UNASUR en la política exterior uruguaya. El posicionamiento de los partidos políticos durante el gobierno de José Mujica (2010 – 2014)

Abstract

The Uruguayan political system has been defined as a partidocracy. Although parties are not the only actors, they are central and play a crucial role in the structuring of the political agenda and the definition of public policies’ strategic guidelines. This paper analyses the involvement and positioning of Uruguayan political parties and their internal fractions with regard to Uruguayan foreign policy towards UNASUR, showing the convergences and divergences that exist among parties as well as inside them among their internal fractions. Information was gathered through the application of a survey to Uruguayan Congress members. The findings show that convergences and divergences actually appear in both levels, within and between political parties. The conclusions enable us to understand that Uruguayan foreign policy is embedded in party or coalition politics. Thus, ideology is a significant factor for its explanation.