Uruguay is a secular, progressive South American country, one of the first in the region to establish a welfare state. Its capital is Montevideo. It is the only country in Latin America without a Christian majority.
Uruguay's liberalism and secularism were promoted by its early political leaders. In 1877 they declared state schools to be free, obligatory and secular—five years before France, the exemplar of secular education. The constitution of 1918 explicitly separated church from state. Unlike in many countries, the principle is strictly followed: Easter is officially called "Tourism Week" and Christmas is "Family Day". The Argentine constitution, by contrast, still says the government must "support" Roman Catholicism.
In 1907 Uruguay was the first country in Latin America to fully legalise divorce, some 97 years before nearby Chile. In 2012 it was one of South America's first countries to fully legalise abortion. In 2013 it was the second to legalise same-sex marriage. In the same year it was the first country in the world to legalise marijuana.
In 2025 Uruguay's lower house passed a law to legalise assisted dying. The bill is strikingly liberal: it imposes no time limit on life expectancy and is open to people with an incurable illness that generates unbearable suffering, even if it is not terminal. Mental conditions such as depression are not explicitly ruled out, but patients need at least two doctors to determine that they are psychologically fit to make the choice. Minors are excluded, as are advance directives. About two-thirds of Uruguayans favour legalisation, including a solid majority of Uruguay's Catholics. Uruguay would be the first country in Latin America to pass a comprehensive law legalising assisted dying. In Colombia and Ecuador assisted dying was decriminalised after court battles, but neither has a comprehensive regulatory law. Cuba recently declared it legal, too.
José Mujica, president from 2010 to 2015, became a global icon for his frugal lifestyle and rejection of the caudillo tradition.
Uruguay suffered a military dictatorship from 1973 to 1985, triggered by urban guerrilla violence from the Tupamaros.
Palliative care is more widely available in Uruguay than in most of Latin America.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.