Uruguay is one of the countries with the longest-standing tradition in the independent living movement in Latin America. The creation of the first Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, California, in 1972 had a global impact and quickly inspired people with disabilities around the world. In Latin America, this influence took concrete form in 1988 with the founding of the first Center for Independent Living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, of which Rosângela Berman Bieler was one of the co-founders. In Uruguay, Pedro Roberto Cruz Botti, a recognized leader in the disability rights movement during the 1980s and 1990s, maintained close exchanges and friendship with Berman, thereby advancing the movement in his country.
As detailed in this report, the movement in Uruguay was also influenced by European experiences, especially those from Sweden, resulting in a unique blend of the American and European streams of the independent living philosophy. After a period of inactivity, the Center for Independent Living in Uruguay is currently undergoing a process of reorganization and strengthening.
This document presents the experience of the Uruguayan Center for Independent Living, focusing particularly on how they managed to create a personal assistance system tailored specifically to the needs of people with disabilities, through their own direct initiative. It also analyzes how these advances were ignored and repressed within the National Integrated Care System, serving as a critical warning for all countries currently implementing “comprehensive” care systems.
We recommend supplementing this reading with the recent Human Rights Watch report on shortcomings in support systems for people with disabilities in Uruguay, titled:
"I Also Want to Enjoy the Summer."
Available at: https://www.hrw.org/es/report/2024/09/25/yo-tambien-quisiera-disfrutar-del-verano/falencias-en-los-sistemas-de-apoyo-para
“Living by the principles of Independent Living means exercising the right to make decisions and to take on responsibilities, within the circumstances that each person happens to face.”
—Becky Sabah, Independent Living activist (1996)
The global Independent Living Movement was initiated by people with disabilities themselves in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, led by Edward Roberts (1939–1995), a human rights activist in Berkeley, California. In Uruguay, many years before the principles of this Movement became widely known, Deaf people, blind people, and people with physical disabilities had already begun organizing through various associations to fight for their rights, promote active living, and encourage participation. These efforts led to the creation of ASUR, the Uruguayan Association of the Deaf in 1928; UNCU, the National Union of the Blind of Uruguay in 1950; APRI, the Association for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled in 1953; and ONPLI, the National Association for the Employment of the Disabled in 1972. From the very beginning, the proposals and lived experiences of these organizations reflected the philosophy of the Independent Living Movement.
The era of dictatorships in our Latin American countries (Uruguay, 1973–1985) restricted meetings and gatherings, but once that difficult period ended, people began to organize again into associations. It was in 1983 that a national federation was formed in Uruguay: PLENADI – National Assembly of Organizations of the Disabled, bringing together over thirty organizations of people with diverse disabilities from different regions of the country. This year, therefore, can be identified as the beginning of the Independent Living Movement in Uruguay, grounded in the concrete actions carried out by PLENADI.
In Uruguay, the variable of disability has been used in surveys by the INE (National Institute of Statistics) since the last century, and was included in the 2011 Census.
According to the CNHD (National Honorary Commission on Disability) and the INE, the prevalence of disability rose from 7.6% in 2004 to 15.8% in 2011, reflecting changes in how disability is conceptualized. That census identified permanent difficulties in seeing (9.6%), hearing (3.7%), walking (6.5%), and understanding/learning (2.8%).
The 2023 Census recorded a population of 3,444,263 people, with 15.9% identified as having a disability: 365,462 with mild, 128,876 with moderate, and 23,433 with severe disabilities.