Falange Nacional

Falange Nacional

The Falange Nacional was a Christian party in Chile that existed from 1938 to 1957. The best-known politician of this party was the Chilean President from 1964 to 1970, Eduardo Frei Montalva .

history

The Falange Nacional was originally the youth section of the Conservative Party , the party of political Catholicism and supported by the episcopate. At first it was called Movimiento Nacional de la Juventud Conservadora (German: National Movement of Conservative Youth) and moved to Falange Nacional in 1936. Leading politicians in Chile began their careers in this movement, such as the Christian Democrat and President Eduardo Frei Montalva, Radomiro Tomic (1970 presidential candidate), Bernardo Leighton (Minister 1964–1970). Within the Conservative Party, the Falange was more open to a state-controlled economy from the start. She also emphasized the social in economic issues. In 1938, the Falange split from the Conservatives and formed its own party to support left-wing presidential candidate Pedro Aguirre Cerda of the Radical Party . The Falange's publication was called Lircay .

Election results remained low for a long time, until 1957 when they received 9.4% of the vote and 17 MPs out of 147. At this point in time, a number of Falange politicians were well known, especially Eduardo Frei Montalva and Radomiro Tomic. Eduardo Frei Montalva was the Falange Minister of State for Public Buildings in the left-wing governments of Juan Antonio Ríos Morales and Gabriel González Videla .

In 1957 the Falange Nacional merged with other Christian Democrat-inspired parties, of which the Partido Conservador Social Cristiano - also a split from the Conservative Party - was the most important to form the Christian Democratic Party of Chile (PDC). The PDC kept the symbol of the Falange (see picture).

Election results

Election year (total number of seats)	Number of seats	Votes for the MPs	Share of votes in%
Parliamentary elections of 1941 (147)	3	15,553	3.4
Parliamentary elections of 1945 (147)	3	11,565	2.6
Parliamentary elections of 1949 (147)	3	18,221	3.9
Parliamentary elections of 1953 (147)	3	22,353	2.9
Parliamentary elections of 1957 (147)	17th	82.710	9.4
Source: Cruz-Coke 1984.

literature

• Ricardo Cruz-Coke: Historia electoral de Chile. 1925-1973 . Editorial Jurídica de Chile, Santiago de Chile 1984.
• Cristián Gazmuri: Eduardo Frei Montalva y su época . Aguilar, Santiago de Chile 2000.