Democrats Demócratas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | D |
| President | Ximena Rincón |
| General Secretary | Carlos Maldonado Curti |
| Vice Presidents | Matías Walker Marcelo Urrutia María Paz Fuenzalida Gabriel Alemparte Jorge Tarud Carolina Latorre Jorge de la Carrera |
| Founded | 2 November 2022 (2022-11-02) |
| Split from | Christian Democratic Party Party for Democracy Radical Party |
| Headquarters | Santiago |
| Ideology | Moderate conservatism Christian humanism Christian democracy Social liberalism Third way Anti-communism |
| Political position | Centre tocentre-right |
| Colours | |
| Chamber of Deputies | 4 / 155 |
| Senate | 2 / 50 |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheDemocrats (Spanish:Demócratas;D) is aChilean political party founded in 2022 by a group of formercentre-left politicians,[1] legal experts, and public intellectuals who sought to establish a centrist, reformist alternative amid the profound political and social transformations experienced inChile during the early 2020s.
The party emerged in response to the polarization triggered by the2019–2020 Chilean protests (Estallido Social) and the contentious constitutional process that followed, which culminated in the rejection of a proposed new constitution in the2022 plebiscite.
Positioning itself as a guardian of institutional stability, republican values, and democratic pluralism, Democrats arose from a faction disenchanted with the ideological radicalization and alliance shifts within the historic center-left coalitionConcertación and its successor parties. Its founders—including experienced legislators such as former Senate presidentXimena Rincón, deputies likeMatías Walker, ex-ministers likeCarlos Maldonado, and lawyers and commentators such asGabriel Alemparte— advocate for a pragmatic political agenda focused on social dialogue,rule of law, and economic responsibility.
The party seeks to reclaim the legacy of the post-dictatorship moderate center-left, emphasizing reform without ruptures to Chile’s institutional framework. By challenging both the perceived excesses of the new left and the conservatism of the right, Democrats positions itself as a centrist force aiming to rebuild consensus in a fragmented and polarized political landscape. Though relatively new, the party has attracted attention for its critical engagement in debates around constitutionalism,public security, and social policy.
The foundation of Democrats (Demócratas) traces back to the critical inflection point of the2022 national plebiscite on a new constitutional draft prepared by a left-leaningConstitutional Convention.[2] The proposed document was ultimately rejected by a wide margin—62% voting “Reject” (Rechazo)—revealing deep public concern over its ideological tone, institutional fragility, and perceived lack of representativeness. Among the most vocal figures supporting theRechazo campaign were former center-left leaders who had once belonged to theChristian Democratic Party (PDC), theParty for Democracy (PPD), and otherConcertación-aligned parties. They argued that the draft distanced itself from Chile’s legal traditions,property protections, and social consensus.
Several prominent political figures emerged from this process as central to the formation of a new centrist alternative. These included former Senate presidentXimena Rincón, former deputyMatías Walker, formerJustice Minister andRadical Party presidentCarlos Maldonado,[3] and punditGabriel Alemparte, a long-standing member of theChristian Democratic tradition, had played a high-profile role in the Rechazo campaign through public debates, media appearances, and legal critiques of the constitutional proposal. Known for his sharp rhetoric and defense ofliberal democratic principles, Alemparte became one of the intellectual references for the emerging political project.
The group’s decision to break with their historical parties was driven by their rejection of alliances with more radical sectors of the left, such as theCommunist Party and theFrente Amplio, as well as their concerns over rising populism and political polarization. Rincón and Walker formally left the PDC in late 2022, while Maldonado distanced himself from the PR. Alemparte, who had long warned about the erosion of institutional moderation within the center-left, was among the early advocates for constructing a new centrist force grounded in rule of law, republican values, and social cohesion.
In October 2022, the group publicly announced the formation of Democrats, positioning the party as a reformist and centrist alternative. The party began its legal registration with theServicio Electoral de Chile (Servel) and achieved official recognition in several regions by 2023, allowing it to present candidates and participate in national electoral politics. Democrats began their legalization procedures on November 4, 2022.[4]
The movement defined itself ascentrist, although it explicitly acknowledged the coexistence of bothcentre-left andcentre-right tendencies within its ranks.[5] This dual character reflects the diverse political backgrounds of its founders, many of whom previously held leadership roles in parties like theChristian Democratic Party (PDC), theParty for Democracy (PPD), andRadical Party (PR).[3][6] By incorporating voices from different traditions of moderatereformism, the party sought to break with rigid ideological binaries and instead offer a flexible yet principled platform grounded in democratic consensus and pragmatic governance.
Democrats identified itself as aChristian democratic,humanist,pluralist,reformist, non-denominational, andregionalist party. The party defines itself as the heir to the best values of the now-defunct Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia, the coalition that governed Chile from 1990 to 2010, and which was widely credited with steering the country through its democratic transition while fostering sustained economic growth and poverty reduction.
Beyond historical references, Democrats aims to construct a renewed doctrine of theradical center, in which political moderation is not understood as indecision or ambiguity, but as a principled resistance to extremism and populism of all kinds. The party’s leaders have often invoked the notion of republicanism as a normative anchor: a commitment to civic virtue, the rule of law, institutional continuity, and deliberative democracy. Figures such as Alemparte have contributed to this ideological framework by emphasizing the importance of legal restraint,anti-corruption mechanisms, and constitutional clarity as bulwarks against both the populist left and authoritarian right. This positioning has allowed Democrats to attract voters who feel alienated by the polarization of the political system and who yearn for technocratic competence and ethical leadership.
Strategically, the party presents itself as a pivot point in the fragmented Chilean political spectrum. It does not reject dialogue with forces on either side of the aisle, but insists on minimum programmatic conditions: respect forhuman rights, macroeconomic responsibility, public security, and democratic institutions. Its leaders have expressed willingness to collaborate with centrist liberals from the center-right (such asEvópoli) and disillusioned moderates from the currentFrente Amplio, provided such alliances are based on shared democratic values rather than tactical convenience. In this sense, Democrats seeks not merely to fill a vacuum in the political center, but to reconstruct a governing culture capable of resisting ideological maximalism and restoring trust in public institutions.
