The “National Democratic Front” () was a coalition of Mexican

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

political parties 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 ideological or p ...

created to compete in the 1988 presidential elections and, as such, was the immediate predecessor of the

Party of the Democratic Revolution The Party of the Democratic Revolution (, , PRD) is a state-level social democracy, social democratic political party in Mexico (previously national, until 2024). The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 198 ...

(PRD). It was the result of an agglutination of small political left and center-left forces with dissident members from the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

(PRI). Their candidate for the presidential election was

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano (; born 1 May 1934) is a Mexicans, Mexican politician and civil engineer. A prominent Social democracy, social-democrat and the son of 51st president of Mexico Lázaro Cárdenas, he is a former List of heads of ...

History

Background

The National Democratic Front had its origins in the PRI, where the Democratic Current – founded in 1986 and led by

Porfirio Muñoz Ledo Porfirio Alejandro Muñoz Ledo y Lazo de la Vega (23 July 1933 – 9 July 2023) was a Mexican politician. He was one of the founders of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), and served as Ambassador to Cuba from January 2022 until his ...

, Ifigenia Martínez, and others – tried to democratize the internal selection of the PRI's presidential candidate, while also protesting against the economic policies of then-president

Miguel de la Madrid Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (; 12 December 1934 – 1 April 2012) was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 59th president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988. Inheriting a severe economic an ...

. When in October 1987

Carlos Salinas de Gortari Carlos Salinas de Gortari (; born 3 April 1948) is a Mexicans, Mexican economist, historían and former politician who served as the 60th president of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Considered the frontman of Mexican Neoliberalism by formulating, p ...

was nominated the official PRI candidate by De la Madrid, the members of the Democratic Current broke from the PRI, looking for a party to support Cárdenas's presidential candidacy. On 14 October 1987, Cárdenas was nominated by the

Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution The Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution () was a Mexican political party that existed from 1954 to 2000. For most of its existence, the PARM was generally considered a satellite party of the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI ...

(PARM). Shortly after, the

Party of the Cardenist Front of National Reconstruction The Party of the Cardenist Front of National Reconstruction (; PFCRN) also known as Cardenista Party from 1996-1997, was a list of political parties in Mexico, Mexican political party that arose during the 1989 elections, having evolved from the co ...

(PFCRN), the Social Democratic Party, the Popular Socialist Party (PPS), the Liberal Party and the Green Party (the predecessor the

Ecologist Green Party of Mexico The Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (, , PVEM or PVE) is a green political party in Mexico. Founded in 1986, the party is associated with Jorge González Torres and his son Jorge Emilio González Martínez. It has seldom gotten more than 10% of ...

), all of them small political forces, endorsed him as well. These parties only nominated Cárdenas as their candidate, but they did not contribute to the later formation of the Party of the Democratic Revolution.

Formation

Cárdenas and Muñoz Ledo made a pact in 1988 with the Mexican left in which the

Mexican Socialist Party The Mexican Socialist Party (, PMS) was a left-wing Mexican political party, and one of the immediate antecedents of the present Party of the Democratic Revolution. It was the last effort to unify the different Mexican left-wing parties, as well a ...

(whose candidate was Heberto Castillo) endorsed Cárdenas's candidacy as well. It also allied itself with many social organizations, like the Coalition of Workers, Peasants, and Students of the Isthmus (COCEI) (that had won the local elections in

Juchitán de Zaragoza Juchitán de Zaragoza (; Spanish name; Isthmus Zapotec: ''Xabizende'' ) is an indigenous town in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region. With a 2020 cens ...

), the Independent Central of Agricultural Workers and Peasants (CIOAC), the Assembly of Districts of Mexico Mexico (''Asamblea de Barrios'', created after

1985 earthquakes This is a list of earthquakes in 1985. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to UTC time. By death toll By ma ...

), the Union of Popular Colonies and the

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

Revolutionary Union among others. This agglomerate of civil parties and organizations was, along with the Democratic Current of the PRI, the base of the future PRD.

Aftermath

The official winner of the 6 July 1988 presidential election was

, in what has been widely considered a fraudulent election. Cárdenas protested against the alleged fraud, and he claimed victory for himself. Cárdenas and the other leaders of the FDN held large-sclae protests against the fraud, but they were unable to prevent Salinas de Gortari from taking office. After the elections, many of the parties and social organizations that had formed the National Democratic Front decided to join forces to create a new party, the

(PRD), that would be formally founded on 5 May 1989, with

as its president.

References

{{Authority control 1988 disestablishments in Mexico 1988 establishments in Mexico Defunct left-wing political party alliances Defunct political party alliances in Mexico Institutional Revolutionary Party breakaway groups Party of the Democratic Revolution Political opposition alliances Political parties disestablished in 1988 Political parties established in 1988 Socialist parties in Mexico

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Indigenismo in the United States