Municipalities of Uruguay

Establishment of the system and creation of municipalities The municipalities' system was created by Law No. 18567 of 13 September 2009. The current system is ruled by Law No. 19272 of 18 September 2014. This regulation provided that in settlements with more than 2,000 inhabitants a municipality was to be created including their surrounding territories, as long as it consisted in a social and cultural unit with their own common interests, that justified the creation of this kind of political entity. Settlements with less than 2,000 inhabitants were allowed to establish a municipality if the Departmental Board voted for it after the Intendant proposal, or by popular initiative of at least the 15% of voters in the settlement. Municipalities in departmental seats were only allowed to be created by Departmental Boards after the Intendant's proposal. Election of authorities and government The municipalities are governed by a local council made up by five members, whose chairperson is known as alcalde (mayor) and the other four members are known as concejales (councilors). They are elected by direct vote each municipal elections, at the same time the departmental authorities are elected. == Criticism ==

There is an ongoing debate regarding this system, due to the high cost and low quality of public services, ambiguous mandates for citizen participation, and inefficient bureaucracy. Critics highlight, particularly in Montevideo, issues like slow responses to local infrastructure needs, excessive personnel, and a lack of effective horizontal coordination between different municipal jurisdictions. ==List of municipalities by department==

===Artigas=== ===Canelones=== ===Cerro Largo=== ===Colonia=== ===Durazno=== ===Flores=== ===Florida=== ===Lavalleja=== ===Maldonado=== ===Montevideo=== ===Paysandú=== ===Río Negro=== ===Rivera=== ===Rocha=== ===Salto=== ===San José=== ===Soriano=== ===Tacuarembó=== ===Treinta y Tres=== } km2 || Elías Javier Fuentes (PN) || 22 December 2017 |- | 2 || Enrique Martínez || || km2 || Nidia Vera (PN) || 22 December 2017 |- | 3 || Rincón || || km2 || Eduardo Gonzales (PN) || 22 December 2017 |- | 4 || Santa Clara de Olimar || || km2 || Pablo Echevarría (PN) || 15 March 2010 |- | 5 || Vergara || || km2 || José González (PN) || 15 March 2010 |- | 6 || Villa Sara || || km2 || Analía Larrañaga (PN) || 22 December 2017 |} ==References==