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Censorship in Uruguay

Annotated Bibliography

Alexander, Robert J., and Eldon M. Parker. "The 1973-1985 Dictatorship." A History of Organized Labor in Uruguay and Paraguay. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005. 72-73. Google Books. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.

It discussed the tension between government and press media. The press was deeply censored by the government. However, the press still tried their best to be independent from the government control. And there were considerable counterforces in the society that tried to free their people.

Delgado, Mario. "Uruguay: Against Reason." Index on Censorship 8.1 (1979): 49. Taylor and Francis Online. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

In this journal article, it continued discussing education censorship on students. The government passed a general education law to restrict the autonomy of education councils. It established a central council which solely based on a political alliance. Under this law, the freedom of intellectual right was heavily restricted, forcing all students to prioritize political obedience before objectivity of learning.

Francesca Lessa, and Pierre-Louis Le Goff. "A Silent Anniversary in Uruguay?" Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 27 June 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

In the newspaper article, it reflected on the past dictatorship in today’s point of view. People in Uruguay are calling for a national day of memory to those who fought against silence in the past. This news article can serve as the ending section in my wiki article by using it to present how today’s people think of the darkest period in Uruguay’s history.

Gregory, Stephen. "The Revenge of the Foreign." Intellectuals and Left Politics in Uruguay, 1958-2006. Brighton: Sussex Academic, 2009. 88-90. Google Book. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

In this chapter of the book, it supplemented my source on various writers who fought against the strict censorship during the dictatorship. From looking at the work they published and how the government oppressed public opinions fiercely, this source can deepen my understanding on this serious censorship back then.

Jones, Derek. "Uruguay." Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. 2544-546. Google Book. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

In this Encyclopedia, the author gave a comprehensive history of censorship during the civic-military dictatorship period. It mentioned the suppress of student demonstration, heavily censorship on any form of art, entertainment, and press. Most importantly, this source can serve as a complement of my other sources on the press censorship. It gives more details on how government blocked the press information to a severe extent.

Lessa, Francesca, and Leigh A. Payne. "Barriers to Justice: The Ley De Caducidad and Impunity in Uruguay." Amnesty in the Age of Human Rights Accountability: Comparative and International Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2012. 125-26. Google Books. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.

In this book, it discussed how the government started censoring education system and imposing traditional values and patriotism to children. They used censored textbook in school, forcing children to receive “moral and civic education” and grading children’s performance by their faith to government.

Müller, Beate. "Performing the Unspeakable: Defeating Censorship in Two Stories by Mario Benedetti." Censorship & Cultural Regulation in the Modern Age. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004. 172-85. Google Books. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.

It discussed about during the time of Civic-military dictatorship from 1970s to 1985, how censorship was being institutionalized by the government. Censorship infiltrated into every expect of people’s public and private space. Fear to speak up created silence in society. The book brought up one of the most famous writers in Uruguay, Mario Benedetti. He reflected many truthful thoughts and critiques in his works, which can be seen as a valuable resource for me to back up the argument of strict censorship during this Civic-military dictatorship.

Schumacher, Edward. "Wait goes on for Uruguayan who fell out of step." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Feb. 1984. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

In this news article, it reveals the political tension during the dictatorship. Many politicians were sentenced to jail. Those politicians were called as “Prisoners of Conscience”. They were convicted for being activists who organized protest against government’s censorship. It is stunning to see that the government regard those activists as terrorists and torture them harshly before putting them to jail.

Schumacher, Edward. "Uruguayan Public Discontent Spurs Crackdown on Dissent." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Jan. 1984. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

In this news article, it reflected the tight censorship in 1980s. The government ban suspected leftists from participation in politics and developed a computerized ranking for every citizen’s ideological loyalty. Discontents spread to every corner of the society, and the protests on censorship grew stronger than ever.

Sosnowski, Saúl, and Louise B. Popkin. "On Suffering, Song, and White Horses." Repression, Exile, and Democracy: Uruguayan Culture. Durham: Duke UP, 1993. 120-22. Google Books. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

In this book, it illustrated the censorship on music and radio station. At the beginning, the government did not censor much on music. The radio stations or writers would receive written notice from the police, but it was not serious. However, after some representative writers and staffs who worked for the station went to jail, the radio station started self-censorship. Subversive songs began to strictly censored by the government.

The Associated Press. "Survey Shows That Restrictions on News Media in Major Countries in Latin America Have Increased." The New York Times. The New York Times, 8 Oct. 1972. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

In this news article, it reported the past media censorship on Tupamaro. Any report that related to Tupamaro need to be drawn from government sources. And starting from 1972, the government started to imprison newsman, editors and publishers who are not abide government rules.

Censorship

Media and Literature

During the years of the dictatorship, censorship was heavily placed on Uruguayan people. Censorship was being institutionalized by the government, infiltrated into every corner of society. Since 1976, the government started implementing censorship on press media. Media constantly faced threats of closure and interrogation. News companies had to submit its journalists', editors' and staffs' names to the Ministry of Education and Culture with a clear statement of its publication objectives and financial sources. Articles or publications which intended to damage the reputation of national prestige is forbidden, especially regard to the report on Tupamaro urban guerrillas. Open information on Tupamaro needed to be drawn from government sources. At the same time, censorship on literature works reached to the strictest level in Uruguayan history. The numbers of professional writers were detained by the government exceeded any previous period in the history. The illiberal political environment forced many influential writers to move out of the country to publish their works. Mario Benedetti, the most prominent Uruguayan novelist, lived in exile in Peru, Cuba and Spain. He wrote considerable influential novels to criticize the strict censorship under the Civic-Military dictatorship, calling for a non-violent opposition in the country.

Music and Radio

As the written works became increasingly hard to get published, writers turned articles into songs. As the consequence, the regime started carrying out more censoring measures on music and radio station. The government did not send out an official public announcement on banning music and broadcasting. However, music and radio stations sensed increasing pressure from the government. The radio station began with receiving police notice if they broadcast sensitive songs. Then the music and radio station started self-censorship when some representative composers or music station's staffs were sentenced by the government. The arrest of songwriters forced other performers of protest songs to leave the country and radio stations stopped broadcasting any music due to social conformity.

Education

Apart from censoring intellectual works, the government under Civic-Military dictatorship attempted to restructure the national educational system for the goal of prioritizing "moral and civic education". In 1969, Professor Acosta y Lara took the Secondary Education Council under control. He had a tight political alliance with the regime, who actively attack students' dissents. In 1972, the controversial General Education law passed, which eliminated autonomy of education councils. Since then, staffs from the Education council started patrolling schools and wearing armbands. Security personnel from the Education council strictly monitored student activities and class discussions.Moreover, the state imposed stringent syllabus, censored textbook and evaluated students' performance based on their ideological attachment to the regime. A computerized system allocated a letter of designation of democratic faith (A, B or C) to people according to their levels of ideological loyalty.

After the return to democracy, Uruguayan people are calling for establishing June 27th as a national day to memorialize this silent and dark history in their country. Uruguayan people hope that through the establishment of the national day can re-emphasize their commitment to truth, justice and transparency.