Brash ex-president of Uruguay

Former President Jorge Batlle, an extroverted and irreverent politician who was a force in Uruguayan politics for half a century and led it during one of its worst economic recessions, has died. He was 88.

Batlle underwent surgery to stop a cerebral hemorrhage after he fainted and struck his head this month during an event for his Colorado Party. But the former president never fully recovered, and the Sanatorio Americano hospital announced his death late Monday.

Batlle, who was known as outgoing, even politically incorrect at times, remained active in politics until the end, needling his successors through newspaper columns and social media.

Before serving as president from 2000 to 2005, he practiced law, worked as journalist and was a senator and a member of the lower house of Congress.

He had promised that his presidency would be “fun,” but it was overshadowed by an economic depression that brought Uruguay, long one of Latin America’s most stable economies, close to bankruptcy.

The slump left 1 in 3 Uruguayans below the poverty line — a blow to a country where social benefits had for years assured one of the region’s highest living standards.

As president, Batlle also pursued closer ties with the United States at a time when leftists were taking power in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela and distancing themselves from Washington.

Batlle, born on Oct. 25, 1927, came from a political family.

His father, Luis Batlle Berres, was president of Uruguay from 1947 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1958. He was related to 19th century Presidents Jose Batlle y Ordonez and Lorenzo Batlle.

But his road to the presidency was challenging. His first run, in 1966, was unsuccessful, and his image was dented by a financial scandal in 1968 when he was accused of using privileged information on an imminent monetary devaluation. The claim was never proved.