The way in which ruling elites originally responded to pressures for increasing mass participation in the polity is one of the most crucial variables in the path to democracy. In the case of Uruguay, the first two decades of the century – a period dominated by the historical figure of José Batlle y Ordoñez, – were crucial in the setting up of democratic institutions. During this period, because of its late consolidation as much as its early modernisation, the institutionalisation of the political order coincided with its phase of democratic incorporation. This article argues that it was Batlle's strategy for advancing his political project, as much as the substantive aspects of the policies themselves, that would crystallise the working of Uruguay's democratic politics. While the article focuses mainly on Uruguay, a comparative analysis with similar historical developments in Argentina is used to illustrate some specific aspects of the Uruguayan case.