The Authentic Radical Liberal Party ( or ''PLRA'') is a liberal and radical

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, ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. The party is a full member of

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

. The ''liberales'', as they are known, are the leading opposition to the dominant conservative Colorado Party. They have taken this position since the end of the

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...

dictatorship in 1989. They are the political successors of 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. For example, while the political systems ...

, which traces its history back to 10 July 1887. The party was formed by Domingo Laíno, Carmen Casco de Lara Castro, Carlos Alberto González, Miguel Ángel Martínez Yaryes, and others in 1978, in opposition to the Constitutional Amendment of 1977 which imposed no term limits to the re-election of the Paraguayan president. The PLRA remained officially unrecognized from its foundation in 1978 until the overthrow of Alfredo Stroessner. During this time, PLRA activists suffered continual harassment. In the presidential elections of 2008, the party achieved victory over the Colorado Party for the first time in 61 years through a

political alliance A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

headed by leftist

Fernando Lugo Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and Loss of clerical state, laicized Bishops in the Catholic Church, Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously, he was a Roman Cath ...

and composed by other left-wing political parties. At the 2008 legislative elections, the party won 26 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 14 seats in the Senate. They were approximately tied with the Colorados in the number of seats won in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Following the June 2012 impeachment of Fernando Lugo, which the PLRA spearheaded, the governing alliance fell apart, and Vice-President Federico Franco took over the presidency, thus exercising the first all-PLRA government in Paraguay. The PLRA has remained in opposition since 2013. As one of Paraguay’s two traditional parties, the PLRA is notable for its lack of a clear political program, which is a reflection of its division into personalist factions, dominated by networks of national and local caudillos.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Vice presidential election

Chamber of Deputies elections

Senate elections

Notes

PLRA contested the 1998 elections as a member of the ''Democratic Alliance'' electoral coalition along with the National Encounter Party. PLRA contested the 2008 elections as a member of the '' Patriotic Alliance for Change'' electoral coalition along with the Febrerista Revolutionary Party, the National Encounter Party, the Party for a Country of Solidarity, the Christian Democratic Party, and the Progressive Democratic Party, among others. PLRA contested the 2013 elections as a member of the ''Paraguay Alegre'' electoral coalition along with the Progressive Democratic Party and the National Encounter Party, among others. PLRA contested the 2018 elections as a member of the '' Great Renewed National Alliance'' electoral coalition along with the Revolutionary Febrerista Party, the Progressive Democratic Party, and the

Guasú Front The Guasú Front (; ''Guasú'' being the Guarani language, Guarani word for "big", "large" or "great") is a Democratic socialism, democratic socialist electoral alliance in Paraguay for the 2013 Paraguayan general election, general election in ...

, among others. PLRA contested the 2023 elections as a member of the '' Concertación'' electoral coalition along with the Guasú Front, the Beloved Fatherland Party, the National Encounter Party, the Hagamos Party, the Progressive Democratic Party, the Revolutionary Febrerista Party, and the Christian Democratic Party, among others.