Wilson Ferreira Aldunate (1919–1988) was a

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an politician and a historically important member of the National Party.

Biography

He was Minister of Agriculture during the second National Council of Government with Blanco majority (1963-1967). As a Senator he led the ''Por la Patria'' faction and made weekly radio addresses. He was among the more liberal members of his party and a fierce opposer of President

Jorge Pacheco Areco Jorge Pacheco Areco (April 9, 1920 – July 29, 1998) was a Uruguayan politician and member of the Colorado Party. He served as President of Uruguay from December 6, 1967 to March 1, 1972.

. He ran for president in the 1971 elections, with

Carlos Julio Pereyra Carlos Julio Pereyra Pereyra (15 November 1922 – 9 February 2020) was a Uruguayan schoolteacher, author and politician belonging to the National Party. Pereyra was born in Rocha. He had a long political career, serving as representative and l ...

as running mate. He won the most votes of any candidate, finishing over 60,000 votes ahead of runner-up

Juan Maria Bordaberry ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

of the Colorado Party. However, under the

Ley de Lemas ''Ley de Lemas'' is a form of the double simultaneous vote (DSV) electoral system which is, or has been, used in elections in Argentina, Uruguay, and Honduras. It is an unusual variant of open list proportional representation, and works as follow ...

system in effect at the time, Bordaberry won the presidency because the combined Colorado vote exceeded the combined National vote by just over 12,800 votes. After the 1973 Uruguayan coup d'etat he had conflicts with the

Civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay The civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay (1973–85), also known as the Uruguayan Dictatorship, was an authoritarian military dictatorship that ruled Uruguay for 12 years, from June 27, 1973 (after the U.S. backed 1973 coup d'état) until Ma ...

and was a leading non-Leftist to flee to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He opposed the dictatorship from his exile in many countries; in 1976 he addressed the

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, denouncing human right abuses in his country and asking for a stop of US military aid to Uruguay. On June 16, 1984 he returned to Uruguay only to be arrested, which led to protests in Latin America and Spain. As well as protests at home where his party wanted his release. He was released five days after the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

; the first thing he did when addressing the crowds was to offer "governability" to the new democratic government. The most critical moment was on the occasion of the parliamentary discussion and passing of the controversial Expiry Law, which Ferreira supported. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1988. On his death President

Julio María Sanguinetti Julio María Sanguinetti Coirolo (; born 6 January 1936 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a Uruguayan politician, lawyer and journalist, who twice served as President of Uruguay (from March 1985 until March 1990, and again, from March 1995 until March ...

said "He lived as a gladiator and died a messenger of peace." He is buried at

Cementerio del Buceo, Montevideo Cementerio del Buceo is a cemetery in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was established in 1872. It is located in the ''barrio'' of Buceo, near the shores of the River Plate. Nearby is the British Cemetery. Notable burials * Rafael Barradas (1890–1 ...

References

External links

Tribute by the Presidency of Uruguay to Wilson Ferreira

Wilson Ferreira Aldunate Text on the list page 71 - National Party

The Naval Club Pact Seregni and Sanguinetti, with Wilson prisoner amnesty agreed to dictatorship, but Ferreira was Wilson who took charge of the promises and voting law creating 15,848 Expiry Law of the Punitive Claims of the State {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira Aldunate, Wilson 1919 births 1988 deaths Ministers of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Uruguay National Party (Uruguay) politicians People from Florida Department Uruguayan cattlemen Uruguayan exiles Uruguayan people of Portuguese descent Candidates for President of Uruguay Deaths from cancer in Uruguay Burials at Cementerio del Buceo, Montevideo