Sports Policy, Batllismo, and the Complexity of Party Politics in Uruguay (1911-1933)

Abstract

This paper analyzes how Uruguay’s sports policy was shaped and affected by the turbulent political developments of the first decades of the twentieth century. As part of the radical welfare reform implemented by the Batlle y Ordóñez regime, the newly created Comisión Nacional de Educación Física (CNEF) developed a series of advanced policies that stimulated civil sports culture during the 1910s. However, the political management of this state agency made sport into an arena for conflict and maneuvering between Batllismo and other parties. During the 1920s, political antagonism and financial crises severely jeopardized the work of the CNEF.