| Description | Liberal to moderate party counted as Uruguay's most historically dominant, governing the nation for 139 years uninterruptedly until 2004, and for long stretches before then. Party was founded by independence leader and Uruguay's first president (when Uruguay was first called the Eastern State of Uruguay; Estado Oriental del Uruguay), Fructuoso Rivera. Party advanced the doctrine of unitarianism, which called for the creation of a secularist, centralized state as offered in Napoleonic France, a doctrine popularized by newly independent (1816) neighbor Argentina. In the 20th Century, party began to adhere to Batllismo (Batllism), a statist doctrine of Uruguay's two-time president José Batlle y Ordóñez (1903-1907 and 1911-1915), who "re-established" the Colorado party in 1918 under his control. Batllismo was later closely identified with corporatism, as practiced in Peronist Argentina and Mussolini's Italy. Party's dominance began to fade significantly after suffering the worst result in its history after general elections held in October 2004, and has had difficulties recovering ever since. Party has been led by 2024 presidential candidate Andrés Ojeda since July 1, 2024 [Partido Colorado (PC); "Red Party"]. |
