This article looks at diverse types of political trajectories, focusing on the impact of political change on Uruguayan parliamentary elites after the end of the dictatorship. With regard to a segment of the political elite, we are interested in revealing the two-sided movement made up of political party continuity among leadership and of inter-party mobility, both flowing electoral changes that are underway. Furthermore, we analyze the modalities of political careers of parliament members and circulation between parliamentary posts and other State positions. Our work is based on research into the trajectory of Uruguayan senators during the 2005-2010 period and compares it to that of previous legislatures also belonging to the post-dictatorship period (1985-2005). For the current legislature we have used the method of multiple biographic trajectories, studying 38 senators with mandates during the period, using personal and parliamentary documentary sources and published biographies as well as our own research and interviews carried out directly with the senators. Our study enables us to identify patterns common to members of parliament as well as to explore the differences in the political trajectory of senators from traditional and leftist parties.
parliamentary elites; political trajectories; political parties
