The Visual identity of the Uruguayan National Party through its ballot papers (1925-1962)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46661/atrio.12750

Keywords:

Ballot Papers, Visual Identity, National Party, Uruguay, Luis Alberto de Herrera, Symbols

Abstract

This article examines the visual identity of Uruguay’s National Party as expressed through its ballot papers between 1925 and 1962, a period during which the hegemonic leadership of Luis Alberto de Herrera came to define the party’s political identity. In particular, the study analyses the visual strategies employed by Herrera on ballot papers to reinforce his leadership. These ballots, preserved in the archives of the Electoral Court and in the special collections room of the National Library of Uruguay, constitute graphic material incorporating colours, partisan and national symbols, photographs, images, and ideological texts. Each of these elements fostered an affective connection with voters and functioned as channels for constructing partisan belonging, enabling citizens in the voting booth to readily identify the list of their preference.

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Author Biographies

Carolina Cerrano, Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay

Doctor of History from the University of Navarra, Spain; Level 1 Researcher at the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII – Uruguay). She is the director of the Master’s Program in History and coordinator of the Department of History at the School of Humanities and Education of the University of Montevideo, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Contemporary History and in Historical Research Methodology. She is the author of book chapters and articles on topics in political history and international relations related to Peronism and to the history of twentieth-century Spain. In 2025, together with José Antonio Saravia, she published the book Luis Alberto de Herrera: un liderazgo político, which examines the construction of this nationalist politician’s leadership between 1920 and 1959.

José Antonio Saravia, Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay

He has a Master’s degree in Contemporary Russian History from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University, Moscow) and a Bachelor’s degree in Humanities from the University of Montevideo. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Contemporary History and Contemporary Russian History at the University of Montevideo and serves as managing editor of the journal Humanidades. He has received several academic scholarships, including the ERASMUS+ program at the University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, in 2023. His research focuses on the Uruguayan National Party (1920–1958) and the contemporary history of Russia. He has published numerous co-authored academic articles in scholarly journals on these topics.

References

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Published

2026-04-14

How to Cite

Cerrano, C. and Saravia, J. A. (2026) “The Visual identity of the Uruguayan National Party through its ballot papers (1925-1962)”, Atrio. Revista de Historia del Arte. Sevilla, España, (32), pp. 282–306. doi: 10.46661/atrio.12750.

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