Broad Front

The Broad Front (Frente Amplio in Spanish) is an Uruguayan front of political parties and organizations. It was founded as a coalition of more than a dozen fractured leftist parties and movements in 1971. The front was declared illegal during the coup d'état of 1973 and emerged again in 1984 when democracy was restored in Uruguay. Frente Amplio is led by Tabaré Vázquez, the current President of Uruguay. Frente Amplio has close ties with PIT-CNT and the cooperative housing movement.

Frente Amplio is the political force in Uruguay, holding majorities in both houses of parliament and the government of Montevideo, a city with half the Uruguayan population. In October, 2004, Vázquez won the presidency of Uruguay as the Frente candidate.

While not in power, Frente Amplio has used the Uruguayan referendum system to repeal laws which sought to privatize state-run industries or instate other neoliberal economic reforms.

See also

• List of political parties in Uruguay