Product Code Database
The National Liberation Movement – Tupamaros (, MLN-T) was a Marxist–Leninist urban guerrilla group that operated in Uruguay during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1989, the group was admitted into the Broad Front and a large number of its members joined the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP).
Formed in the early 1960s, the MLN-T sought to create a revolutionary state through armed struggle, taking inspiration from the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro.
Just like the majority of Cuban revolutionaries, the Tupamaros operated in primarily urban areas. The organization gained notoriety for its violent acts of sabotage, Bank robbery, assassinations of military and police officers, bombings, and kidnappings of judges, businessmen, diplomats and politicians.The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, Raúl Sendic, and his brand of Marxism. José Mujica, who later became President of Uruguay, was also a member. 300 Tupamaros died either in action or in prisons (mostly in 1972), according to officials of the group. About 3,000 Tupamaros were also imprisoned.Christian, Shirley. "TUPAMAROS OF URUGRAY: THE MYSTIQUE SURVIVES." New York Times, 3 Nov. 1986.
During both World Wars, the Uruguayan economy was significantly boosted by the sale of raw materials to countries involved in the conflicts. However, from the mid-1950s onward, as global demand for agricultural products declined and Europe underwent reconstruction, exports fell, leading to a severe economic crisis. The Tupamaros emerged during this period of instability, attracting professionals, workers, trade unionists, and students.
Unlike other guerrilla groups formed during the
/ref>
At the outset, the organization did not operate under its name, instead operating in a more anonymous manner. In November 1964, leaflets were circulated for the first time that read TNT: Tupamaros no transamos. 'Transamos'—the first-person plural form of the verb 'transar'—is slang from the lunfardo of Uruguayan Spanish, used to mean 'compromise' or 'settle.' It often carries a negative connotation, implying a refusal to compromise on principles or values. The organization was named after the revolutionary Túpac Amaru II, who in 1780 led a major indigenous revolt against the Viceroyalty of Peru.
In August 1965, the organization issued a leaflet under its name for the first time, claiming responsibility for an explosion at the entrance to the Bayer company's headquarters in Montevideo.
Later on as the Tupamaros grew, they helped develop the 'Frente Amplio' political coalition, serving as the counterpart to their underground organization. The Frente Amplio combined leftist and centre-left views.
At the beginning, it abstained from armed actions and violence, acting not as a guerrilla group but a political movement.Benjamín Nahum's El Fin Del Uruguay Liberal (Ediciones de la Banda Oriental, 1991) Volume 8 in Historia Uruguaya series In June 1968, President Jorge Pacheco, trying to suppress labour unrest, enforced a state of emergency and repealed all constitutional safeguards. The government imprisoned political dissidents, used torture during interrogations, and brutally repressed demonstrations. In 1969 the Tupamaros conducted the largest robbery in Uruguayan history and occupied the city of Pando. They then began engaging in political kidnappings, "armed propaganda" and assassinations. Of particular note were the kidnapping of powerful bank manager and of the British ambassador to Uruguay, Geoffrey Jackson, as well as the assassination of Dan Mitrione, a U.S. FBI agent also working for the CIA (via the Agency for International Development's Office of Public Safety), who the Tupamaros learned was advising the Uruguayan police in torture and other security work.Manuel Hevia Cosculluela, Pasaporte 11333: Ocho Años con la CIA, Havana, 1978, p. 286; see also "Dan Mitrione, un maestro de la tortura", Clarín, 2 September 2001
The Tupamaros peaked as a guerrilla group in 1970 and 1971. During this period they made liberal use of their Cárcel del Pueblo (or People's Prison) where they held those that they kidnapped and interrogated them, before making the results of these interviews public. A number of these hostages were later ransomed for considerable sums of money, including the Brazilian Consul in Montevideo, . In September 1971 over 100 imprisoned Tupamaros escaped the Punta Carretas prison by digging a hole across their cells and then a tunnel that led from the floor of one ground-level cell to the living room of a nearby home. As a result of this, the government summoned the military to prepare a counter-insurgency campaign to suppress the MLN.
The Tupamaros collapsed in mid-1972, with the army killing many of them and capturing a majority of the rest. Shortly after defeating the MLN the military successively confronted the independence of the judiciary in October 1972, of the civilian executive branch in February 1973, and lastly the independence of the parliament in June 1973. On this latter occasion, it completed its coup d'état by deploying armored vehicles in the capital and shutting down the legislative branch by request of the Uruguayan President. Nine Tupamaros were specially chosen to remain in squalid conditions, including Sendic, Fernández Huidobro, José Mujica, Henry Engler, and Mauricio Rosencof. They remained there until the restoration of liberal democracy in Uruguay in 1985. During the intervening years, the military regime killed and "disappeared" additional numbers of people, focusing particularly on the Communist Party of Uruguay.Brum, The Robin Hood Guerrillas, pp. 305–336.
In 1984, a set of several 24-hour Uruguayan general strikes, eventually forced the military to accept civilian rule, with democratic elections held that year. Under Julio María Sanguinetti, the new president, amnesty was granted to the Tupamaros. The Tupamaros were released from prison after over a decade and they joined in representing the Frente Amplio coalition party. In 2004, Tabaré Vásquez was the first to become president on the "Frente Amplio" ticket.
The ceramicist and former member, Eva Díaz Torres, returned to Uruguay during this period.
|
|
