A difficult summer in the history of the Uruguayan National Party (1931); [Um verão difícil na história do Partido Nacional uruguaio (1931)]; [Un verano difícil en la historia del Partido Nacional uruguayo (1931)]

This article investigates a temporary limited period, the summer of 1931, but with great significance to the Uruguayan National Party, since it would define its rupture and field of action during the next three decades. The active media participation in the nationalist debate of its most popular leader, Luis Alberto de Herrera, constitutes one of the main points of analysis. Herrera had been the defeated candidate in the last three presidential campaigns (1922, 1926 and 1930) and was constituted for part of the leadership as the symbol of party failure. On the contrary, he cautiously showed that the adherence of most of the party mass insisted on him as a «guide». During those months, nationalism witnessed a tense division that surprised itself and its adversaries, so in this work, a meticulous reconstruction of the discussions is carried out that allows to understand why the wounds of that internal battle, product of the unexpected electoral defeat of November 1930, would be very difficult to heal. © 2022, University of Montevideo. All rights reserved.