This articles analyzes how Uruguay, a country that historically grounded its collective identity on civil premises, attempted to reconstruct it after that vision was shattered by the mounting political violence of the 1960s-70s and the civilian-military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1973 to 1985. At the basis of this process, the article identifies the ongoing debates and demands by sectors of society to come to grips with the legacy of authoritarianism in a way that restored legal accountability, truth and justice as basic to core national principles. It claims that this process prompted a critical vision of earlier understandings, which has enabled the coexistence of opposing worldviews without eroding democracy, unlike in the past. The Uruguayan case is of particular comparative relevance for societies where contestation often spills over into political polarization, civil wars and human rights violations.