Emigration from Uruguay

Emigration from Uruguay is a migratory phenomenon that has been taking place in Uruguay since the early 20th century.

Overview

Emigration from Uruguay began tentatively about a century ago, but experienced a significant increase since the 1960s. Successive economic crises, plus the small size of the country's economy and population, were decisive factors that pushed thousands of Uruguayans out of their country of birth; economic migrants traveled primarily to other Spanish-speaking countries with bigger economies. As Uruguay has a relatively well-developed educational system and free access to the University of the Republic, many Uruguayan professional graduates and scholars found their country too small to achieve their own goals, which resulted in a brain drain. The 12-year-long military dictatorship that ruled from 1973 to 1985 also forced many Uruguayans to go into exile due to ideological differences and political persecution, in the context of the Cold War.

The main receptors of Uruguayan emigration are: Argentina, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Australia; in Europe: Spain, Italy, France, and Portugal. During the military dictatorship, some exiled Uruguayans migrated to Mexico, Venezuela, Sweden, Germany, etc. Further, a significant number of Uruguayan Jews emigrated to Israel between 1950 and 2000 as part of the Aliyah.
Recent estimates put the emigration figures at over 500,000.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Departamento 20 was created, an instance of coordination and articulation for Uruguayans living abroad.
The Consultative Councils are representative organizations of Uruguayans living abroad whose central role is linking them with the country in several forms; they were established by Law No. 18250 of January 2008. They can be found in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Sweden, USA, and Venezuela.
As of November 2013, the Uruguayan government plans to implement a project to link qualified Uruguayan émigrés with technological sectors in Uruguay, especially in biotechnology, information technology and renewable energies.

Many talented Uruguayans have succeeded on the international stage:

Carlos Aragone, physicist
Jorge Drexler, musician, 2004 Best Song Academy Award for Al otro lado del río
Fernando Espuelas, American entrepreneur
Elio García-Austt, physician and neuroscientist, active in Chile and Spain
José Holebas, Greek international footballer of Uruguayan descent through his mother.
Osvaldo Laport, television actor, active in Argentina
Elli Medeiros is a Uruguayan-French singer and actress.
Natalia Oreiro, film and telenovela actress and singer, active in Argentina
Carlos Ott, architect established in Canada, author of the Opéra Bastille, Paris
Ángel Rama, writer, academic, literary critic, known for his theorization of the concept of transculturation
Emir Rodríguez Monegal, was a scholar, literary critic, and professor of Latin American contemporary literature at Yale University
Jules Supervielle was a Franco-Uruguayan writer.
Rafael Viñoly, architect established in the United States, author of the Tokyo International Forum
China Zorrilla, theater, film, and television actress, active in Argentina