This article analyzes the first year of Frente Amplio’s third government in Uruguay. The main political events during 2015 show the difficulties that leftist parties in government have when governing under negative economic perspectives. A decline in economic dynamism, combined with inflationary pressures and fiscal deterioration, boosted conflicts between the government and their social bases. Facing a worsening economic scenario, one of the most successful Latin American governments in the last ten years tries to navigate between the consolidation of its redistributive agenda and its political needs to secure economic growth