Jorge Sapelli
Encyclopedia
Jorge Sapelli was an 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 political figure. He was the Vice President of Uruguay
Vice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
from 1972 until his resignation in 1973.
1972-1973
Sapelli served in President Juan María BordaberryJuan María Bordaberry
Juan María Bordaberry Arocena was a Uruguayan politician and cattle rancher, who first served as President from 1972 until 1976, including as a dictator from 1973 until his ouster in a 1976 coup...
's Administration as Vice President of Uruguay
Vice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
until June 1973. It may be noted, in the light of subsequent controversies, that his actual service as Vice President is little reported on or analyzed.
June 1973 resignation
When President Juan María BordaberryJuan María Bordaberry
Juan María Bordaberry Arocena was a Uruguayan politician and cattle rancher, who first served as President from 1972 until 1976, including as a dictator from 1973 until his ouster in a 1976 coup...
decided with the Military Forces to dissolve the Parliament in June 1973, Sapelli resigned, as he did not agree with this decision that began the long period of civilian-military rule by decree in Uruguay (1973-1985), widely described by observers as a dictatorship.
It would be fair to state that Sapelli's resignation is given far more analysis than his actual service as Vice President.
Historical note
Sapelli was the eighth person to hold the office of Vice President of UruguayVice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
. The office dates from 1934, when César Charlone
César Charlone (politician)
César Charlone was a Uruguayan political figure.-Background:Charlone was prominent member of the Uruguayan Colorado Party during the 1930s.-Vice President of Uruguay:...
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...
's first Vice President.
Legacy
Sapelli's political career arguably commands multifaceted perceptions of a legacy.Some observers would argue that Sapelli's action in dissociating himself with Juan María Bordaberry
Juan María Bordaberry
Juan María Bordaberry Arocena was a Uruguayan politician and cattle rancher, who first served as President from 1972 until 1976, including as a dictator from 1973 until his ouster in a 1976 coup...
in 1973, under whom he had been serving, demonstrated himself to be a figure of constitutional principle. Others would argue that the position of Vice President of Uruguay
Vice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
, and such power as the holder of the office exercises, is mainly significant to the extent that the holder is prepared to identify himself unreservedly with the current 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...
, and that in any case the office of Vice President of Uruguay
Vice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
originated from the period of the Presidency of Gabriel Terra
Gabriel Terra
Dr. Gabriel Terra Leivas was the President of Uruguay from 1931 to 1938.- Background :Born in Montevideo to a wealthy family, he graduated from the University of Uruguay in 1895, and subsequently joined the faculty....
, 1931-1938, who ruled by decree.
It may be noted also that, unlike some holders of the somewhat intermittent office of Vice President of Uruguay
Vice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
(e.g., the distinguished Uruguayan
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...
diplomat Alberto Guani
Alberto Guani
Alberto Guani was an Uruguayan jurist, diplomat and the Vice President from 1943 to 1947.Alberto Guani was born in Montevideo in 1877...
), Sapelli was a relatively untried political figure prior to his assumption of the Vice Presidency, and as such was largely dependent upon the patronage of President Juan María Bordaberry
Juan María Bordaberry
Juan María Bordaberry Arocena was a Uruguayan politician and cattle rancher, who first served as President from 1972 until 1976, including as a dictator from 1973 until his ouster in a 1976 coup...
, whom he in any case publicly repudiated in 1973.
It may also be observed that when Sapelli repudiated President Bordaberry in 1973, the circumstances of the office of Vice President of Uruguay
Vice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
going into abeyance, it was not until 1985 that the office was revived. Thus his legacy is many-faceted, with the (in the past) long ruling Colorado Party (Uruguay)
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....
somewhat belatedly holding him to be a figure of principle, while ironically celebrating him as one who caused the office which he held to go into abeyance for over a decade .
To put into context Sapelli's reputation within Uruguayan
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...
political culture, it may be noted also that the reputation of a predecessor as Vice President of Uruguay
Vice President of Uruguay
-List of Vice Presidents of Uruguay:Parties: Colorado Party, National Party, Frente Amplio-History of the office:The office of Vice President of Uruguay dates from 1934 ....
, Alberto Guani
Alberto Guani
Alberto Guani was an Uruguayan jurist, diplomat and the Vice President from 1943 to 1947.Alberto Guani was born in Montevideo in 1877...
, has largely emerged unscathed despite having served in the Administration of 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...
Gabriel Terra
Gabriel Terra
Dr. Gabriel Terra Leivas was the President of Uruguay from 1931 to 1938.- Background :Born in Montevideo to a wealthy family, he graduated from the University of Uruguay in 1895, and subsequently joined the faculty....
, who, as President Bordaberry was later to do, ruled by decree.
See also
- Politics of UruguayPolitics of UruguayThe Politics of Uruguay abide by a presidential representative democratic republic, under which the President of Uruguay is both the head of state and the head of government, as well as a multiform party system. The president exercises executive power and Legislative power is vested in the two...
- Vice President of Uruguay#Uruguayan political culture: reputations of Vice Presidential office holders