Eighteen years after the publication of the first volume of Milton Vanger’s projected trilogy on José Batlle y Ordóñez of Uruguay, the second part has appeared. The long wait has been well worthwhile, for the new volume is a major contribution to the political history of Uruguay. It is thoroughly researched, clearly written, and highly informative. The importance of the work is enhanced by the fact that it deals with a major figure at the height of his public career.
Vanger traces in great detail the course of Batlle’s political life from 1907 to 1915, portraying his activities while residing in Europe, his second election to the presidency of Uruguay, and his very eventful administration. Batlle emerges as a farsighted and determined leader who knew how to persuade a somewhat reluctant congress to adopt a vast program of economic and social reforms that went far toward transforming Uruguay into a “model country”—the first welfare state in the Western Hemisphere.
Though the book tells us relatively little that is completely new about the reforms themselves and their implementation, it does tell us much that is new about Uruguayan politics and Batlle’s leadership. We learn, for example, that elections were managed in high degree by the administration’s “moral influence” over civil servants, and that Blanco opponents kept the Colorado government in periodic alarm over plots to seize power and to assassinate or kidnap the president. Although Batlle’s grip often seemed precarious, his leadership was so relentless and effective that he got almost everything he wanted from congress—except the co-legiado and his program to raise land taxes (inspired by American Henry George) and to recover public lands illegally occupied by wealthy ranchers.
In three sections entitled “Appraisals,” the author presents some new interpretations of the nature and basis of Batlle’s leadership. Most notably, Vanger denies that an amalgam of middle- and working-class people sustained this reformist administration. Rather, it was the Colorado party and the indomitable leadership of Batlle himself that accounted for the remarkable record of accomplishments. While denying the existence of a politically aware and cohesive middle class, Vanger declares that the working class did provide identifiable and important support. These views and others will doubtless stir up controversy, and Vanger’s failure to define the constituent elements of the Colorado party may prove a weakness in his argument, but the author has made a strong case for his interpretation.
Because of Vanger’s rather heavy emphasis on politics, opportunity remains for continued research on other aspects of the Batlle era, such as the new state enterprises and the expanded educational system. Nevertheless, this work presents a fascinating and important portrait of one of the greatest leaders of twentieth-century Latin America.
