JORGE BATLLE IBANEZ

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06746716
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: May 22, 2018
• Case Number: F-2017-01335
• Publication Date: November 9, 2001

Approved for Release: 2018/05/21 C06746716
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Jorge BATLLE Ibanez
(Phonetic: BAH-jay)
President (since 2000) (b)(3)
Addressed as: Mr. Presiden
I'm not going to change at this stage of my life;
I'm going to go on saying what I think is good for
the country. (b)(3)
Jorge Bathe, November 1999
Lawyer and veteran politician Jorge Bathe is
using his dynamic personality to carve out a role
for Uruguay in international economic affairs.
he
has met with Argentine and US economic
officials, offering advice on how to engage in
more fruitful trade negotiations. An ardent
advocate of strengthening the Mercosur trade
bloc, he has pushed his counterparts in the bl(b)(1)
implement more "harmonious" macroeconor(b)(3)
policies that would bolster Mercosur's overall
influence with the United States, Europe, and
other regional trade coalitions. At the same time,
Batlle, who brings an outward-looking econor-*
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perspective to the presidency, often expresses (b)(3)
frustration with the slow pace of regional
integration and is promoting export diversification
that will eventually reduce Uruguay's denendence
on the markets of Argentina and Brazil1b)(3)
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URUGUAY
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Seeking Stronger Ties to Washington
Bathe sutb\t3\
stronger bilateral relations as away to i4fael
Uruguay's long-term economic stability.
Bailie is open to
any kind of trade agreement�bilateral, regional,
or hemispheric�that would allow Uruguay
better access to US markets.
he has called for the United States
and other agricultural exporters to create a
common front to challenge EU agricultural
subsidies that limit Uruguayan beef exports to
Europe. To bolster ties to the United States,
Bathe has expressed interest in stepping up
Uruguayan contributions to international
peacekeeping operations, to aid the war on
terrorism by freeing US soldiers from non-
terrorism-related dutiesi
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he alienated regional
heavyweight Brazil by publicly supporting Chile's
pursuit of a bilateral free trade agreement with the
United States, arguing that Chile's initiative
would open the way to a hemispheric agreement
for Mercosur member states. In addition, he has
openly chastised the US State Department for
suggesting that Uruguay's banking system was
used by money launderers. He added that
Washington should focus on its own
(continued)
LP 01-110445
9 November 2001
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Pushing Peace Worldwide
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Baffle supports the US antiterrorist position
and has emphatically condemned the
11 September attacks in New York City and
Washington. He, nevertheless, favors pursuing
peace rather than aggression and has publicly
called for all nations to avoid the spread of
violence. Baffle
has stated that the attack was an act not of war
but of terrorism and has called for a global
peace movement to prevent the escalation of
bloodshed. On the diplomatic front, Batlle has
announced that any military operation against
terrorists should be authorized by the UN,
adding that the attackers must be punished
using international criminal law rather than
acts of revenge. (b)(3)
problems, alleging the world's largest money-
laundering system operates in the United States as
a result of high US drug consumption. Never
afraid to take a stand, he became the first Latin
American leader to call for the legalization of
illicit drugs. Batlle, who admits that this topic is
open for debate, says that legalization would
lower drug price- ----' -lama e the livelihood of
narcotraffickers.(b)(3)
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Fulfilling Campaign Promises
On the domestic front, Batlle's independence
and political persistence have enabled him to
fulfill a number of his presidential campaign
goals, despite resistance from within his coalition
government. Early in his administration, for
example, Batlle pressured the Congress to pass
reforms that increased the government's (b)(1)
flexibility to administer state-owned compan(b)(3)
and used that legislation to cut nonpersonnel
expenses. Bathe has lived up to his campaign
pledge to increase tax revenue by establishing an
antismuggling program within the Defense
Ministry (b)(3)
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At the same time, Batlle has made politi(b)(3)
inroads and blunted opposition to his market-
oriented policies by addressing key concerns of
left-leaning opponents. The President, for
example, established a peace commission to
investigate disappearances during the 1973-85
military regime, becoming the first president to
take up the issue
Batlle won points across the political spectrum
when he fired his Armed Forces Joint Staff Chief
immediately after the officer opined that the
military would eventually have to "fight the left."
Despite his persistence, he has failed to implement
deeper reforms�such as privatization of some
state activities�because of the popularity of
Uruguay's social welfare systt(b)'(3)
A Career Politician
Batlle was born on 25 October 1927 in
Montevideo. Several of his ancestors were
Presidents of Uruguay, including his late father,
President (1947-51) Luis Batlle Berres. Batlle
holds a law degree from the University of the
Republic of Uruguay. He began his political
career in 1945, when he joined List 15�a
minority faction of the Colorado Party (PC).
From 1958 to 1967, he was a member of the
Chamber of Deputies. Baffle ran unsuccessfully
for the presidency in 1966, 1971, 1989, and 1994.
During Uruguay's military dictatorship (1973-
1985), he was a representative of the PC in the
Triumvirate, a clandestine party. After the
restoration of civilian rule, he returned to the
political arena as a senator, serving until 1989.
Batlle was president of the PC from 1990 until
1995, when he was reelected senator, a post he
held until his 1999 presidential bid. (b)(3)
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Personal Data
Batlle is married to his second wife, Maria de
las Mercedes Menafra; he has a daughter, a son,
and three grandchildren from his first marriage.
Battle enjoys reading, walking, and
spending time in the countryside. He has a
passion for old cars and is an avid fan of rowing
and Nacional�one of the top soccer teams in
Uruguay. The President, who is an agnostic, has
received the Jerusalem prize from the World
Zionist Organization for his religious tolerance.
In addition to his native Spanish, he speaks
English, German, French, and Portuguese
fluently. (b)(3)
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