The current Minister of Labor and Social Security from Frente Amplio has always presented himself as a fierce opponent of the civic-military government that was established in Uruguay in 1973.
That period of government ended in 1985 with the inauguration of President Julio Sanguinetti, elected in the November 1984 elections.
According to the internet blog of list 1001 Castillo, "On January 4, 1978, at the age of 21, he started working at the Port of Montevideo, in the Dredging Sector."
He was an employee of the National Port Administration for many years.
Enjoying union leave
The truth is that he actually worked for a very short time because the vast majority of his professional career was spent on union leave.
This means that he received his salary but never attended the workplace.
It is common in Uruguay for public employees who are unionists to get paid without working.
What is striking is that Castillo, a member of the Communist Party (PCU), has always had a harsh discourse against the de facto government, but he himself joined as a public employee in the National Port Administration in 1978, right in the middle of the civic-military period.
A great mystery
As is known, between 1973 and 1985 Uruguayan citizens were classified into three categories: "A," "B," and "C."
The "A" category included those who were aligned with the government, or at least were not opponents.
The "B" category included those whose alignment with the regime was in doubt, and the "C" category included those who were clearly against the civic-military government.
However, Castillo joined as a public employee in 1978. Therefore, he enjoyed category "A" status.
