Montevideo
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: May 21,2008
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital and chief port of Uruguay. Montevideo is the primate city in Uruguay, the only city in the country with a population over 1,000,000. Montevideo has a privileged harbor, one of the most important in the Americas. Also, it has beautiful beaches, like Pocitos, Buceo, Malvín, Playa de los Ingleses, Playa Verde, Punta Gorda and Carrasco. Many monuments and museums are found in the city, as well as historic buildings and squares. The city’s mayor is Ricardo Ehrlich. According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Montevideo is the Latin American city with the highest quality of life (followed closely by Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile). It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montevideo.
During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee took place in Punta del Este, 200 km from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the British navy and Royal New Zealand Navy on December 13, 1939, the Graf Spee retreated to Montevideo’s port, which was considered neutral at the time. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on December 17. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later. On 10 February 2006, the eagle figurehead of the Admiral Graf Spee was salvaged. To protect the feelings of those still sensitive to Nazi Germany, the swastika on the figurehead was covered as it was pulled from the water.
Since 2005 the Mayor of Montevideo (styled Intendente Municipal in Spanish) has been Ricardo Ehrlich, of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front), gaining 61% of the vote in the Mayoral elections, beating Pedro Bordaberry of the Partido Colorado, who scored 27%.