Uruguay's opposition political parties have torn into the left-wing government led by President Tabaré Vázquez for shrinking from condemning the Venezuelan government for the heavy prison sentence handed down to one of the leading lights of the country's opposition movement, Leopoldo López, on 10 September. They accused the ruling left-wing Frente Amplio (FA) of subordinating their human rights credentials to its ideological affinity with the Bolivarian Revolution. While such solidarity runs deep, especially on the radical wing of the FA, there are more pragmatic reasons for Uruguay’s silence. The government was putting the finishing touches to a massive trade accord…