Exploring Uruguay Blog

Uruguay and Chile Rated Least Corrupt Countries in South America

Global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International released the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) last week. The report ranked a total of 180 countries worldwide, 31 of which are from the Americas.

The countries are graded based upon surveys that measure people's perceived level of corruption in the public sector. Rankings are then given to each country using a scale of 1-10, with 10 being least corrupt and 1 being most corrupt.

The 3 least corrupt countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index were New Zealand with 9.4 points, Denmark with 9.3 points and Singapore with 9.2 points. Uruguay and Chile tied for 25th with 6.7 points.

Looking at our North American neighbors (and many expats’ home countries), Canada ranks 8th with 8.7 points and the United States ranks 18th with 7.5 points (lagging just behind the UK, ranking 17th with 7.7 points).

Other rankings of interest:

• Puerto Rico ranks 35th with 5.8 points
• Costa Rica ranks 43rd with 5.3 points
• Brazil ranks 75th with 3.7 points
• Colombia ranks 75th with 3.7 points
• Peru ranks 75th with 3.7 points
• Panama ranks 84th with 3.4 points
• Mexico ranks 89th with 3.3 points
• Argentina ranks 106th with 2.9 points
• Bolivia ranks 120th with 2.7 points
• Honduras ranks 130th with 2.5 points
• Nicaragua ranks 130th with 2.5 points
• Ecuador ranks 146th with 2.2 points
• Paraguay ranks 154th with 2.1 points
• Venezuela ranks 162nd with 1.9 points

See more about the Corruption Perceptions Index on Transparency International’s website.

Or read the Mercopress story, which give a great analysis of what the rankings mean for the various countries.

Boycott Uruguay Taxis This Friday

We apologize for the short notice, but wanted to let everyone currently living in Uruguay know that there is a call to boycott taxis on Friday, October 30.

The boycott was organized after two young people were killed in two separate incidents where taxi drivers ignored stop signs in Montevideo. One of the victims was a passenger in a taxi and the other was a young mother of two who was killed while walking down the sidewalk. A third young woman has been in a coma for a month.

We’ve talked about Uruguay driving on our blog in the past, but these stories really drive home the point. So, if you want to make a statement against reckless driving in Uruguay, please join the boycott of taxis for the day.

You can read more about the reasons behind the boycott of Uruguay taxis here.

Uruguay Rated #1 for Prosperity in South America

The third edition of the Legatum Prosperity Index was released this week. This index ranks 104 countries (accounting for 90% of the world’s population) based on a definition of prosperity that combines economic growth with measures of happiness and quality of life.

The 9 areas the Legatum Prosperity Index looks at are:
1.    Economic Fundamentals
2.    Entrepreneurship and Innovation
3.    Education
4.    Democratic Institutions
5.    Governance
6.    Health
7.    Personal Freedom
8.    Security
9.    Social Capital

The highest-ranking South American countries are Uruguay (33rd), Chile (36th) and Argentina (38th). The lowest performing country in South America is Venezuela (74th), just ahead of Bolivia (73rd) and Ecuador (71st).

Uruguay scored especially well in 3 areas:
•    Personal freedom at 14th
•    Safety and security at 26th
•    Health at 28th

Full details about Uruguay’s rankings in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index can be found here. If you want to see how Uruguay’s ranking stacks up against the US, click here.

Since Ecuador was our second choice if Uruguay didn’t work out for us, we were surprised how low it scored on the Index given its preference as a hot spot for expats. In fact, International Living named Ecuador the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2009. It just shows how it important it is to get your information from multiple sources when deciding where to live as an expat.

Read the Index’s key findings related to South America here.

More information on the Prosperity Index, including full country rankings, background on data and methodology, and profiles of each country can be found at www.prosperity.com.

Uruguay Presidential Elections: Outcome Still Uncertain

The Uruguay Presidential elections were held yesterday. In order to secure the Presidential post, the candidate must receive 50% plus one of the votes. Jose "Pepe" Mujica was just shy of that number, with 47.5% of the votes. Luis Alberto Lacalle received 28.5% of the votes and Pedro Bordaberry received 17% of the votes. (for more details on the political parties in Uruguay, click here)

Because no Presidential Candidate received 50% plus one of the votes, there will be a runoff election on November 29 between the top two Uruguayan Presidential Candidates (Mujica and Lacalle) to decide who will be the next President of Uruguay. For more information on this year’s Uruguay Presidential Elections, visit El Pais, the Uruguay newspaper.

What we’ve found most interesting about the Uruguay Presidential Elections is the level of involvement by Uruguay’s citizens. It seems that everyone is passionate about politics and gets deeply involved. There are people on every street corner handing out information on the candidate they support. And it seems like there’s a rally every other day for one of the candidates.

It’s not uncommon to see one of the Presidential candidates on a street corner giving a speech to a large group of people. Lacalle has a small campaign office across the street from our apartment and has given speeches there.

This picture was taken from our balcony:


Even though voting is compulsory (there’s a fine of UY$400, or less than U$S 20, for not voting), the people of Uruguay care deeply about what happens with their government and take their freedom very seriously. 

In a country of a little over 3.4 million people there are approximately 2.5 million people who are eligible to vote. It’s reported that voter turnout for the Uruguay Presidential Election was above 90%. That means over 2.25 million people voted in the 2009 Uruguayan Presidential Election.

Perhaps this is because Uruguay was under the rule of a dictator from 1973 to 1984 (when the first free elections were held). So, the people of Uruguay still remember what it was like to be oppressed by their government.

We never saw this level of involvement in politics in the US, or anything close to it. In the 2008 US Presidential elections, there was a 56.8% voter turnout.  This was the highest voter turnout for a US Presidential Election since 1968, which was still only a 60.8% voter turnout. (source)

A lot of US citizens go to the polls uninformed about the candidates and issues on the ballot. Perhaps many US citizens take their freedom for granted because they have had it for as long as they can remember…

Whatever the reason, it’s refreshing to be part of a community that truly cares about the direction of the country.

36 Hours in Montevideo, Uruguay

It’s always neat to see US newspapers running stories on the tiny country of Uruguay that we’ve come to love. Today, it’s the New York Times highlighting Montevideo.

The news story, titled “36 Hours in Montevideo, Uruguay,” gives a breakdown of the writer’s stay in the capital city. It’s a nice story, especially if you’re planning a trip to Montevideo.

He gives some detail about museums, hotels, architecture, food, nightlife, markets, mate and more. For only spending 36 hours in Montevideo, he made good use of his time.

Read the story on the New York Times Website.

Our Expat Family Makes the Front Page of InfoNegocios

Yesterday our expat family was featured on the front page of InfoNegocios, a Spanish News Magazine. You can see the article on their website.

We wanted to thank all of our readers and the Uruguayan community for all of the kind emails we received yesterday and today. We love living in Uruguay and are happy to share our experiences with you on the Exploring Uruguay Blog.

Here’s a screen shot of the article:

The Exploring Uruguay Forum is Now Live!

Thank you to all of our blog readers for asking so many great questions about Uruguay. The number of questions we’ve been getting has increased significantly, so we decided it was time to create the Exploring Uruguay Forum.

We’ve been working hard on getting the forum ready over the past several days and we’re excited to announce that it’s finally live.

So, come by the Exploring Uruguay Forum today and post a question about Uruguay. Or, share your experiences with living in Uruguay, or visiting Uruguay.

Thanks in advance for contributing to the community!

Daylight Savings Time Change in Uruguay: October 4, 2009

We were so happy that Spring finally came to Montevideo this week. Of course, we’re still in store for some more rain before we have regular sunny days.

But that’s okay, because the daylight savings time change officially starts in Uruguay on Sunday, October 4, 2009 at 2 am. That means we get an extra hour of daylight! More time to go for evening walks to take Zoë to the park or beach.

So, instead of 4 hours ahead of California time (1 hour ahead of New York time), we’ll be 5 hours ahead of California time (2 hours ahead of New York time) until Daylight savings time ends in the United States on November 1 at 2 am. At that point, we’ll be 6 hours ahead of California time and (3 hours ahead of New York time).

If you’re wondering why there is a 2-hour jump with daylight savings time change, there’s a simple explanation. Since we’re South of the equator, when winter ends in Uruguay, summer ends in the US. Thus, we get daylight savings time (and move ahead an hour) around the same time that daylight savings time ends in the US (and their time falls back an hour).

So, if you’re in the US trying to contact anyone in Uruguay, you should be aware of the impending daylight savings time change.

Our First Uruguay Fight Video

We didn't plan on having Uruguay fight videos. But when Uruguay's basketball team beats up Mexico's basketball team  – and it's caught on video  – we have to show it.

At 42 seconds in the video, you see a Mexican basketball player knocking an Uruguayan basketball player down. At 52 seconds, you see a Uruguayan basketball player hit a Mexican basketball player like a piñata...

But in typical Mexican fashion, weapons get brought out in the end... in the form of chairs.

Montevideo, Uruguay Makes the News in San Diego

Before we moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, the San Diego Reader was a staple of our week when we lived in San Diego, California. The Reader is a weekly publication filled with neat feature articles, listings for all of the local live music shows and much more.

When we announced to family and friends that we were moving to Uruguay, not many of them knew exactly where it was on the map. So, we were surprised this week to pull up the San Diego Reader’s website this week and see a story on Montevideo, Uruguay!

It’s a brief article and I think the writer’s prices are a little high compared to what we’ve seen. Brian just got a round trip ticket from Montevideo to Los Angeles for $680. And, two people can go to dinner at a very nice Parrilla and both have the finest cut of steak, lomo, and a good bottle of wine for what he’s estimating for one person (maybe he was getting the “gringo discount”).

But, we thought it was neat to see that more people are starting to recognize that Montevideo, Uruguay is a great place to visit and live. Check out the article by clicking here.