In early January 1984 the minister of the interior, General Linares Brum, was asked point-blank by journalists whether or not the government would be handed back to politicians in 1985. His reply was somber:

On 18 January, Montevideo was paralyzed by the first general strike since 1973, leading to the banning of the Plenario Intersindical de Trabajadores (PIT) and hurried legislation to regulate the right to strike. During an official visit to Brazil at the end of February, President Alvarez made a point of guaranteeing that a liberal type of democracy would not return.

Uruguay's political future hung in the balance. There were no real prospects for continuismo (continuation of the authoritarian regime in its current form), nor any immediate prospects for its overthrow (ruptura). However, the Wilsonistas still hoped for the possibility of “democratic rupture” without negotiations. There were also still some sectors of the military who thought it possible to reform the system, if necessary without the agreement of the politicians elected in the primaries. These were the options that were to be exhausted during the first six months of 1984.