In 1971, he was promoted to general and then named chief of the Combined Armed Forces Command[2] that ran the counterinsurgency operation against the Tupamaros (urban guerrillas).

When the military seized power in the 1973 Uruguayan coup d'état, Álvarez became permanent secretary of the new Consejo de Seguridad Nacional (National Security Council).

[3] After Uruguay voted for a return to democracy in a referendum in 1980, the Consejo de Seguridad Nacional named Álvarez transitional president on September 1, 1981.

[citation needed] Others would argue that Álvarez's assumption of the permanent secretaryship of the National Security Council in 1973 marked the real point at which he gained what amounted to substantial executive powers.

[citation needed] From whichever perspective, however, the fact remains that General Álvarez's public role as a military figure was set against the background of sizeable civilian participation in government in the 1973-1985.

[citation needed] Although he was covered by a 1986 amnesty, since the election to the presidency of Tabaré Vázquez of the Frente Amplio in November 2004, there had been renewed calls for the prosecution of Álvarez for human rights abuses, for his part in Bordaberry's 1973 coup, and subsequent events.