Constitutional Failure, Democratic Success: Professor Andrea Katz on Uruguay’s 1980 Plebiscite

In her recent piece published in the International Journal of Constitutional Law titled, No higher law: The Uruguayan plebiscite of 1980 as a failed constituent moment, Professor Andrea Katz of Washington University School of Law dives deep into a pivotal moment in Latin American constitutional history.

Below is an abstract of the paper:

On November 30, 1980, the people of Uruguay were called on to vote on a new constitution whose objective was to legalize the military dictatorship that had ruled Uruguay since 1973. The proposed constitution would reestablish elections, political parties, and an independent judiciary, but all subject to overrule by the National Security Council (COSENA), the junta of military leaders that acted as the nation’s de facto ruling body. Despite the highly repressive political environment in which the plebiscite was held, the citizenry rejected the draft in resounding fashion by a vote of 57% to 43%. Although the Plebiscite of 1980 was certainly a “failure” from the regime’s point of view, it is considered a founding moment in Uruguayan history during which the dictatorship was delegitimized and the process of redemocratization triggered, culminating in a democratic transition in 1985. This case illustrates that constitutional failures can be successes in the long term when they launch deeper processes of democratization or constitutionalism.

As a scholar of constitutional law and legal history, Professor Katz brings a nuanced lens to moments when law and legitimacy collide.