Uruguay's Ley de Caducidad - Expiry Law
October 2009 Elections, Uruguayan Voters, and Courts May End Law
Nov 7, 2009
On Oct. 25, 2009, Uruguayans took to the polls to vote for president and also to decide the fate of the country's controversial ley de caducidad, or expiry law. Uruguay's ley de caducidad has been on the books since 1986 and provides amnesty to former military and law enforcement officials involved in human right abuses against Uruguayans during the country's brutal dictatorship from 1973-1984. The October 2009 elections and a Supreme Court decision declaring the expiry law unconstitutional have brought hope to anti-expiry-law activists who have worked for years to reverse the law.
History of Uruguay's Ley de Caducidad
In 1986, nearly two years after the end of a brutal military dictatorship in Uruguay during which thousands of residents fled the country, were detained, tortured, disappeared, or killed, the Uruguayan Congress passed ley de caducidad, granting blanket amnesty to all military and law enforcement members for any acts committed in the country during the dictatorship.
By the end of the dictatorship nearly 20% of the population of Uruguay had fled as refugees from political persecution. In 1989 the controversial law was put to a vote in a national referendum and passed with 54% of the vote.
Tabare Vazquez and Prosecutions
Voted into office in 2005, Tabare Vazquez, part of the left-center coalition Frente Amplio, initiated policies to investigate some of the human rights abuses and disappearances during the dictatorship. Critics charged that his policies and actions violated the ley de caducidad, leading to court cases challenging Vazquez's administration. Ley de caducidad applies only to crimes committed in Uruguay. Some of the cases investigated under Vazquez's administration involved extraterritorial crimes.
A New Referendum to Overturn Ley de Caducidad
Uruguayans living outside of the country must return to Uruguay to vote; there is no absentee voting permitted by law. In the October 2009 election Uruguayan voters faced a presidential election, a vote on whether to overturn ley de caducidad, and a vote that would give Uruguayan expatriots the right to vote from their resident countries.
Ley de Caducidad and Uruguayan Court Decision
On Oct. 19, days before the Oct. 25, 2009 election the supreme court of Uruguay declared ley de caducidad unconstitutional, claiming that in 1986 the vote by Congress required a supermajority rather than a simple majority to pass the law. Anti-expiry law activists took this news as a hopeful sign that the referendum would pass and overturn the law by a vote of the people.
Ley de Caducidad and Uruguayan Voters
The referendum to overturn the expiry law failed, garnering 48% of the vote. Activists plan to forge on and work through the courts to repeal ley de caducidad through legal means.
To read more about Uruguay go to 24 Hours in Montevideo and Uruguay--Colonial Towns Along Rio de la Plata.
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