Uruguay 2014: elecciones competitivas y partido de izquierda predominante

Abstract

The 2014 national elections confirm the distinctive features of the Uruguayan democracy: an old plural and competitive party democracy, in which the competition among the leftist Frente Amplio and the two traditional parties persists, while the small parties grow and the effective number of parties increases. As a novelty, in this election the FA eventually attains the status of predominant party, since it reaches the majority in Parliament for the third consecutive time. Besides this place within the government institutions —enabling Tabaré Vázquez’s second presidency— the FA also secures a predominant position in Gramsci terms, given the domain that it has achieved in civil society (unions, social organizations, public education and ideological networks). This election has also brought changes in the FA electorate, consolidating its position as a popular left party and strengthening its voting in the interior and in rural districts. At the same time, the FA experiences electoral decrease in its traditional realm of Montevideo and among the middle classes, the more educated citizens and the youth.