Jorge Batlle Ibáñez
Encyclopedia
Jorge Luis Batlle Ibáñez (ˈxorxe ˈβaʎe iˈβaɲeθ; Batlle locally ˈbaʒe or ˈbaʃe; born October 25, 1927) is a politician
from Uruguay
, a member of the Colorado Party
. He served as the President of Uruguay
from 2000 to 2005.
Dr. Jorge Batlle became Uruguay
an president on March 1, 2000, after having been elected the previous year by popular vote. He was the fourth Uruguayan President belonging to the Batlle family — one of whom was his own father, Luis Batlle Berres
— a name that is closely related to the political history of the country. Batlle had begun his political career long ago and had served as member of the Uruguayan Congress for the Colorado Party
, to which many members of his own family — which came to the River Plate
from the Catalonia
n coast at Sitges
, Spain
, 200 years ago - had belonged before him.
in 1956 - had been active in journalism both in Radio "Ariel" and the newspaper "Acción". He was also by that time a member of the governing body of his Party.
During the period of civilian-military administration in Uruguay (1973–1985), Dr. Batlle did not occupy any legislative or official position, having been banished from political activity by decree. He did preside over the Legislative General Assembly in February 1985, when the first democratically elected Congress was seated after the military interregnum. He has a very active legislative record inspired by a liberal outlook whose principles are rooted in the history of the country and in such seminal events as the Quebracho Revolution of the late 19th century against military rule. Dr. Batlle was also a leading promoter and drafter of two Constitutional Amendments, one in 1966 and the other more recently in 1996.
He has gained notoriety for speaking his mind at all times, which has inevitably led to controversial remarks. As president, and while being interviewed by Bloomberg News, he became increasingly irritated at the interviewer's questions and blurted out (believing he was not being recorded at the time) that "Argentinians are all thieves, first to last". A few days later, he travelled to Argentina to make a public apology before President Duhalde. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2025700.stm
Dr. Batlle is married to Mrs. Mercedes Menafra, and has two children from a previous marriage, Beatriz and Raúl Lorenzo, and four grandchildren: Nicolás, Lorenzo, Gerónimo and María Paz.
George W. Bush
.
He took office at a particularly difficult moment in the country’s life, as he pointed out in his inaugural address, when he stressed the need "to take Uruguay into the real world." Batlle's determination to reduce public spending, aimed at preserving the macroeconomic balance, made it possible for Uruguay to be highly regarded as a country with a sound management of its economic
affairs.
His administration had to deal with a foot-and-mouth disease
outbreak, which threatened access of Uruguayan beef
to international markets. Before the end of his term, Uruguay had re-gained disease-free status.
Batlle firmly backed MERCOSUR
, which he saw as instrumental for an open regional integration into the world economy. He favored MERCOSUR’s strengthening by its entering in associations such as the one envisaged in the so-called "4+1" agreement with the United States.
He was also in favor of the creation of the Free Trade Association of the Americas (FTAA). As President, Batlle was firmly set against protectionism and subsidies of any kind; he has been a consistent spokesman for unhampered free trade.
that had fractured society, Batlle appointed a committee, known as the "Committee for Peace" (in Spanish
:Comisión para la Paz) composed of members of the clergy, representatives of political parties and other respected public figures. The goals of the committee were to investigate into the events surrounding forced disappearances and their consequences, but not to press charges against those involved. Though these investigations had little success, Batlle's actions paved the road for the administration of succeeding president Tabaré Vázquez
to carry further efforts and require cooperation of the armed forces. In November 2005, the first remains of communists who had been kidnapped, tortured and murdered by the military dictatorship, were found.
Argentina was recorded by a hidden camera from that channel. When the journalist compared the situation in Uruguay to the situation in Argentina, president Batlle said that they were two different countries and that Argentina had a really high level of corruption among its politicians, which Uruguay didn't. He particularly said the Argentines were "a bunch of thieves from the first to the very last one of them."
This caused a diplomatic scandal and made president Batlle fly to Buenos Aires
and apologise to president Eduardo Duhalde
. Later, a poll made in Argentina revealed that 80% of its population thought that president Batlle was right about the corruption.
Hands over presidency to newly elected Tabaré Vázquez
Assumes Presidency of the Republic.
Elected President
Forces run-off against leftist Tabaré Vázquez
Invited lecturer to the Annual Meeting of the Association of Argentinian Banking (ABA).
Participates on the XII World Meat Congress in Dublin.
Wins the presidential nomination of his Party.
President of the Uruguayan Delegation at the U.N..
Recognized as Distinguished Citizen by the Zionist World Organization on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the State of Israel.
Co-writer of the Constitution Reform Project voted affirmatively on that same year.
Elected Senator for the period February 15, 1995 to February 15, 2000. Resigns to his position on June 1, 1999 after being elected candidate of the Colorado Party to run for President.
Wins internal election of Batllismo Unido and is elected as presidential candidate for that fraction of the Colorado Party.
Intense activities at the Iberoamerican Institute of Cooperation in Madrid.
Invited by the Generalitat of Catalunya and gives lectures about economy in the Chamber of Commerce.
Lecturer at the International Seminar: History of the philosophic, ethic, political ideas and its influence in the formation of the contemporaneous Uruguay.
President ot the Uruguayan Delegation at the U.N..
In his capacity of elected Senator, chairs the General Assembly in occasion of the renewal of the democratic life of Uruguay.
Elected Senator for the Colorado Party for the period February 15, 1985 to February 15, 1990.
Proscribed by the military regime, was imprisoned several times. During that period he was dedicated to political and rural activities.
Journalist, editor and director of Acción.
Elected Deputy for the Colorado Party, Sector 15, for the legislative term February 15, 1963 to February 14, 1967.
Elected Deputy for the Colorado Party, Sector 15, for the legislative term February 15, 1959 to February 14, 1963.
Obtains his degree of Doctor in Law and Social Sciences in the Law and Social Sciences School of the University of the Republic
.
Journalist and director of Radio Broadcasting Ariel.
Travels to London to study.
Member of the Provincial and National Convention of the Colorado Party on a permanent basis as well as the Provincial and National Executive Committee as Secretary and President, respectively.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, a member of the Colorado Party
Colorado Party (Uruguay)
The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....
. He served as the President of Uruguay
President of Uruguay
The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...
from 2000 to 2005.
Dr. Jorge Batlle became Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an president on March 1, 2000, after having been elected the previous year by popular vote. He was the fourth Uruguayan President belonging to the Batlle family — one of whom was his own father, Luis Batlle Berres
Luis Batlle Berres
Luis Conrado Batlle y Berres was a Uruguayan political figure.-Background:Batlle Berres was a journalist and prominent member of the Uruguayan Colorado Party...
— a name that is closely related to the political history of the country. Batlle had begun his political career long ago and had served as member of the Uruguayan Congress for the Colorado Party
Colorado Party (Uruguay)
The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....
, to which many members of his own family — which came to the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
from the Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
n coast at Sitges
Sitges
*Church of Sant Bartolomeu i Santa Tecla . It houses two Gothic sepulchres , belonging to the an older church located on the same site...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, 200 years ago - had belonged before him.
Background
By 1958, when he was first elected Congressman for the Colorado Party, Dr. Batlle – who had obtained his Diploma in Law and Social Sciences from the University of the RepublicUniversity of the Republic, Uruguay
The University of the Republic is Uruguay's public university. It is the most important and country's largest university, with a student body of more than 80,000 students. It was founded on July 18, 1849 in Montevideo, where most of its buildings and facilities are still located. Its current...
in 1956 - had been active in journalism both in Radio "Ariel" and the newspaper "Acción". He was also by that time a member of the governing body of his Party.
During the period of civilian-military administration in Uruguay (1973–1985), Dr. Batlle did not occupy any legislative or official position, having been banished from political activity by decree. He did preside over the Legislative General Assembly in February 1985, when the first democratically elected Congress was seated after the military interregnum. He has a very active legislative record inspired by a liberal outlook whose principles are rooted in the history of the country and in such seminal events as the Quebracho Revolution of the late 19th century against military rule. Dr. Batlle was also a leading promoter and drafter of two Constitutional Amendments, one in 1966 and the other more recently in 1996.
He has gained notoriety for speaking his mind at all times, which has inevitably led to controversial remarks. As president, and while being interviewed by Bloomberg News, he became increasingly irritated at the interviewer's questions and blurted out (believing he was not being recorded at the time) that "Argentinians are all thieves, first to last". A few days later, he travelled to Argentina to make a public apology before President Duhalde. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2025700.stm
Dr. Batlle is married to Mrs. Mercedes Menafra, and has two children from a previous marriage, Beatriz and Raúl Lorenzo, and four grandchildren: Nicolás, Lorenzo, Gerónimo and María Paz.
Policy
Early in his term, he called for the legalization of drugs as a means to stop trafficking and money laundering, and was largely ignored by both the international press and other American governments. Otherwise a strong ally of the US, Batlle's position on drugs stood in stark contrast to the measures enforced in the US by PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
He took office at a particularly difficult moment in the country’s life, as he pointed out in his inaugural address, when he stressed the need "to take Uruguay into the real world." Batlle's determination to reduce public spending, aimed at preserving the macroeconomic balance, made it possible for Uruguay to be highly regarded as a country with a sound management of its economic
affairs.
His administration had to deal with a foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...
outbreak, which threatened access of Uruguayan beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
to international markets. Before the end of his term, Uruguay had re-gained disease-free status.
Batlle firmly backed MERCOSUR
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
, which he saw as instrumental for an open regional integration into the world economy. He favored MERCOSUR’s strengthening by its entering in associations such as the one envisaged in the so-called "4+1" agreement with the United States.
He was also in favor of the creation of the Free Trade Association of the Americas (FTAA). As President, Batlle was firmly set against protectionism and subsidies of any kind; he has been a consistent spokesman for unhampered free trade.
The Committee for Peace
As an attempt to bring closure to Uruguay's traumatic recent past, marred by a twelve-year dictatorshipDictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
that had fractured society, Batlle appointed a committee, known as the "Committee for Peace" (in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
:Comisión para la Paz) composed of members of the clergy, representatives of political parties and other respected public figures. The goals of the committee were to investigate into the events surrounding forced disappearances and their consequences, but not to press charges against those involved. Though these investigations had little success, Batlle's actions paved the road for the administration of succeeding president Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas is a former President of Uruguay. A physician by training, he is a member of the leftist Frente Amplo coalition . Vázquez was elected president on October 31, 2004, took office on March 1, 2005, and relinquished the office on March 1, 2010...
to carry further efforts and require cooperation of the armed forces. In November 2005, the first remains of communists who had been kidnapped, tortured and murdered by the military dictatorship, were found.
Bloomberg scandal and diplomatic conflict with Argentina
In 2002, after Uruguay was hit by the Argentine economic crisis, an off-the-record conversation between president Batlle and a journalist from BloombergBloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
Argentina was recorded by a hidden camera from that channel. When the journalist compared the situation in Uruguay to the situation in Argentina, president Batlle said that they were two different countries and that Argentina had a really high level of corruption among its politicians, which Uruguay didn't. He particularly said the Argentines were "a bunch of thieves from the first to the very last one of them."
This caused a diplomatic scandal and made president Batlle fly to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and apologise to president Eduardo Duhalde
Eduardo Duhalde
-External links:...
. Later, a poll made in Argentina revealed that 80% of its population thought that president Batlle was right about the corruption.
Chronology of his political career
- March 1, 2005
Hands over presidency to newly elected Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas is a former President of Uruguay. A physician by training, he is a member of the leftist Frente Amplo coalition . Vázquez was elected president on October 31, 2004, took office on March 1, 2005, and relinquished the office on March 1, 2010...
- March 1, 2000
Assumes Presidency of the Republic.
- November 1999
Elected President
- October 1999
Forces run-off against leftist Tabaré Vázquez
- July 1999
Invited lecturer to the Annual Meeting of the Association of Argentinian Banking (ABA).
- June 1999
Participates on the XII World Meat Congress in Dublin.
- April 1999
Wins the presidential nomination of his Party.
- November 1998
President of the Uruguayan Delegation at the U.N..
- 1998
Recognized as Distinguished Citizen by the Zionist World Organization on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the State of Israel.
- 1996
Co-writer of the Constitution Reform Project voted affirmatively on that same year.
- November 1994
Elected Senator for the period February 15, 1995 to February 15, 2000. Resigns to his position on June 1, 1999 after being elected candidate of the Colorado Party to run for President.
- May 1989
Wins internal election of Batllismo Unido and is elected as presidential candidate for that fraction of the Colorado Party.
- February 1988
Intense activities at the Iberoamerican Institute of Cooperation in Madrid.
- January 1988
Invited by the Generalitat of Catalunya and gives lectures about economy in the Chamber of Commerce.
- September 1987
Lecturer at the International Seminar: History of the philosophic, ethic, political ideas and its influence in the formation of the contemporaneous Uruguay.
- September 1986
President ot the Uruguayan Delegation at the U.N..
- February 1985
In his capacity of elected Senator, chairs the General Assembly in occasion of the renewal of the democratic life of Uruguay.
- November 1984
Elected Senator for the Colorado Party for the period February 15, 1985 to February 15, 1990.
- 1984-1973
Proscribed by the military regime, was imprisoned several times. During that period he was dedicated to political and rural activities.
- 1948-1973
Journalist, editor and director of Acción.
- 1962
Elected Deputy for the Colorado Party, Sector 15, for the legislative term February 15, 1963 to February 14, 1967.
- 1958
Elected Deputy for the Colorado Party, Sector 15, for the legislative term February 15, 1959 to February 14, 1963.
- 1956
Obtains his degree of Doctor in Law and Social Sciences in the Law and Social Sciences School of the University of the Republic
University of the Republic, Uruguay
The University of the Republic is Uruguay's public university. It is the most important and country's largest university, with a student body of more than 80,000 students. It was founded on July 18, 1849 in Montevideo, where most of its buildings and facilities are still located. Its current...
.
- 1943-1976
Journalist and director of Radio Broadcasting Ariel.
- 1947
Travels to London to study.
- 1945 until February 29, 2000
Member of the Provincial and National Convention of the Colorado Party on a permanent basis as well as the Provincial and National Executive Committee as Secretary and President, respectively.
Sources, external links
- http://www.presidencia.gub.uy/pages/curric_eng.htm