NCJ Number
62740
Date Published
1973
Length
95 pages
Annotation
THE DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE OF A NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT IN URUGUAY, SIGNIFICANT FOR ITS URBAN CHARACTER AND FOR ITS DURATION, ARE ANALYZED.
Abstract
THE TUPAMARO NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT WAS A DECADE-LONG (1962 TO 1972) ARMED STRUGGLE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A HIGHLY URBANIZED SOCIETY--A SOCIETY THAT PROBABLY REPRESENTS WHAT THE LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES OF LATIN AMERICA, AFRICA, AND ASIA WILL BECOME IN THE FUTURE. THE MOVEMENT'S THREAT TO THE URUGUAYAN GOVERNMENT RESULTED FROM A SYSTEMATIC APPLICATION OF INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE URBAN GUERRILLA TACTICS. USING A STRATEGY THAT COMBINED MILITARY AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES, THE TUPAMAROS BROUGHT ABOUT IMPORTANT SOCIETAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN URUGUAY. THIS ANALYSIS OF THE TUPAMARO MOVEMENT COVERS THE MOTIVES BEHIND THE EMERGENCE OF THE TUPAMAROS (THEIR VIEW OF URUGUAYAN SOCIETY, THEIR BELIEFS AND ULTIMATE OBJECTIVES); THE MEANS USED TO GAIN POLITICAL POWER; THE MEMBERSHIP AND INTERNAL ORGANIZATION OF THE MOVEMENT; SPECIFIC GUERRILLA TACTICS; THE TUPAMAROS' CHALLENGE TO, INTERACTION WITH, AND IMPACT ON THE URUGUAYAN GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE; AND THE MOVEMENT'S EXTINCTION. PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE TUPAMAROS' SIGNIFICANCE AS TACTICAL INNOVATORS IN URBAN GUERRILLA WARFARE AND AS POLITICAL STRATEGISTS, TO THE 'PECULIAR YET UNIVERSAL' MESSAGE OF THEIR IDEOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES, AND TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. (LKM)