pee retreated to Montevideo's port, which was considered neutral at the time. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on 17 December. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later. The eagle figurehead of the Graf Spee was salvaged on 10 February 2006; to protect the feelings of those still sensitive to Nazi Germany, the swastika on the figurehead was covered as it was pulled from the water.
Uruguay began to stagnate economically in the mid-1950s; Montevideo began a decline, later exacerbated widespread social and political violence beginning in 1968 (including the emergence of the guerrilla Movimiento de Liberaci�n Nacional-Tupamaros) and by the Civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay (1973-1985). There were major problems with supply; the immigration cycle was reversed.
From the 1960s to the end of the dictatorship in 1985, around one hundred people died or disappeared because of the political violence. From 1974 another hundred Uruguayans disappeared also in Argentina. In 1980, the dictatorship proposed a new constitution. The project was submitted to referendum and rejected in the first polls since 1971, with 58% of the votes against and 42% in favour. The result weakened the military and triggered its fall, allowing the return of democracy.
In the 1980s, Pope John Paul II visited the city twice. In April 1987, while head of state of Vatican, he signed a mediation agreement for the conflict of the Beagle Channel. He also held a large mass in Tres Cruces, declaring the cross located behind the altar as a monument. In 1988, he returned to the country, visiting Montevideo, Florida, Salto and Melo.
21st century
In 2002, Uruguay suffered one of the worst banking crises in its history, which affected all sectors of Montevideo. Recently, economic improvement and stronger commercial links with neighbouring countries has contributed to economic development
