The Christian Democratic Party (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

: ''Partido Demócrata Cristiano'') is a

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 ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Founded in 1956 by Ernesto Alayza Grundy,

Luis Bedoya Reyes Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes (20 February 1919 – 18 March 2021) was a Peruvian Christian Democrat (PDC) and Christian People's Party (PPC) politician who served as the Mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He was also a Minister of Justice, member ...

, Mario Polar Ugarteche,

Héctor Cornejo Chávez Hector Cornejo Chavez (Arequipa, November 15, 1918 - Lima, July 11, 2012) was a Peruvian politician, jurist and writer. Attorney, family law expert, founder of the Christian Democrat Party in Peru. See also * Luis Bedoya Reyes Luis Ferná ...

, Roberto Ramírez del Villar and others. Not having participated in national politics since 1990, the party is currently not registered at the

National Jury of Elections The National Jury of Elections (''Jurado Nacional de Elecciones'', JNE) of Peru is an autonomous constitutional organ, headquartered in Lima. Its goal is to oversee the legality of electoral processes, guaranteeing the respect for the population' ...

to formally participate in future election cycles.

Development

The PDC had its roots in the government of

José Bustamante y Rivero José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernac ...

who was overthrown in 1948 by

Manuel A. Odría Manuel Arturo Odría Amoretti (26 November 1896 – 18 February 1974) was a military officer who served as the 45th President of Peru, essentially ruling as a military dictator. Biography Early life and military career Manuel Odría was ...

although it did not emerge as an organised political party until 1956 when it was one of a number of

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 ...

parties formed following Odria's announcement of a new

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

(the other major ones being Popular Action and the

Progressive Social Movement Progressive Social Movement (in Spanish: ''Movimiento Social Progresista'') was a political party in Peru founded in 1956. Its leaders included Santiago Agurto Calvo (general secretary), Alberto Ruiz Eldredge and the Salazar Bondy brothers. Deve ...

).Neira, p. 440 The new party gained seats in both houses in the 1956 elections and initially they only concentrated their efforts on the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

rather than running for the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...

. A change in policy followed in 1962 when Cornejo was a candidate for the Presidency but he only managed 2.88% of the vote and the party was eliminated from Congress. As a result of this failure and the coup that overthrew

Manuel Prado Ugarteche Manuel Carlos Prado y Ugarteche (April 21, 1889 – August 15, 1967) was a banker who served twice as President of Peru. Son of former president Mariano Ignacio Prado, he was born in Lima and served as the nation's 43rd (1939 - 1945) and 46th ...

, the PDC threw in their lot with the Popular Action and as such returned to Congress in 1963 as junior partners in the coalition supporting new President

Fernando Belaúnde Terry Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

.Neira, p. 440-441 The party returned to government as a junior partner in

APRA APRA or Apra may refer to: Places *Apra, Punjab, a census town city in Jalandhar District of Punjab, India * Apra Harbor, the main port of Guam Acronyms * American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana), a Peruvi ...

-led government of

Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the Peruvian Apris ...

, remaining in office until 1990.

Ideology and divisions

The PDC advocated a strong

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

, a community-minded approach to politics and

state interventionism Economic interventionism, sometimes also called state interventionism, is an Economic policy, economic policy position favouring government intervention in the Market (economics), market process with the intention of correcting market failures a ...

, with a grouping on the left even advocating nationalisation of the oil industry.Neira, p. 441 In the end the right of the party split off in 1966 to set up the Christian People's Party although in the short term at least the majority of the membership remained with the PDC.Neira, p. 442

Support

The PDC gained a following in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...

to the extent that the party was able to defeat strong candidates from Popular Action and the

Odriist National Union The Odriist National Union ( es, Unión Nacional Odriista or UNO), was a political party in Peru founded in 1961 by former President General Manuel A. Odría. The party had Julio de la Piedra amongst its leaders. Development The party had its o ...

in order to have

elected

Mayor of Lima The following is a list of Lima's mayors through the 20th and 21st centuries. '' Alcaldes ordinarios'' of the first and the second vote Mayors of Lima See also * Timeline of Lima {{Peru lists Lima Mayors In many countries, a ...

. In general however the party's prospects were hampered by an

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

prevalent in Peru and, whilst it gained some support amongst middle class women, it never seriously challenged Popular Action for the

centre right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and merc ...

vote.

Presidential elections

Bibliography

* Hugo Neira, "Peru" in JP Bernard et al., ''Guide to the Political Parties of South America'', Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973

References

{{Peruvian political parties 1956 establishments in Peru Christian democratic parties in South America Political parties established in 1956 Political parties in Peru