The Party for Democracy ( es, Partido por la Democracia, PPD), also known as For Democracy ( es, Por la Democracia) is a
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
political party in Chile. It states to stand in the traditions of
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and ...
progressivism.
[Party for Democracy. Declaration of Principles (1993), p. 6. ""The PPD is a progressive party, where you find the tradition of the democratic socialism and the liberal progressivism, by what you feel to own their historic struggles for democracy and social justice in Chile and in the world. "] It was founded in December 1987 by
Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...
, who aimed at forming a legal social-democratic party, as the
Socialist Party of Chile
The Socialist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'état by General Augusto ...
(PS) remained illegal at the time. The PPD continued to function after the defeat of Pinochet. Until 1997, double membership of PPD and the PS was allowed.
The party nominated, as part of the ''Concertación'' (
Coalition of Parties for Democracy
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
), in the 1999/2000
presidential elections,
Ricardo Lagos Escobar
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and Social democracy, social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Mil ...
, the main leader of the party. He would later win 48.0% of the vote in the first round and was ultimately elected with 51.3% in the second round. At the
2001 legislative election, the party ran as part of the
Coalition of Parties for Democracy
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
and won 20 out of 120 seats in the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and 3 out of 38 elected seats in the
Senate. This changed at the
2005 elections to 21 and 3. In the
2009 elections, it won 18 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 4 in the Senate.
Ideology
In the first few years of the party, it had difficulty establishing a well-defined ideology, due to the political diversity of its founders, who ranged from communist militants to members of the
National Party. Eventually it converged on a combination of
social democracy and
social liberalism (called progressive liberalism in the early years of the party). Currently, according to its "Declaration of Principles," the PPD describes itself as "a left
stpolitical party, democratic, progressive and
n favor ofparity".
In 2007, a large part of the party's social-liberal wing broke off to form
ChilePrimero, which would eventually become the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
.
History
The Party for Democracy (PPD) was founded on 15 December 1987 as an instrumental political organization whose primary objective was to finish with the military regime and achieve again democracy in Chile by peaceful, political means, taking advantage of the opportunity to mobilize the Chileans who represented the plebiscite by means of which the dictator
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
sought to extend its mandate.
Its founder,
Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...
, later
President of Chile
The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...
(2000-2006), said in the ceremony of constitution of the party that the only requirements to integrate the ranks of the PPD were: ''"to be against the institutional system of the regime of the dictator Pinochet because it does not lead to democracy, and in addition want to defeat it by political means"''.
People were admitted to the party of various ideologies including socialism, radicalism, social democrats, liberal progressives,
left-wing Christians,
Mapucists, communists, and young people up to the national student movement of the 1980s opponents of Augusto Pinochet, among them the
Movement G-80.
The PPD worked actively to achieve the triumph of the "No" option in the
1988 plebiscite that he brought back the free elections to the country. Participated in the formation of the ''
Concertación'', political alliance that has dominated the Chilean government since the end of the military government until 2010, when
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.
The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...
representing the
Coalition for change came to power.
Election results
Due to its membership in the
Concert of Parties for Democracy, the party has endorsed the candidates of other parties on several occasions, as well as due to the fact that
presidential elections in Chile
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
are held using a
two-round system.
Presidential elections
See also
*
:Party for Democracy (Chile) politicians
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Political parties established in 1987
Political parties in Chile
Full member parties of the Socialist International
Progressive parties
Progressive Alliance
1987 establishments in Chile