National Renewal Renovación Nacional | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Rodrigo Galilea |
| Secretary-General | Andrea Balladares |
| Founded | 29 April 1987 |
| Registered | 28 January 1988 |
| Merger of | National Union Movement Independent Democratic Union splinters National Labour Front[1][2] |
| Headquarters | Avenida Antonio Varas 454,Providencia,Santiago, Chile |
| Youth wing | National Renewal Youth (JRN) |
| Women's wing | MujeresRN |
| Indigenous wing | Pueblos Originarios RN |
| Membership(2017) | 31,214 (4th in Chile)[3] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right[15][16][17] toright-wing[2][18] |
| National affiliation | Chile Vamos (since 2015)[19] Chile Grande y Unido (since 2025) |
| Regional affiliation | Union of Latin American Parties[20] |
| International affiliation | International Democracy Union[21] Centrist Democrat International[22] |
| Colours | Blue,White andRed |
| Chamber of Deputies | 23 / 155 |
| Senate | 11 / 50 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Conservatism in Chile |
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TheNational Renewal (Spanish:Renovación Nacional; abbr.RN) is aChilean political party founded in 1987 with a reformist orientation and support for thesocial market economy. It is positioned within thecentre-right of thepolitical spectrum and, alongside theIndependent Democratic Union (UDI), is considered one of the main forces of the Chilean right.
The party emerged in the final phase of the military regime underAugusto Pinochet through the merger of severalliberal and moderatelyconservative movements, including theNational Party (PN) and other groups. Its aim was to support the transition to democracy and to consolidate a modern, civic-democratic right.
Since the return to democracy in 1990, RN and the UDI have jointly formed the core of the electoral alliancesAlianza and laterChile Vamos. During the periods 2010–2014 and 2018–2022, the party led the national government withSebastián Piñera serving as President of the Republic.
Ideologically, RN combines market-oriented principles with a commitment to the rule of law, social responsibility and individual freedom. Its intellectual roots lie inliberalism, Christian-humanist thought andrepublicanism.[23]
At the national level, the party is represented in both chambers of the Chilean Congress and maintains a strong base in urban and more affluent regions. Within the party, both economically liberal and more socially conservative currents coexist.
In Germany, RN cooperates with theCDU and itsKonrad Adenauer Foundation[24][25] as well as with theCSU and itsHanns Seidel Foundation.[26]
Renovación Nacional was founded on 29 April 1987, when three right-leaning organisations – the Movimiento de Unión Nacional (MUN), the Frente Nacional del Trabajo (FNT) and parts of theIndependent Democratic Union (UDI) – merged ahead of the1988 Chilean presidential referendum that would determine whetherAugusto Pinochet would continue in office.
Shortly thereafter, the UDI split away again due to its strong support for Pinochet, while RN advocated a broader democratic opening. However, when Pinochet was officially nominated as a candidate, the majority of the new party ultimately supported him.
With 351 founding members, RN became the first political party to be officially registered following the lifting of the ban on political parties in place since the 1973 military coup.
Under the leadership ofAndrés Allamand, membership increased rapidly and the party played an active role in the transition to democracy. In the 1999 presidential election, it supported the right-wing alliance’s joint candidate,Joaquín Lavín, who narrowly lost the runoff toRicardo Lagos.
In the 2000s, RN again put forward Lavín, but after his polling numbers declined,Sebastián Piñera assumed the candidacy. In the 2006 presidential election he narrowly lost toMichelle Bachelet, but won the 2010 election, becoming the first centre-right president since the return to democracy. The party simultaneously gained significant ground in Congress and became one of the most influential political forces in Chile.
Following the 2013 election defeat and internal tensions, several deputies split off to form the movementAmplitud. Under the leadership ofCristián Monckeberg, RN modernised its public image, adopting a new logo in 2014 and a revised statement of principles distancing itself from the Pinochet era. In 2015, RN helped establish the new centre-right coalitionChile Vamos alongside theUDI,Evópoli and the PRI.
During Piñera’s second administration (2018–2022), RN held numerous government positions.
TheSocial Outburst of 2019–2020 triggered internal tensions: a moderate faction led byMario Desbordes supported the constitutional process, while a conservative wing associated withCarlos Larraín opposed it.[27][28]
After a closely contested internal power struggle,Francisco Chahuán, the joint opposition candidate against Desbordes, was elected party president in 2021 and led RN until 2023.[29] His term, however, was marked by fragile control and pronounced internal fragmentation, illustrated by conservative factions supportingJosé Antonio Kast rather than the official candidateSebastián Sichel in the 2021 presidential election.[30][31]
In 2022, RN succeeded in re-establishing internal cohesion by unanimously deciding to reject the draft constitution promoted byleft-wing, pro-Social Outburst activists.[32][33] Even Desbordes, who had previously expressed sympathy for peaceful demonstrations, opposed the proposal.[34]
In the referendum on the draft constitution, the “Reject” option won with 62% of the vote.[32] RN and its coalition partners – UDI and Evópoli – gained two new allies: the movementAmarillos por Chile, from which the partyDemocrats later emerged.[35] Both groups brought together former members of the Concertación willing to collaborate with the centre-right; both later endorsedEvelyn Matthei in the 2025 presidential election.[36][37]
In 2023, Chahuán was succeeded byRodrigo Galilea,[38] a lawyer with a reserved public profile who strengthened RN’s standing by making the party the most-voted force in the 2024 municipal and regional elections.
National Renewal has nine party presidents in its history:
The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the National Renewal. (Information gathered from theArchive of Chilean Elections).
| Election year | Candidate | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Votes | % Votes | # Votes | % Votes | |||
| 1989 | Hernán Büchi | 2,052,116 | 29.4% | — | Lost | |
| 1993 | Arturo Alessandri Besa | 1,703,408 | 24.2% | — | Lost | |
| 1999–2000 | Joaquín Lavín | 3,352,192 | 47.5% | 3,495,569 | 48.7% | Lost |
| 2005–2006 | Sebastián Piñera | 1,763,694 | 25.4% | 3,236,394 | 46.5% | Lost |
| 2009–2010 | Sebastián Piñera | 3,074,164 | 44.1% | 3,591,182 | 51.6% | Won |
| 2013 | Evelyn Matthei | 1,648,481 | 25.1% | 2,111,891 | 37.8% | Lost |
| 2017 | Sebastián Piñera | 2,418,540 | 36.6% | 3,796,918 | 54.5% | Won |
| 2021 | Sebastián Sichel | 898,510 | 12.7% | — | Lost | |
| 2025 | Evelyn Matthei | |||||
| Election year | Chamber of Deputies | Senate | Status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Votes | % Votes | Seats | # Votes | % Votes | Seats | ||
| 1989 | 1,242,432 | 18.3% | 29 / 120 | 731,678 | 10.8% | 5 / 38 | Minority |
| 1993 | 1,098,852 | 16.3% | 29 / 120 | 279,580 | 14.9% | 11 / 38 | Minority |
| 1997 | 971,903 | 16.8% | 23 / 120 | 629,394 | 14.9% | 7 / 38 | Minority |
| 2001 | 845,865 | 13.8% | 18 / 120 | 342,045 | 19.7% | 4 / 18 | Minority |
| 2005 | 932,422 | 14.1% | 19 / 120 | 515,185 | 10.8% | 8 / 38 | Minority |
| 2009 | 1,178,392 | 17.8% | 18 / 120 | 382,728 | 20.2% | 8 / 38 | Minority |
| 2009 | 1,178,392 | 17.8% | 18 / 120 | 382,728 | 20.2% | 8 / 38 | Governing coalition with minority overall status |
| 2013 | 928,037 | 14.9% | 19 / 120 | 733,726 | 16.2% | 8 / 38 | Minority |
| 2017 | 1,067,270 | 17.8% | 36 / 155 | 349,622 | 20.9% | 9 / 43 | Governing coalition with minority overall status |
| 2021 | 693,474 | 10.96% | 25 / 155 | 549,553 | 11.8% | 12 / 50 | Minority |
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...the Renovacion Nacional (RN) with its internal divisions between liberals and conservatives...
