Uruguay
National Level
Gobierno Central
Intermediate/Regional Level
Regiones 5
Departamentos 19
Local Level
Municipios 136
Intendencias
Gobiernos departamentales
Cities
National Urban Policy
- National urban policy type:ExplicitPolicy temporality:Long-term
-
Uruguay is a unitary republic made up of two subnational levels of government: departmental and municipal. Traditionally, the country had only one level of government, the departmental level, which served as the local government. However, significant progress was made in the decentralization process, leading to the establishment of municipalities as local governments in 2009. The country is currently undergoing a process of municipalization.
Currently, municipalities are bodies subject to the hierarchy of departmental governments, which implies limited financial and fiscal autonomy, as well as limited sources of revenue. Their main sources of income are allocations from the central government, budgetary allocations determined by departmental governments, and donations or bequests. Departments, in turn, enjoy considerable autonomy in administering their taxes and determining taxable values, as well as in proposing taxes, fees, and contributions.
The main sources of departmental revenue are their own resources, particularly tax revenues, among which the Property Tax and the Vehicle License Tax are significant, along with various service fees. Transfers from the central government also represent an important source of departmental funding.
-
In Uruguay, urban and rural planning was consolidated in the System of Territorial Organization and Sustainable Development, founded by law in 2008. In 2009, important measures were taken towards decentralization with the approval of Law No. 18 567 on Political Decentralization and Citizen Participation, which established the municipalities as local governments under the hierarchy of their respective departments. This was a key moment in the decentralization of land use planning in Uruguay. In 2010, the first local governments were elected and there are currently 112 municipalities.