The Current Conditions of Street Life in Uruguay

Essay written in October, 2001

It is impossible to understand Uruguay without referring to José Batlle y Ordoñez, the country’s populist president during the first half of this century. Taking advantage of the healthy economic situation of that time, Batlle proposed and created a welfare state similar to those existing in Europe and gave backing to the middle class – the largest proportionately in Latin America. In spite of the present economic crisis in the country and pressure from the International Monetary Fund, the government continues following this example.

However, despite the existence of a welfare state, there are street children in Uruguay, and the numbers are increasing daily. As many countries in the South, one can predict the factors which predispose children to end up on the streets: the child lives in a poor neighbourhood which is located near a rich which probably has a shopping centre. At the beginning, the child goes out on the street with his/her mother to sell sweets or to beg for money. After some time on the streets, the child then goes out alone and returns home with money he has earned. His parents then demand 5-10 dollars a day from him. An intelligent child then realises that if he stays on the streets that all the money he earns will belong to him and so he decides not to return home. In Uruguay, thanks to the efforts of NGOs and certain government programmes very few children reach this final stage.

Because Uruguayans studied the situation of their neighbour Brasil they were able to predict future risks and prepare to tackle them in advance. The most important NGOs, such as Gurises Unidos and El Abrojo, were formed before the situation in the country could get out of control, thanks to pressure from the church, the government and the United Nations. Community work, education and family therapy have been central foci of these groups.

The government gives a lot of support to organisations which are struggling to prevent children from living on the streets through Programa 300. This programme allows NGOs to utilise government funds and gives food coupons to families who have signed a contract stating that their children will not work and that they will attend school and be vaccinated. Because this is in the hands of the government, it may appear to be only an assistance-focused programme but since it is the NGOs who are the administrators the results have been promising.

In Montevideo, the network of NGOs and governmental organisations who are working with street children and for the rights of children is solid and has been successful in proposing new strategies to the government, holding international conferences and assuring that services offered are not duplicated.

Finally, the leftist movement in Uruguay is one of the strongest in Latin America as witnessed by the Frente Amplio, which controls the Montevideo city government. Although this Front is a bastion of resistance to monetarist policies and supports the middle class, unfortunately, it has not been able to mititgate the causes predisposing children to live on the streets. The most serious problem that the government and NGOs are facing is the fact that 45% of children are born to the 20% of the population which is the poorest. This is the greatest challenge for the future.