Radical Democracy Democracia Radical | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leaders | Julio Durán, Julio Mercado Illanes, Alfonso Quintana |
| Founded | November 22, 1969 (1969-11-22) |
| Dissolved | July 17, 1990 (1990-07-17) |
| Split from | Radical Party |
| Merged into | National Democracy of Centre |
| Headquarters | Santiago de Chile |
| Ideology | Radicalism Social liberalism Classical liberalism Anti-communism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| National affiliation | Confederation of Democracy(1972–73) National Democratic Agreement(1984–85) |
| Colors | Blue,red,white |
| Slogan | Un partido de centro, con raíces en la historia |
TheRadical Democracy (Spanish:Democracia Radical,DR) was aChileancentre-rightpolitical party. The party, created in 1969, was dissolved in 1973, and reappeared in 1983 before disbanding permanently in 1990.
The party was composed ofRadicals who opposed the presidential candidacy of the MarxistSalvador Allende. It represented the anti-communist sector of the Radicals that separated themselves permanently from the Radical Party. The group was initially known as theMovement for Democratic Unity. It supported the presidential candidacy of independent right-wingerJorge Alessandri in 1970.
A firm opponent toSalvador Allende, Radical Democracy took part in the parliamentary elections of 1973 as part of the anti-AllendeCODE coalition. The party supported the military coup of 1973, voluntarily complying with its own dissolution that same year. Among its most notable members wereJulio Durán Neumann (presidential candidate for Radical Party in 1964),Domingo Durán,Ángel Faivovich,Julio Mercado, andRafael Señoret.
Unlike its pre-1973 period, the party was reduced due to the departure of some iconic militants. Ángel Faivovich and Germán Picó Cañas entered theNational Labour Front, a movement that later became theNational Renewal. Other members, such as former deputy Julio Mercado Illanes, returned to the central trunk of the Radical Party.
In 1984 it joined with other movements that supported the military dictatorship a coalition known as the Group of Eight (Grupo de los Ocho), which later evolved to theNational Democratic Agreement.[1]
On January 31, 1986, it constituted theFrente Democrático de Concordia (FREDECO) along with theSocial Democracy Party, theSocial Christian Movement, theNational Democratic Party (faction led by Apolonides Parra), theRadical Civic Union, the Social Democratic Labour Movement, the Javiera Carrera Movement and Arturo Matte Civic Center.[2]
In late 1988 it created the short-lived Democratic Confederation (Confederación Democrática) with theNational Party (a faction that supported Pinochet), theLiberal Democrat Party of Chile, theSocial Democrat Party, theNational Advance, theDemocratic Party of Chile, theFree Democratic Centre and the Civic Committees. The confederation disappeared in 1989 during negotiations for parliamentary candidates that year.[3]
In 1989 the party supported the presidential candidacy of Hernán Büchi, who was supported by the Democracy and Progress pact. Despite this, he did not go into this coalition and had to participate in an electoral alliance with theNational Advance nationalist party called Alliance of Centre, leading candidates for deputy and senator for some regions. Because scored less than 5% of the voting of deputies required by law, the party was declared in dissolution, which was corrected when it merged with National Advance and theNational Party in theNational Democracy of Centre party, in May 1990.
| Election year (Total MPs) | Seats in Parliament | Number of votes | Percent of the vote |
| 1973 (150) | 2 | 83,328 | 2.3 |
| 1989 (120) | 0 | 28,575 | 0.42 |
The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Radical Democracy Party. (Information gathered from theArchive of Chilean Elections).