This volume is one in a continuing series of book prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army. The last page of this book lists the other published studies. Most books in the series deal with a particular foreign country, describing and analyzing its political, economic, social, and national security systems and institution, and examining the interrelationships of those systems and the way they are shaped by cultural factors. Each study is written by a multidisciplinary team of social scientists. The authors seek to provide a basic understanding of the observed society, striving for a dynamic rather than a static portrayal. Particular attention is devoted to the people who make up the society, their origins, dominant beliefs and values, their common interests and the issues on which they are divided, the nature and extent of their involvement with national institutions, and their attitudes toward each other and toward their social system and political order. The books represent the analysis of the authors and should not be construed as an expression of an official United States government position, policy, or decision. The authors have sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity.

Uruguay used to be known as the 'Switzerland of South America, ' but clearly not because of any geographical similarity. Although it is the second smallest republic in South America (after Surinam), Uruguay is more than four times larger than landlocked Switzerland, and its highest peak is only 501 meters. Rather, the analogy was made because Uruguay enjoyed other Swiss-like attributes. It was a peaceful, conservative country with a bountiful, livestock-based economy. It was also home to South America's first social democracy; a cradle-to-grave welfare system; and a largely urban, homogeneous, and relatively well-educated population. A political slogan of the 1940s proudly boasted, 'There is no place like Uruguay.'

Manual descriptivo del Uruguay.