Conscience of the Fatherland ( es, Conciencia de Patria, abbreviated CONDEPA) was a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...

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

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

in the late 20th century. The party was led by

Carlos Palenque Carlos Palenque (28 June 1944, La Paz – 8 March 1997) was a Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of ...

Goals

CONDEPA was founded in

Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( es, Tiahuanaco or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilo ...

on September 21, 1988. The party was primarily based in the La Paz Department. CONDEPA was the first major party in Bolivia that appealed to the cultural identity of the Aymaras, the indigenous majority of the country. It borrowed '' katarista'' symbols and used the

wiphala The Wiphala (, ) is a square emblem commonly used as a flag to represent some native peoples of the Andes that include today's Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, northwestern Argentina and southern Colombia. Regional ''suyu'' wiphalas are composed ...

flag. Palenque often used references to Aymara culture in his campaigns.

Election history

The party won strong support amongst urban poor, amongst Aymaras that had migrated to the urban centres. CONDEPA lost the mayoral post of

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bo ...

in 1995. At the time of the 1999 elections the CONDEPA was a party in crisis. p. 406 It was discredited by having entered into

Hugo Banzer Hugo Banzer Suárez (; 10 May 1926 – 5 May 2002) was a Bolivian politician and military officer who served as the 51st president of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from 1971 to 1978 in a military dictatorship; and then a ...

's government. The party had suffered the death of its leader Carlos Palenque, and divisions had erupted amongst his successors. Moreover, the influence of the mass media connected to the party had decreased significantly. As the party lost the municipal contest in

El Alto El Alto (Spanish for "The Heights") is the second-largest city in Bolivia, located adjacent to La Paz in Pedro Domingo Murillo Province on the Altiplano highlands. El Alto is today one of Bolivia's fastest-growing urban centers, with an estimat ...

in these elections, it lost its last remaining political stronghold in the country. Ahead of the 2002 general election, CONDEPA launched Nicolás Valdivia as its presidential candidate and Esperanza Huanca as vice-presidential candidate. CONDEPA lost all of its 22 seats in the

Congress of Bolivia The Plurinational Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional) is the national legislature of Bolivia, placed in La Paz, the country's seat of government. The assembly is bicameral, consisting of a lower house (the Chamber of ...

in the elections. The implosion of CONDEPA enabled the nascent

Movement for Socialism The Movement for Socialism–Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples ( es, Movimiento al Socialismo–Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos, abbreviated MAS-IPSP, or simply MAS, punning on ''más'', Spanish for ...

to gain a wide following amongst indigenous urban poor. CONDEPA-Patriotic Movement lost its registration at the National Electoral Court shortly after the 2002 election.

References

{{Reflist Defunct political parties in Bolivia Political parties established in 1988 1988 establishments in Bolivia Political parties disestablished in 2002 2002 disestablishments in Bolivia