The Christian Democratic Union (, ''UDC), formerly known as Popular Democracy (, DP) was a

Christian democratic 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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

. It was formed in the 1970s by centrist Christian Democrats who had left the Social Christian Party and the left wing of the Conservative Party who were oriented towards Liberation theology. It officially registered as a political party in 1979. It was originally considered a

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

party. Later in the 1990s, it shifted to the centre-right. It reached its first great success in 1978 when party member

Osvaldo Hurtado Luis Osvaldo Hurtado Larrea (born 26 June 1939) is an Ecuadorian author and politician who served as President of Ecuador from 24 May 1981 to 10 August 1984. Hurtado was born in Chambo, Chimborazo Province. During his studies at the Catholi ...

became the running mate on the successful presidential ticket of Jaime Roldós of the

Concentration of People's Forces The Concentration of People's Forces (, CFP) was a populist political party in Ecuador. It was founded in 1949 and played a major role in Ecuadorian politics of the 1960s and 1970s, with its stronghold being in Guayaquil. Jaime Roldós Aguilera ...

. Hurtado served as President of Ecuador from 1981 to 1984 due to Roldós's death in office. It was Ecuador's largest political party, having won 35% of the seats in the 1998 elections to the Congreso Nacional. In the 1998 presidential elections, party member

Jamil Mahuad Jorge Jamil Mahuad Witt (born 29 July 1949) is an Ecuadorian lawyer, academic and former politician who served the 41st president of Ecuador from 1998 until he was deposed in a coup in 2000. He previously served as the 17th mayor of Quito from ...

was elected president, and after a coup d'état and brief military rule, he was succeeded in 2000 by the vice-president,

Gustavo Noboa Gustavo José Joaquín Noboa Bejarano (21 August 1937 – 16 February 2021) was an Ecuadorian politician who served as the 42nd president of Ecuador from 22 January 2000 to 15 January 2003. Previously he served as the 42nd Vice President of Ecua ...

, who was also in the party. At the

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

, 20 October 2002, the party won 4 out of 100 seats. In 2006, it dropped the name of Popular Democracy and took the current one. At the elections, held in October 2006, it won 2 seats in the Congress. It had no presidential candidate. The UDC was a member of the

Christian Democrat Organization of America The Christian Democrat Organization of America (ODCA, Spanish: ; Portuguese: ) is an international organization made up of political parties, groups, and associations in North America and South America that promote the principles of Christian hum ...

, continental organization of the

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 ...

. In 2013, the UDC was dissolved after the National Congress of the party.

References

1977 establishments in Ecuador 2013 disestablishments in Ecuador Catholic political parties Christian democratic parties in South America Christianity in Ecuador Conservative parties in Ecuador Defunct political parties in Ecuador Political parties disestablished in 2013 Political parties established in 1977 {{Ecuador-party-stub