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.
[citation needed] In 1992, under the presidency of Luis Alberto Lacalle, the government attempted to privatize all its companies, following the neoliberal Washington Consensus.
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.