Businesspeople in politics in Uruguay in a epoch of change: circulation and renewal of political elites (2000-2015)

This paper seeks to identify the ways of recruitment and types of political leaders from the business field in Uruguay. It intends to study the participation of businessmen in the political field from the perspective of political sociology through a multivariate factorial analysis of correspondences. The analysis is based on the study of the biographical trajectories of 375 members of Parliament and of the national government cabinet from 2000 to 2015. Two profiles appear as relevant in the participation of businessmen in Uruguay. The most predominant is the more traditional profile, businessmen from the category of rural producers, typically rentiers, who present themselves and pretend to participate in politics as vocational politicians. On the other hand, the profile of modern and urban businessmen who belong to areas associated with managerial categories of business management and administration.