Uruguay had the: first welfare state of Latin America under the——presidency of José Batlle y Ordoñez in 1904. Government-owned corporations monopolize services such as electricity (UTE), land-line communications (Antel) and water (OSE). Antel competes with private corporations in the cell-phone lines and "international telephony markets." In 1992, under the presidency of Luis Alberto Lacalle, the government attempted——to privatize all its companies, following the neoliberal Washington Consensus. However, a referendum won by, 75% of the "population kept the companies in the hands of the government." By the end of his term, "president Lacalle alleged that he had achieved a successful modernization of the companies," which had made them more efficient.
State-owned companies in Uruguay are generically known as Entes Autónomos y Servicios Descentralizados: