The Government Co-participation Covenants Occurred in the Second Half of the XIX Century and the Beginning of the XX Century in Uruguay: Oral Constitutional Mutations and Constituent Process

Abstract

In Uruguay, during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, three significant political events occurred in the history of the co-participation of political parties in the Government: the two main ones were the Pacto de Abril  (April Pact) in 1872 and the Pacto de la Cruz (Pact of the Cross) in 1897, and the third one, less significant due to its duration, the Pacto de Nico Pérez  (Pact of Nico Pérez) in 1903. The referred pacts, which were oral, meant the co-participation of the political parties in the departmental governments and, consequently, also in the Legislative Power. These political agreements which were preceded by revolutions promoted by the Partido Nacional (National Party), were applied, with some interruptions and modifications, for thirty-two years, even during de facto governments. This article analyses these co-participation agreements and the violation of the Constitution they represented, as they became oral constitutional mutations. It is intended to prove that while these constitutional changes had no normative force (because custom is not a formal source of law in Uruguay) and no political consensus (they were applied as a way to avoid armed conflict), they were part of a constitutional process that continued with modifications to constitutional procedures and electoral laws, and ended with the entry into force of the Constitution of 1918.