Gabriel Latorre

Gabriel Terra, born José Luis Gabriel Terra Leivas on 1 August 1873 in Montevideo, Uruguay, was a towering figure in early‑twentieth‑century Uruguayan politics, whose career spanned law, academia, and authoritarian governance. After earning his law degree from the Universidad de la República in 1895, he practiced as a lawyer and Justice of the Peace, while simultaneously teaching at the Higher School of Commerce from 1901. His early political ascent included roles as national deputy (1903‑1907), Minister of Industry, Labor and Public Instruction (1907‑1911), and Minister of the Interior (1919‑1921). Terra also founded the industrial oxygen company CINOCA in 1908 and served on the National Constituent Assembly of 1917, showcasing his blend of economic expertise and legislative experience. In 1931 he was elected the 26th constitutional President of Uruguay, a position he held until 1933 before orchestrating a self‑coup on 31 March 1933 that ushered in a de‑facto dictatorship often referred to as the “March Government”. During his rule he promulgated the 1934 Constitution, which controversially abolished the collegiate executive, extended women’s suffrage, granted gender equality, and even decriminalised homosexuality, while also tightening controls over immigration and usury. His regime pursued an aggressive import‑substitution industrialization strategy, leading to a 160 % increase in industry, the construction of major hydroelectric projects like the Rincón del Bonete dam, and extensive social reforms including public health expansion and labor protections. Terra’s tenure ended in 1938 when he became president of the state‑owned Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay, only to suffer a debilitating stroke later that year; he remained paralysed until his death in poverty on 15 September 1942, leaving behind a complex legacy marked by both modernizing achievements and authoritarian repression.