The Christian Democrat Organization of America (ODCA, Spanish: ; Portuguese: ) is an international organization made up of political parties, groups, and associations in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
that promote the principles of
Christian humanism
Christian humanism refers to two intellectual movements: the anti-paganizing wing of sixteenth century Renaissance humanism (the scholarly movement and worldview that recovered the classical humanities and ideals of citizenship and human dignity; ...
. Affiliated with the Center Democratic International, it is a regional partner of the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
and regional organizations of Christian Democratic parties in
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.
Each of the member parties is different, sometimes having differing views of
Christian democracy
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
itself. Some of the member parties are in government in their country, others are in the coalition government, and others are not in government. Currently, there are 30 member political parties in 21 countries with a constituency representing 30% of all registered voters in Latin America and 10% of the entire population of the region.
History
On April 23, 1947, during a meeting in
Montevideo
Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
(Uruguay), a group of politicians from
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
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 ...
, and Uruguay agreed on the need to create an international organization of
Christian Democrats in
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. Later they were joined by representatives of the Christian Democrats of
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
and
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 ...
. At the Montevideo meeting, an "International Section" was created, which included Manuel Vicente Ordonez (Argentina), Trisao de Ataide (Brazil), Eduardo Frei Montalva (Chile), and Dardo Regules (Uruguay). The declaration adopted by the participants in the Montevideo meeting on April 23, 1947, proclaimed the goal of the new organization to create a movement on a supranational basis that would contribute to the achievement of real political, economic, and cultural democracy based on the principles of
Christian humanism
Christian humanism refers to two intellectual movements: the anti-paganizing wing of sixteenth century Renaissance humanism (the scholarly movement and worldview that recovered the classical humanities and ideals of citizenship and human dignity; ...
, respect for the human person and the spirit of community development, opposing
totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
.
On July 25-31, 1949, a second meeting was held at the
Catholic Club of Montevideo with the participation of representatives from Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, which were joined by politicians from
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
and Bolivia.
On July 29, 1961, the World Christian Democratic Union (now the Centrist Democratic International) was founded in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
, Chile. Since the founding of the Christian Democratic International, the Christian Democratic Organization of America has been a part of it and a regional organization.
At the XVI Congress on October 8, 2000, in Santiago, Chile, the organization's current strategy was formulated, aimed at increasing the participation in its work of humanist and centrist parties, whose views are close to Christian democracy.
At an extraordinary congress in
Panama City
Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...
(Panama) on May 7, 2011, the Charter was approved, which currently regulates the activities of the organization.
Congresses
I Congress — April 23, 1947, Montevideo (Uruguay)
II Congress — July 25-31, 1949, Montevideo (Uruguay)
III Congress — December 1955, Santiago (Chile)
IV Congress — September 1957,
Sao Paulo (Brazil)
V Congress — October 1959,
Lima
Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
(Peru)
VI Congress — 1964,
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
(Venezuela)
VII Congress — December 1969,
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
(Dominican Republic)
VIII Congress — August 29 - September 1, 1974,
Willemstad
Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...
(Curacao)
IX Congress — November 1977, Caracas (Venezuela)
X Congress — December 3-5, 1981, Caracas (Venezuela)
XI Congress — 1985
XII Congress — 1990
XIII Congress — November 28-30, 1991, Caracas (Venezuela)
XIV Congress — July 1-2, 1995,
San Jose (Costa Rica)
XV Congress — April 2-4, 1998, San Jose (Costa Rica)
XVI Congress — October 8, 2000, Santiago (Chile)
XVII Congress — October 25, 2003, Caracas (Venezuela)
XVIII Congress — November 11, 2006, Santiago (Chile)
XIX Congress — July 30-31, 2010,
San Salvador
San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
(El Salvador)
XX Congress — 23-24 August 2013,
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
(Mexico)
Structure
The highest organ of the Christian Democratic Organization of America is the Congress, which elects the Council and the Steering Committee, as well as the Presidium, which, together with the Executive Secretariat, exercises the operational leadership of the organization.
* Chairman — Jorge Moreno Osejo (Mexico)
* Executive Secretary — Francisco Javier Jara (Chile)
Political parties
Member parties
* –
Christian Democratic Party
* –
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei.
Fo ...
* –
Aruban People's Party
The Aruban People's Party (AVP; , ) is a Christian-democratic political party in Aruba founded in 1942. AVP is an acronym for the Dutch name of the party.
At the 2001 elections in Aruba, elections, on 28 September 2001, the party won 26.7% of po ...
* –
Christian Democratic Party
* –
Democrat Social Movement
* –
Brazil Union
* –
Bonaire Patriotic Union
The Bonaire Patriotic Union (, UPB; ) is a Dutch local political party in the special municipality of Bonaire.
History
In the 2002 Netherlands Antilles general election, the party won 3.6% of the popular vote and two out of 22 seats. In the 20 ...
* –
Windward Islands People's Movement
The Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM) is a political party in Saba. It has won a majority of seats in the Island Council in all but two elections since 1971.
It held all five seats in the Island Council after the 2019 elections and until ...
* –
Christian Democratic Party
* –
Colombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party () is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was formally established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and José Eusebio Caro.
The Conservative Party along with the Colombian Liberal Party ...
* –
Social Christian Unity Party
* –
Cuban Democratic Directorate
* –
Christian Democratic Party of Cuba
* –
Christian Liberation Movement
* –
Cuban Democratic Project
* –
National People's Party
* –
Social Christian Reformist Party
* –
Christian Democratic Union
* –
Christian Democratic Party
* –
Rally of Progressive National Democrats
* –
Christian Democratic Party of Honduras
The Christian Democratic Party of Honduras (Spanish: ''Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Honduras),'' known by the abbreviation DC, is a political party in Honduras. At the legislative elections, held on 25 November 2001, DC won 3.7% of the popular ...
* –
National Party of Honduras
The National Party of Honduras (PNH; ) is a conservative political party in Honduras founded on 27 February 1902, by Manuel Bonilla Chirinos. Historically it has been one of the two most influential parties in the country. The party's platform ...
* –
National Action Party
* –
People's Party
* –
Christian Democratic Party
* –
Christian People's Party
* –
United National Congress
The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unio ...
* –
Christian Democratic Party of Uruguay
* –
COPEI
Observer parties
* –
Brazilian Social Democracy Party
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Brazil. As the formerly third largest p ...
* –
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
* –
Guatemalan Christian Democracy
* –
Christian Democrat Party
* –
National Convergence
See also
*
Centrist Democrat International
The Centrist Democrat International (CDI; , IDC) is a political international inspired by the values of Christian democracy. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian Demo ...
References
External links
Christian Democrat Organization of America(in Spanish)
Christian democracy
Political internationals
Christian democratic parties in South America
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