The Democratic Party (, PD) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It was founded in 1889 by

Nicolás de Piérola José Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena (known as "''El Califa''" ("The Caliph"); January 5, 1839 – June 23, 1913) was a Peruvian politician and Minister of Finance of Peru, Minister of Finance who served as the 23rd (1879 ...

, who won the presidential elections of 1895. The only other president to be a member of the party was

Guillermo Billinghurst Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo (27 July 1851, Arica – 28 June 1915, Iquique) was a Peruvian politician of English descent who served as the 37th President of Peru. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía, from 1912 to 1914. An Anglo-Peruvia ...

, who won the presidential elections of 1912. Despite the party's large support, mainly between

lower classes A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for example be dependent on education, w ...

, the Democratic Party had not many President for his abstention from some elections. It was the main rival of the

Civilista Party The Civilista Party (, PC) was a political party in Peru. History Founded as a countermeasure against the growing power of the military in Peru during the first half of the Republic, the party's sole purpose was to establish a civilian rule in ...

, identified as an expression of the

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

. In 1909, the party supported a revolt against President

Augusto B. Leguía Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (19 February 1863 – 6 February 1932) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as the " Oncenio" after its eleven-year length. ...

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

, that was repressed in blood. After Piérola's death in 1913, the party had less support and in 1933, finally merged in the Republican Action with other centrist parties. The party was anti-military, anti-liberal and pro-Church. The party was primarily supported by wealthy southern landowners, the church hierarchy, and members of middle class who were supportive of traditional Hispanic and Catholic values.

References

{{Peruvian political parties Defunct political parties in Peru Political parties disestablished in 1933 Political parties established in 1884