[1] The result was a victory for the Colorado Party, which won the presidency and the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate.
Wilson Ferreira Aldunate of the National Party received the most votes of any individual candidate.
Under the Ley de Lemas system in effect at the time, the highest-finishing candidate of the party that won the most votes was elected president.
In December 1971, US President Richard Nixon boasted to UK Prime Minister Edward Heath that Brazil, an ally of the USA, had rigged the election to ensure that the "leftists" lost.
[2] Fifteen months after taking office, Bordaberry carried out a self-coup, closing down the General Assembly and giving the military and police full powers to restore order.