The Frente Amplio (Spanish for Broad Front, FA) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an left-wing political party and founded in 2024 as a result of the merger of the former coalition of the same name.

Platform and ideology

The Frente Amplio was formed as a result of the merger of left-wing political parties that aimed to change the political situation of Chile in favor of participative democracy and feminism. Some reports consider their ideology close to populism due to the fact that the coalition was built off of existing popular movements (such as the 2011 student movement). Although it has the same name as the center-left coalition from Uruguay, political analysts tend to see the Frente Amplio as more similar to the Spanish left-wing populist party Podemos. 2017 presidential primary candidate Alberto Mayol highlighted the fact that a clear "leftist tradition" exists in most of the coalition members. Since Gabriel Boric won the 2021 general election, the president and his party have taken more centrist positions and moderated on numerous issues.

History

On March 11, 2022, the FA became part of the ruling alliance, with

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean politician and the President of Chile since 2022. He previously served two four-year terms as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies. Boric first gained prom ...

as the president. The first cabinet of ministers appointed by President Boric had a large presence of the bloc in eight portfolios, among them the General Secretariat of the Presidency, with Giorgio Jackson (RD); and in Women and Gender Equity, with

Antonia Orellana Antonia Cósmica Orellana Guarello (born 21 December 1989) is a Chilean politician, journalist and Minister of Women and Gender Equality. Early life Antonia Orellana, also known as "Toti" and "Candy" to friends, was born in Macul in 1989 to ...

(CS), both belonging to La Moneda's political committee. On October 5, 2023, the Frente Amplio began the process of merging its member parties to form a single political collective. RD and CS called for a referendum on March 9 and 10, where the members were consulted on their approval or rejection of the merger. A little more than 10 thousand people participated in the process, 16% of the militancy of the two formations registered to the

electoral service The Electoral Service of Chile (), better known by its acronym Servel, is an autonomous constitutional agency responsible for overseeing electoral processes in Chile. It administers national elections and referendums, supervises political party ...

, and voted in favor of the merger by more than 80%. Comunes did not participate in the consultation due to the dissolution process it was facing at that time before the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

. With the merger, the single party of the FA will be the group with the most members in Chile, with 62 thousand registered people. The deed of incorporation of the merger of CS and RD was signed on 19 April 2024, and on May 13 of the same year, Servel ordered the publication of the extract of said document, initiating the formal process of creation of the new party. On July 1, Servel confirmed the merger between CS and RD and the constitution of the new Frente Amplio party.

References

External links

Official website
{{Chilean political parties 2024 establishments in Chile Democratic socialism Political parties established in 2024 Progressivism