José Luis Gabriel Terra Leivas (August 1, 1873 – September 15, 1942) was a Uruguayan lawyer and statesman who served as the 26th constitutional president of Uruguay from 1931 to 1933 and as dictator until 1938.

[2] While in power, Terra promoted the 1934 Constitution, which after being approved by the citizens through a nationwide referendum, officially abolished the collegiate executive established in 1917 and guaranteed rights such as gender equality and women's suffrage, as well as the legalization of homosexuality.

He practiced as lawyer and Justice of the Peace at the end of the 1890's and he was professor at the Higher School of Commerce (known since 1935 as the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Administration) from 1901.

However, due to his presidency beng very controversial, his coffin was spat on by editors of the newspaper El Día, causing a fight to break out.

He was an expert in economic and diplomatic issues, areas in which he advised all the Uruguayan governments between 1900 and 1938, he was a member of the Colorado Party, although many times independent of the dominant positions of its leader, José Batlle y Ordóñez.

This formed, according to one study, "a type of consumer cooperative under public law, limited to State officials and supported by the Bank of the Republic."

His candidacy for the presidency in 1930 was opposed to the Luis Alberto de Herrera, leader of the National Party who obtained 47.26% of the votes cast, compared to 52.02% in favor of Terra.

In 1932 the economic and political crisis worsened, so in November of that year he finally separated from the leading figures of Batllismo and began an unconstitutional[clarification needed] tour of the interior of the country in favor of a constitutional reform, instigating the mobilization of thousands of farmers through the center of Montevideo.

Law 9053, approved on the 20th of June of 1933, established a mechanism through which credits, of up to 20% of the value of a plot of land, were granted to agricultural producers to provide them with the resources necessary to populate the countryside and to improve productivity.

His sayings about the Jewish people and international finance, in one of his long radio-conferences, are recorded on page 310 of the book "Gabriel Terra: The Man, The Politician, The Ruler" by General Dr. José Luciano Martínez.

"The Jews in the face of this disastrous competition cannot satisfy their insatiable greed (...) the great weapon to combat it (usury), is to fortify the credit institutions, which, like the Banco de la República, carry to all areas of the country the free loan (without interest).

Between 1933 and 1937 there was a vast surge in markets of upwards of 80% due to commercial deals with countries such as Germany, Brasil, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain and Italy.

During his very first speech after the coup, Terra declared on radio, on the 8th of April of 1933:« [... ] one of the greatest defects of the capitalist regime is the system of wage labor [...] which [must be made fair] to ensure that whoever contributes to the creation of wealth participate in the benefits kept by the businessman, be it the State or a private agent [...].»An Act of 22 June 1931, as noted by one study, "prescribes Sunday closing for chemists' shops, with the exception of those opening on special duty from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Other significant medical establishments built during this period include hospitals in Dolores, Rocha, San José and in Cardona, with expansions to the existing ones in Florida and Treinta y Tres.

[10] That same year, a program of establishing low-cost restaurants where well-balanced meals could be served to workers at minimum prices was started.

"[11] Certain pension and unemployment benefits were extended to additional groups,[12] while a decree was issued which authorized the National Board of Fuel, Alcohol, and Portland Cement to provide its staff with family allowances from July 1938 onwards.

It also showcased the various road works and the modernization of the country's infrastructure, and backed a pro-rural, pro-military message, while condemning the alleged vices of urbanites and moneyed interests.

The movie was presented as bearer of the "new expression of the Uruguayan soul", and the elaboration of elements like its soundtrack received ample government funding and support.

It exalts the virtues of an ideal rural lifestile, as well as the gauchas (female counterparts to the gauchos, cowboys), and the overcoming of class divisions, while at the same time featuring racial prejudices.

The ending exalts Christianity, as it involves a miracle by the Virgin Mary, with the protagonists submitting to the higher authority of Heaven.

Other images shown include a group of 8 to 12 year old children, washing their teeth and smiling, "proving the health of the Uruguayan youth", thanks to the policies of the dictatorship.

The text concludes with a statement exalting the "profound pride of the improvement of the race", attainable through "social equilibrium, order and discipline", guaranteed by the State.