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Tupamaros National
Liberation Movement
ORIGINS, DOCTRINE, AND OBJECTIVES
Origins
Uruguay 1963
Began in impoverished Northern agricultural region
Leader and creator- Raul Sendic
Signaled creation of Latin America’s first left-wing urban guerrilla
Doctrine
No official document outlining doctrine or ideology was created
Based in liberal Marxist/Socialist ideals
Belief that the many opportunities in Uruguay should be available to all citizens
Objectives
Fueled by a desire for better treatment of field workers
Bring shame to the Uruguayan government
Utilized protests, kidnappings, robberies & armed struggle to influence governmental action
to resolve field worker issues
Provide for the impoverished through robberies
→ Robin Hood Guerrilla
Leadership and Leadership
Structure of the Tupamoros
Karishma Soni
Leader vs Founder
• The organization was founded by Raul Sendic in 1963.
• The beginnings of the organization started coming together with Sendic making a
union for sugarcane workers.
• The organization he recreated was a devolved organization to combat the
Uruguayan Government.
• There is some dispute that though Raul Sendic was the founder, he
might not have been a leader. Some say that the organization was
structured in such a way that there was no leader and that Sendic
was just a primus inter pares, while others say Sendic was the
leader of the Tupamaros.
Model?
• Hydra type network model
• If one part is caught or compromised, the entire organization was not rendered
compromised as well.
At the bottom level of organization, there were cells
that consisting of four to five members. Each member
went by a pseudonym and therefore didn’t know the
real names of any other members including those in
their cell.
Cell Types
Commando
• Commando cells had more senior
members and focused on the military
operations of the group.
• The number of members within the
commando cells ranged from 50 to
1000 people throughout the lifespan
of the organization.
Service
• Service cells did everything else
including but not limited to finding
meeting places, creating hideouts,
securing food and clothing,
accumulating intelligence, giving
medical treatment, making
explosives, getting as well as securing
arms and ammunitions, fixing
vehicles, and resolving transport and
communication problems
Overall Structure of Organization
• A conglomeration of many cells in a
specified geographical area were called a
column. The orders were given to the
columns via an Executive Committee.
• The Executive Committee ruled the
entirety of the organization and it had
the power to disband and create cells.
• The Tupamaros held a national
convention as well, every 18 months
though it met only twice in 1966 January
and in 1968 March. The convention
included a representative from every cell
and column.
Support for the Tupamaros
Laura Isabel English
Public Support
Political Support
Frente Amplio
Wide Front
Financial Support
Erosion of Support
End of Support
● 1972
● Military Crackdown authorized by President
Bordaberry
● Dead, jailed or fled abroad
Where are they now?
Jose Mujica
“Poorest President in the World”
Strategy
Ruth Leal
Overview
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Goals
Early tactics
Urban Guerrillas
Outcome
Third wave terrorist organization
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Left-wing nationalist
Minimum casualties
Wanted to overthrow the government
Inspired on Fidel Castro’s movement in Cuba and Che
Guevara’s “teoria de foco.”
Early Strategies
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Armed propaganda
Highjacking
Kidnappings
Bank robberies
Town occupations
Raid of a radio station
May 15th 1969, ten members took over the “Sarandi” radio station that transmitted
the soccer between the “Nacional” y “Estudiantes de la plata”.
The technical crew played a Tupamaro’s recording on a loop, to guarantee high
numbers of listeners.
New tactic: Urban Guerrillas
Justification:
- Because of the topographic conditions of the country. It was
better to operate in the city.
“Robin Hood” attacks:
- Highjacking food trucks and handing it to the poor.
Targets:
- Places with high concentration of security forces.
Outcome
- The tupamaros’ attack led to elections in 1971.
- The military orchestrated a coup d’etat that led to the end of
the Tupamaros activities in 1973.
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In 1985 Uruguay went back to civil rule and signed an
armistice that allow the Tupamaros to participated in
government.