Uruguay has a population of over 3.5 million people as of 2017. It is comprised primarily of Uruguayan nationals, with small minorities of Argentinians, Brazilians and other expatriates. The economy is largely dependent on services, which account for about half of the country’s GDP. Other important sectors include manufacturing, construction and agriculture. Uruguay also benefits from foreign investments from countries such as Argentina and the European Union. In terms of foreign relations, Uruguay has strong ties with many countries in South America including Brazil and Argentina. It also maintains diplomatic relationships with other nations around the world such as Mexico, Spain and Germany. Politically, Uruguay has a presidential system with both a president and vice president as its heads of state. The bicameral parliament consists of 99 members who are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. See militarynous for Uruguay military and defense.
Yearbook 2017
Uruguay. Vice President Raúl Sendic became the first Vice President to resign on September 13. He was replaced by Lucía Topolansky, wife of former President José Mujica (2010-15) and the first woman in office. The reason for Sendic’s departure was alleged mismanagement of the indebted state oil company ANCAP and irregularities in his track record. In the short term, the departure was seen as a severe blow to the left government and the Breda front (Frente Amplio, FA), but in the long run Topolansky is believed to be an asset to current President Tabaré Vázquez. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for frequently used acronyms and abbreviations related to as well as country profile of Uruguay.
According to Countryaah.com, the largest foreign direct investment in Uruguay’s history was completed in November after 17 months of negotiations with the Finnish pulp company UPM. The agreement involves the construction of a pulp mill somewhere along the beaches of Río Negro worth $ 4 billion. In connection with the agreement, Transport Minister Victor Rossi stated that a 273 kilometer long freight railway will be built between the capital Montevideo and Paso de los Toros in the Tacuarembo province. Some analysts considered the agreement much more advantageous for UPM than for Uruguay; among other things, the company is guaranteed a free trade zone around the factory.
Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi, who for several years has been accused by the opposition of failing to improve the general security situation in the country, was able to present figures at the beginning of the year which, on the contrary, showed that, in comparison with most Latin American countries, the already low murder rate in 2016 has fallen by almost 10%. Especially in the capital Montevideo, the crime of violence had gone down thanks to the introduction of special ambulatory police patrols. However, Bonomi’s main critic, right senator Pedro Bordaberry, was not satisfied, but claimed that the statistics were misleading and that the government was still far from reaching its own goals in the fight against crime.