The Christian Democratic Party (), formerly known as Christian Democracy (), is a

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, ...

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 ...

. Founded in 1956 by

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

. 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 (, JNE) of is an autonomous constitutional organ, headquartered in Lima, which serves as Peru's electoral court. Its goal is to oversee the legality of electoral processes, guaranteeing the respect for the populatio ...

to formally participate in present election cycles. However, nowadays its people are reagruping to stablish the original and authentic

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 ...

at the

peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...

politic.

Development

The DC had its roots in the government of José Bustamante y Rivero 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. He ousted President José Luis Bustamante y Rivero in the 1948 Peruvian coup d'état and seized power. He pr ...

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

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

parties formed following Odria's announcement of a new

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

(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 b ...

. 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 (21 April 1889 – 15 August 1967) was a Peruvian politician and 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 ...

, the DC 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, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

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

, remaining in office until 1990.

Ideology and divisions

The DC advocated a strong

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

, a community-minded approach to politics and

state interventionism A market intervention is a policy or measure that modifies or interferes with a market, typically done in the form of state action, but also by philanthropic and political-action groups. Market interventions can be done for a number of reason ...

, with a grouping on the left even advocating

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

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 DC.Neira, p. 442

Support

The DC gained a following in

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 ...

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

Odriist National Union The Odriist National Union ( 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 origins in Odría's military re ...

in order to have

Luis Bedoya Reyes Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes (20 February 1919 – 18 March 2021) was a Peruvian Christian Democrat Party (Peru), Christian Democrat (PDC) and Christian People's Party (Peru), Christian People's Party (PPC) politician who served as the List of may ...

elected

Mayor of Lima The following is a list of mayors (''alcaldes'') of Lima since the city's foundation in 1535. Under Spanish rule, the city's '' cabildo'' was headed by an ''Alcalde ordinario''. Currently, the city's local government is under the jurisdiction ...

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

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to clergy, religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secul ...

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