The dominant political figure in his country's history, he was twice president of Uruguay and made it the most stable and democratic country in Latin America. His father, Lorenzo, a general in the army, was president of the republic ; he was ousted by an uprising, however, and the family lived in modest circumstances after that time. Batlle was deeply committed to socially progressive goals from early youth. After completing preparatory school in Montevideo, he entered the National University in He led a student group working for social reform, but the coming of Uruguay's first true military dictator in discouraged him.
In , without having obtained a degree, Batlle went to Paris in a self-imposed partial exile; he returned after 17 months, impoverished and frustrated by inaction. In he participated in a military uprising against the current dictator and was jailed briefly.
He was sharply critical of the party's leadership, however, and resigned to run for the Chamber of Deputies. In what he felt was a rigged election, he was defeated. In he was elected a Colorado deputy for Salto Department but continued his strong criticism of national and party leadership. After a short civil war in , he was elected a senator for Montevideo Department in , despite the antagonism of senior Colorado leaders. Batlle was elected president of the Senate in a bitter fight that split his party, then in was elected president of the republic for the term He remained the real chief of the country until his death.
Batlle's first presidential term was partially taken up by the country's last great civil war, in As during many earlier clashes, conservative, rural, and oligarchic Blancos the opposition party fought Colorados.
Peace in was facilitated by a division of influence between the great Blanco ranches of the interior and the Colorado-led urban groups. Batlle introduced reforms that were disappointingly mild in relation to his partisan language. The bases were laid for broad change, however. Batlle was not allowed to succeed himself and spent the interim term required by the constitution in Europe.
