Oh my, this is BS. I'm Uruguayan, I had the unpleasant experience of living there for 35 years before moving to the US. Electricity in the country is provided by a state owned monopoly, electricity prices are more than 2x US prices, while salaries are way lower (I made in Uruguay less than 1/5 of what I make in the US). Middle class can't afford a clothes drier, or home central heating. Also, there is virtually no industry, look at how much electricity the country actually uses and it's probably a fraction of what a US city does.

Hydroelectric infrastructure has been there for decades, not a new thing, and numbers can look good some years, but look at dry years. Cars/motorcycles sold there can't be sold on any civilized country because of emission standards, I could go on forever telling everything that is wrong with the country, even if I restrict myself to environmental issues, but let me just finish by saying that the only source cited in the article is official stuff, and if you think US politicians are crap, you don't know Uruguayan ones...