Sendic, Raúl (1925–1989)

Raúl Sendic (b. 1925; d. 28 April 1989), Uruguayan politician and guerrilla leader. As a prominent young socialist, Sendic worked as a legal adviser for rural labor unions in the northern region of Uruguay during the late 1950s. In 1961, he participated in the foundation of the sugarcane workers' union. Due to the lack of response from political institutions to the workers' request for land distribution, Sendic became disappointed with legal procedures as a means to achieve social justice. Starting in 1962, Sendic and other members of the Uruguayan left formed the National Liberation Movement, Tupamaros, one of Latin America's most important urban guerrilla organizations. As a Tupamaro leader, Sendic was captured in December 1964, released, and captured again in 1970. In September 1971 he escaped in a massive jail break. In September 1972, Sendic was shot in the face and captured and the Tupamaros were destroyed by the armed forces. For twelve years Sendic was imprisoned and tortured at various military units. In 1985 Sendic and other Tupamaro leaders were freed by an amnesty granted by the new democratic government. After 1985, Sendic remained a leader of the Tupamaros, as they reentered the political arena on peaceful and legal terms. As a consequence of his torture, Sendic became sick with Charcot's disease and died in France in 1989. While in prison he wrote Cartes desde la prisión (1984) and Reflexiones sobre política económica: Apuntes desde la prisión (1984).

See alsoGuerrilla Movements .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arturo C. Porzecanski, Uruguay's Tupamaros: The Urban Guerrilla (1973).

Luis Costa Bonino, Crisis de los partidos tradicionales y movimiento revolucionario en el Uruguay (1985).

Additional Bibliography

Blixen, Samuel. Sendic. Montevideo: Ediciones Trilce, 2000.

                                            Astrid ArrarÁ