The Naval Club Pact () was an agreement between the authorities of the military junta of the civil-military dictatorship of Uruguay and representatives of the political opposition. Secretly agreed on on August 3, 1984, at the naval club in the Carrasco neighborhood of

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, it laid the foundations for the transition to democracy in the country.

Background

The civil-military dictatorship was installed after the coup d'état of 1973. In 1981, a year after the electorate rejected a constitutional reform proposed by the regime to legitimize itself in a referendum, the Council of the Nation –the governing body composed of the Council of State and the Board of General Officers– appointed Army General Gregorio Conrado Álvarez as

President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay ( es, Presidente del Uruguay), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. Their rights are determined in the Constitution of Urugua ...

. In 1982, a greater political opening began, with the holding of primary elections in the political parties, and in 1983 the dialogue between the political and military authorities increased. That year talks were held at the Parque Hotel, which ultimately did not lead to any agreement. In November, a massive demonstration took place at the Obelisk of the Constituents of Montevideo demanding the holding of general elections and the end of the dictatorial regime. After the 1982 primary elections and the demonstrations throughout the country, the civil opposition became the only valid interlocutor for the government.

Negotiations

Vista desde calle 8 de Octubre - panoramio

On July 6, 1984, talks were resumed at the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff –current headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense–. The commanders in chief of the three branches of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

participated on behalf of the military government: Hugo Medina, Manuel Buadas and Rodofo Invidio, for the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, respectively. The Civic Union was represented by

Juan Vicente Chiarino Juan Vicente Chiarino (25 December 1901, Montevideo – 29 June 1989) was a Uruguayan lawyer and politician. A prominent member of Civic Union,Julio María Sanguinetti,

Enrique Tarigo Enrique E. Tarigo Vázquez (Montevideo, 15 September 1927 – 14 December 2002) was a Uruguayan jurist and political figure. Background He was a lawyer and University professor. Vice President of Uruguay He was Vice President of Uruguay from 1 ...

and José Luis Batlle represented the Colorado Party. And on the other hand, the Broad Front was represented by the socialist José Pedro Cardoso and the Christian Democrat Juan Young, since both parties had been legalized throughout the talks. The National Party refused to participate in the talks because it was opposed to the military proposal of holding the elections with banned parties and politicians, among whom were its leader Wilson Ferreira Aldunate who had been imprisoned after his return from exile on July 16. On July 31, the negotiation sessions were moved to the Naval Club, located in the Carrasco neighborhood. On August 1, Institutional Act No. 19 was drafted, and two days later, after both parties separately approved the document, the negotiation was concluded without the signing of any agreement. On August 15, Institutional Act No. 19 was ratified by the Government.

Aftermath

The Naval Club Pact laid the foundations for the transition to democracy after almost 13 years of dictatorship. Three months after the ratification of Institutional Act No. 19, a general election was held in which both Ferreira Aldunate,

Líber Seregni Líber Seregni Mosquera (13 December 1916 – 31 July 2004) was a Uruguayan military officer and politician. In his youth he was a member of the Colorado Party. Under successive governments of that party, he had a successful military career u ...

and Jorge Batlle were banned, and in which Julio María Sanguinetti was elected president of Uruguay. On February 12, 1985, Gregorio Conado Álvarez resigned from the position of president, which was occupied by the president of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Rafael Addiego Bruno Rafael Addiego Bruno (23 February 1923 – 20 February 2014) was a Uruguayan jurist and political figure. He was President of Uruguay, as an interim chief executive, between February and March 1985 and between the resignation of Gregorio Álvar ...

, until Sanguinetti took office on March 1, 1985, the date on which he ended officially the dictatorship in Uruguay.{{Cite web , title=Falleció ex Ministro de la SCJ Dr. Rafael Addiego Bruno , url=https://www.poderjudicial.gub.uy/institucional/item/493-fallecio-ex-ministro-de-la-scj-dr-rafael-addiego-bruno.html , access-date=2023-12-03 , website=www.poderjudicial.gub.uy , language=es-ES

References

External links

Institutional Act No. 19
1984 in Uruguay Political history of Uruguay Civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay