was found that the role of supervision in educational transformation derives not only from the dominant institutional framework but also from political support, the modality of implementation of innovative policies, the prevailing professional culture and the weight of history.

Uruguay and Contemporary Theories of Wage Coordination: Origins and Stabilization of Segmented Neocorporatism, 2005–2019

ABSTRACTThis study seeks to explain the rise and performance of “segmented neocorporatism” in Uruguay in light of contemporary theories of wage coordination, largely framed by the Varieties of Capitalism school and its recent critics. First it argues that the legacy of a centralized labor law framework, and a unified union movement, combined with Frente Amplio’s decisive labor empowerment from above to launch neocorporatist wage coordination in the period 2005–10. Second, it analyzes the stabilization of the coordinated model in 2013–19, in times of sluggish growth and labor tensions, evinced in the control of inflation pressures and social conflict. The article concludes that the macroeconomic combination of supply-side and Keynesian policies and the inclusion of precarious workers shaped an egalitarian version of corporatism with important challenges ahead.

MACRO ANUNCIOS DE MICRO RESPUESTAS: EL GOBIERNO MULTICOLOR, ANTE LA PANDEMIA (Y MÁS ALLÁ DE ELLA) EN URUGUAY

After 15 years of left-wing leadership under the Frente Amplio coalition, on March 1Uruguay has ushered in a conservative government led by the Partido Nacional and a centre-right to right-wing coalition with other four political parties. Thirteen days later, President Lacalle declared a Public Health Emergency because of COVID 19 and development of several initiatives begins. This article focuses specifically on those aimed at poverty and vulnerability, based on official communications and considering that beyond this crisis, they are exemplary of the general orientation of the new government. Despite repeated and permanent announcements by the government, public responses tend to be minimal, for a short time and with little clarity on the award criteria. The axis is not placed on the expansion of unconditional cash transfers, and instead, the focus is on food baskets and voluntary donations. In a context of a labor market with difficulties in incorporating an important group of people, and even more in formalizing it, the bet seems to be placed on the protection that families and civil society organizations can provide. This supposes a return to the orientations prevailing in Latin America at the end of the last century and presumably its consequences.

Sobre el principismo y la izquierda: El ejemplo Astori a través de su discurso durante la moderación programática del FA (1989-1994)

Danilo Astori has often defended his political positions in technical and independent terms, in relation to his own party, Frente Amplio (FA). His political figure is built upon an image of solvency, as someone who understands how the mechanisms that bring forth development operate, and who can therefore elaborate necessary, feasible and rational proposals. The history of the Uruguayan political community echoes in Astori’s typical rhetoric. Thus, the question guiding this article is: can Astori’s political discourse between 1989 and 1994 be understood as part of what we refer to as the docto-principista tradition?

Movilización legal y el inicio de la lucha contra la megaminería en México. Del FAO a la REMA

<span class="fontstyle0">Este trabajo busca abonar a la creciente discusión sobre el uso de la movilización por parte de grupos organizados para lograr sus objetivos, entendiendo los recursos como un factor fundamental para llevarla a cabo, sostenerla y lograr el éxito. Al mismo tiempo, se aproxima a uno de los problemas más importantes en América Latina: los conflictos generados por megaproyectos, específicamente por la megaminería. La pregunta central que lo orienta es ¿cómo el Frente Amplio Opositor a Minera San Xavier (FAO) mantuvo el uso de la movilización legal? Para dar cuenta de ello, a lo largo del texto se contextualiza y explica el proceso de movilización de este movimiento social poniendo especial énfasis en la movilización legal. A partir del análisis de información primaria y secundaria, se sostiene que el FAO incursionó en la movilización legal sin la ayuda de una </span><span class="fontstyle2">estructura de apoyo </span><span class="fontstyle0">sólida y que, en cambio, el movimiento fue construyendo su propia estructura de apoyo en la que el papel de los abogados fue piedra angular, de manera tal que se dio un proceso de </span><em><span class="fontstyle2">embedded legal activity</span></em><span class="fontstyle0">.</span> <br /><br />

El progresivo avance de perspectivas conservadoras en la educación uruguaya en la última década

The presidential elections held in Uruguay in October and November 2019 defined the end of a period of three successive governments of the center-left party Frente Amplio and the arrival in government of a right-wing coalition led by the Partido Nacional. In education, the development of a conservative perspective, which is at the base of the educational proposals of the new government, began to develop in the height of the boom of the previous governments. The present article intends to analyze how this process of generating a conservative vision of education was taking shape in the last ten years through the presentation of the so-called “privately managed public education” as an alternative to public education. The theoretical perspective that informs the whole work is located from the logic of the political analysis of the discourse and the methodological approach is made from the consideration of documentary sources.   Keywords: Education. Conservatism. Uruguay.

Participação popular e mobilização política no Cone Sul dos anos 1970: os Comitês de Base da Frente Ampla uruguaia e os Comitês da Unidade Popular chilena em perspectiva comparada

Busca-se no presente artigo comparar a experiência dos Comitês de Base da Frente Ampla uruguaia e dos Comitês da Unidade Popular chilena no princípio dos anos 1970. Embora fossem coalizões eleitorais, tanto a FA quanto a UP se constituíram também como movimentos de massa, utilizando-se da estratégia da mobilização política através de Comitês que contavam com grande participação popular. Por se tratarem de alianças multipartidárias, os Comitês da Frente Ampla e da Unidade Popular eram frequentados por militantes e simpatizantes das diferentes forças, o que em determinadas ocasiões gerava atritos e polêmicas. Além disso, devido ao importante papel que desempenharam nas eleições, foi preciso debater internamente qual seria o lugar desses organismos na estrutura partidária, trazendo à tona diferentes posições no seio das esquerdas no Uruguai e no Chile. Como fontes primárias, analisou-se a imprensa e a documentação interna dos partidos, além de entrevistas com alguns de seus ex-integrantes.

Democratic Citizenship as Uruguayan Cultural Heritage

Amidst a global turn towards authoritarianism and populism, there are few contemporary examples of state-led democratization. This article discusses how Uruguay’s Frente Amplio (FA) party has drawn on a unique national democratic cultural heritage to encourage a coupling of participatory and representative institutions in “a politics of closeness.” The FA has reinvigorated Batllismo, a discourse associated with social justice, civic republicanism, and the rise of Uruguayan social democracy in the early twentieth century. At the same time, the FA’s emphasis on egalitarian participation is inspired by the thought of Uruguay’s independence hero José Artigas. I argue that the cross-weave of party and movement, and of democratic citizenship and national heritage, encourages the emergence of new figures of the citizen and new permutations for connecting citizens with representative institutions. The FA’s “politics of closeness” is an example of how state-driven democratization remains possible in an age described by some as “post-democratic.”

Las elecciones parlamentarias chilenas de 2017: características de los votantes y factores de voto

Este trabajo explora las razones de voto a coaliciones en las elecciones parlamentarias celebradas en Chile en noviembre de 2017. Para ello, hemos empleado la encuesta postelectoral realizada por la Universidad Diego Portales (UDP) y que forma parte del Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP). Tras un repaso del contexto en el que las elecciones tuvieron lugar, hemos analizado los perfiles de los votantes de Chile Vamos (CV), Fuerza de la Mayoría (FM) y Frente Amplio (FA), así como de los abstencionistas, y hemos estimado un modelo multinomial, para comprobar el efecto de distintas variables en las probabilidades de voto a cada coalición.

La construcción legislativa uruguaya en economía social y solidaria en el marco de los gobiernos progresistas del Frente Amplio

En el presente artículo se analizan los aportes legislativos respecto a las temáticas del cooperativismo y de laeconomía social y solidaria (ess), en el marco de los tres primeros gobiernos progresistas del Frente Amplio.Se destacan en el primer Gobierno de Tabaré Vázquez (2005-2010) la legislación en cooperativas sociales yla concreción de un viejo anhelo del movimiento cooperativo, esto es, una ley general del sistema cooperativo.Bajo el mandato de José Mujica (2010-2015) se destaca la creación del Fondo para el Desarrollo (Fondes),dirigido fundamentalmente a promover las experiencias autogestionarias. En el tercer mandato del fa (2015-2020), nuevamente bajo la presidencia de Vázquez, se formaliza el Fondes en ley y se avanza en la consideración de una legislación en ess. Será de fundamental importancia comprender el contexto político-ideológicodesde el cual se construyen estas normas. De esta manera, se pretende responder a las siguientes preguntas:¿Qué razones explican el pasaje de un modelo meramente cooperativo hacia otro más amplio en términosde ess? ¿Cómo fueron avanzando estos temas en la agenda programática del Frente Amplio? ¿Cuáles sonlas diversas orientaciones que pesan en la configuración de los proyectos de ley actualmente en discusiónparlamentaria?

De grupos guerrilleros a partidos políticos. Un análisis a partir de la cultura política y el desempeño electoral: Casos Guatemala y Uruguay

In Guatemala and Uruguay, there are currently political parties derived from the demobilization of guerrilla groups. These have achieved different levels of success in electoral processes as a possible consequence of their distinctive traits of political culture and their democracies’ characteristics. To contribute to the understanding of the differences between the two cases of study, this article analyzed the relationship between the political culture and the electoral performance of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca -URNG and the Frente Amplio. The aim was to determine how the traits of the political culture have facilitated or hindered the electoral performance of the former guerrilla groups and, therefore, to give an approximation to what the last demobilized guerrillas in Latin America might face.

Uruguay 2018: A Year of Mixed Signals and Open Questions

Uruguay faced significant headwinds in 2018. The Frente Amplio is confronting a slowing economy, and its most challenging election yet. Overall, economic growth is positive, but reduced from the previous year; inflation, unemployment, and the deficit are above target rates. After the loss of a deputy in 2016, the Frente returned to a strong legislative efficiency rate in 2018. However, the party remains vexed by President Tabare Vazquez’s ever lower approval rating, which dipped to a nadir of 30% by year’s end. The party’s challenges are extensive. Economic stagnation, low presidential approval ratings, a slim parliamentary majority, and disaffected voters fuse to create substantial unpredictability for the 2019 elections and the country’s future political configuration.

Uruguay: The End of the Dream?

During the Pink Tide, international attention often focused on the most flamboyant and controversial heads of state, with their radical rhetoric and often limited commitment to the separation of powers. Perhaps it was for that reason that Uruguay, despite a very serious project of reform and three consecutive left-wing governments led by the Frente Amplio (Broad Front), attracted less attention. When international attention did arrive, it was usually by way of contrast. The avuncular former guerrilla, in the figure of José "Pepe" Mujica, seemed an antithesis to the large egos serving as heads of state elsewhere; he lived on a modest farm and drove a 1987 blue Volkswagen Beetle while president from 2010 to 2015. He could also be counted on for expressions of democratic values. He made way for his predecessor (and successor), Tabaré Vázquez. And surveying the struggles of the left on the international scene shortly after he left office, Mujica judged: "If it is the left's turn to lose ground, let it lose ground and learn, for it will have to begin again." But if Uruguay seems like the most successful of the Pink Tide's "social democratic governments," its transformative legacy in Uruguayan history assured, its future is less certain.

Tramas fallidas en la intersectorialidad de la política asistencial uruguaya.

En 2012 comienzan a implementarse en el Uruguay nuevos programas sociales dirigidos a la extrema pobreza: Cercanías, Jóvenes en Red y Uruguay Crece Contigo. Esto en el marco de un creciente desarrollo de la actuación pública iniciada en 2005, al asumir el gobierno nacional el Frente Amplio. Los referidos programas se denominan, genéricamente, de proximidad y se plantean como novedades la intersectorialidad de las propuestas y el trabajo de cercanía con los destinatarios. En base al análisis documental y a 60 entrevistas realizadas a quienes operan en los programas, este artículo se centra en la intersectorialidad. Interesa visualizar la manera en que es justificada en el diseño y la forma en que es puesta en práctica y, fundamentalmente, comprender qué indica sobre el sistema de protección social la necesidad de estos nuevos programas. Se concluye que las dificultades para el logro de los objetivos no obedecen a problemas técnicos y/o de gestión, sino que expresan las desigualdades persistentes en el acceso al bienestar y protección social.

El sistema mediático nacional como punto de partida. Los gobiernos del Frente Amplio y los medios en Uruguay

<p>La relación entre los gobiernos de izquierda sudamericanos y los grandes grupos mediáticos nacionales a principios del siglo XXI se caracterizó por un enfrentamiento público. A diferencia de lo que sucedió en otros países, en Uruguay los gobiernos del Frente Amplio —de Tabaré Vázquez (2005-2010) y José Mujica (2010-2015)— lograron negociar —con los actores mediáticos establecidos— las escenas mediáticas, de maneras que les resultaron beneficiosas. Y lo lograron sin necesidad de modificar las reglas del juego, en tanto que los actores mediáticos más preponderantes buscaron congraciarse con sus gobiernos.</p><p> </p><p> Este artículo sostiene que un factor clave para explicar ese vínculo, y la diferencia con otros países, radica en el sistema mediático nacional uruguayo, lo que permite demostrar que, a escala relativa, el poder de los gobiernos es mayor para definir las escenas mediáticas. Para demostrarlo, sugerimos un modelo propio, con el fin de caracterizar la historia de los sistemas mediáticos nacionales de América Latina, en este caso, aplicado a Uruguay a través de dos dimensiones centrales: la estructuración del campo político —a partir del peso relativo del Estado sobre el campo mediático y de la centralidad de la mediación partidaria—, y la estructuración del campo mediático —a partir de la estructuración de las principales empresas de medios y de las culturas periodísticas.</p>