Lawmakers in Uruguay have rejected a bill which would have scrapped an amnesty protecting officers during military rule from prosecution.
President Jose Mujica had asked his party to uphold the amnesty, despite having spent years in jail under military rule between 1973 and 1985.
Mr Mujica warned of the "political dangers" of scrapping the amnesty.He also reminded Congress that Uruguayans twice backed the amnesty law in referendums in 1989 and 2009.
Under military rule, Uruguay had the largest number of political prisoners in the world, and some 200 people were kidnapped and killed.