Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Chile

Partido Demócrata Cristiano Christian Democratic Party
Party leader	Fuad Chahín
Secretary General	Gonzalo Duarte
founding	July 28, 1957
Place of foundation	Santiago de Chile
Headquarters	Alameda 1460, Santiago de Chile
Alignment	Christian democracy , social conservatism , centrism
Colours)	blue
Parliament seats	Senate: 5/43 Chamber of Deputies: 14/155
Number of members	113,000 (2012)
International connections	Christian Democratic International
Website	www.pdc.cl

The Christian Democratic Party (PDC) is a political party in Chile . It is one of the four parties that formed the center-left Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia and supported President Michelle Bachelet . The DC has held 20 of the 120 seats in the House of Representatives since 2005 and provides 6 of the 38 senators.

The Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Chile was founded in 1957 and had three presidents: Eduardo Frei Montalva (who ruled from 1964 to 1970), Patricio Aylwin Azócar (from 1990 to 1994) and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (from 1994 to 2000). Since 2000, the party has supported two socialist presidents as part of the Concertación . In the 1960s, the DC was Chile's most important party and during this time it helped shape a number of progressive reforms. Under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet , the DC was banned for years from 1978 and then played a central role in shaping the transition in the 80s.

Inner structure

The Christian Democratic Party is led by a chairman ( Presidente Nacional ) and a nine-member board ( Directiva Nacional ). The party council ( Consejo Nacional ) consists of the nine members of the party executive, the two group chairmen in Parliament and the Senate, the chairmen of the 15 regional associations, the chairman of the youth organization and 18 members elected by the party congress ( Junta Nacional ).

The party has a youth organization (JDC), a women's organization ( Frente de la Mujer ), a neighborhood organization ( Frente de acción vecinal ), a white-collar organization ( Frente de Profesionales y Técnicos ) and a workers' organization ( Frente de Trabajadores ).

The party is represented throughout the country by 15 regional associations (regions I and X are each divided into two associations), 63 provincial associations and 325 local associations. It provides 85 out of 345 mayors, including in Antofagasta , Calama , Coquimbo , Lota , Osorno , Punta Arenas , Talcahuano , Temuco and Valparaíso . The Easter Island is ruled by politicians of the PDC.

flag

The flag shows an upward-pointing red arrow with two red stripes vertically crossing it on a white rhombus. The background is blue because it gives the party's flag all three colors of the Chilean national flag.

history

Falange Nacional

In the 1930s, under the impact of the global economic crisis and a shift to the left in the Chilean party system, the youth organization of the Conservative Party split off and ran for elections as the Falange Nacional . As one of the three traditional parties, the Conservatives were particularly close to large estates and advocated an extremely liberal economic policy. Under the impression of the serious social consequences of the global economic crisis and the Catholic social doctrine , a number of young conservatives no longer saw themselves represented by the party establishment and split off. They were encouraged by a letter published in 1934 from the Roman cardinal Eugenio Pacelli , calling on Catholic politicians to work in favor of Catholic social teaching. Among the founding members were many politicians of the later Partido Demócrata Cristiana such as Bernardo Leighton, Ignacio Palma, Manuel Garretón, Eduardo Frei Montalva, Radomiro Tomic and Rafael Agustín Gumucio.

On the occasion of the presidential election in 1938 and in opposition to the conservative presidential candidate Gustavo Ross, the Falange Nacional was founded as a party. In terms of economic policy, it stood between the workers' parties ( Partido Comunista and Partido Socialista ) on the one hand and the traditional right-wing parties ( Partido Conservador and Partido Liberal ) on the other. It differed less from the political center, the decidedly secular radicals , in its economic policy goals than in its Christian principles.

The then President Arturo Alessandri Palma , supported by the Popular Front , which was made up of radicals, socialists and communists , appointed Bernardo Leighton as Minister of Labor that same year, while the Falange leader Manuel Garretón was elected as a member of parliament.

Nevertheless, the Falange remained a splinter party. Under the Popular Front (1938–52) it failed to gain influence and with a maximum of 23,000 votes (4%) it remained insignificant in all elections between 1937 and 1956. In the parliamentary elections in March 1957 , the Falange managed to jump to 10% of the vote and Eduardo Frei was also elected Senator for Santiago with a large majority. On July 28 of the same year, the Partido Demócrata Cristiano from the Falange Nacional was founded together with some conservatives, members of Ibañez ' PAL and several smaller parties. Within a few years, the DC developed into the largest party in the country.

The rise of the DC

The rapid rise of the Christian Democrats, unique in the history of Chile, was fueled by a number of factors:

• Due to strong population growth and, above all, a massive expansion of voting rights in rural areas, the number of votes cast tripled between 1952 and 1964. Thanks to extensive mobilization among the farmers, the DC was able to win over the majority of the new voters.
• The Catholic Church changed significantly in the early 1960s, due to a generation change around 1960 and accelerated in 1958 by the election of John XXIII. on the Pope and his encyclicals "Mater et Magista" from 1961 and "Pacem en Terris" from 1963. It increasingly distanced itself from the still quasi-feudal large estates ( latifundia ) and thus inevitably from the Conservative Party and increasingly openly supported the DC .
• The US- led Alliance for Progress was putting pressure on progressive agrarian reform - and thus on the Christian Democrats.
• The successful revolution in Cuba made conservative voters more willing to compromise in the election of the Christian Democrats if they could prevent such a revolutionary left-wing government ( Salvador Allende lost only 3.7% to the victorious candidate Jorge Alessandri in 1958 ).
• In Eduardo Frei Montalva , the Christian Democrats had an extremely popular party leader.
• Massive financial and propaganda support by the US secret service CIA with the intention of preventing a takeover by left forces, which, according to a CIA study, allowed the Christian Democrats and Eduardo Frei Montalva to achieve a clear majority in the 1964 elections.

The party was able to multiply its number of votes from a good 20,000 in the 1950s to 343,000 in 1965. This year, the DC was the first (and so far only) party in modern Chile to achieve an absolute majority in the House of Representatives (albeit with only 44% of the vote). In the previous year, Eduardo Frei was elected president with 56% in the first ballot.

President Frei Montalva (1964–1970)

On September 4, 1964 , Eduardo Frei Montalva was elected president in the first ballot as the first Christian Democrat in Latin America. The election campaign and the presidency, which lasted until 1970, were under the motto Revolution in Freedom , which was directed against the democratic revolutionary Salvador Allende.

The most important reform projects of the government were a comprehensive agrarian reform and the nationalization of the copper mines, which however could only be carried out with the support of Congress. That is why the parliamentary elections of 1965 had the motto "A Parliament for Free". The DC achieved tremendous (and never matched) success, gaining more than 40 percent of the MPs and Senate seats. In January 1966 , Congress approved the nationalization of the copper mines under the term "Chileanization" ( chilenización ). The state gradually bought 51 percent of the shares in Gran Minería de El Teniente , Andina y Exótica, which had previously been owned by the US company Kennecott. In the same year, an electrolytic copper smelter was opened in Ventanas near Quintero. The government wanted to increase copper production, smelt copper in Chile and improve working conditions. In a second step in 1969, the majority of the mines "Chuquicamata" and "El Salvador" were bought for 180 million US dollars.

In January 1967 , Congress approved the Agrarian Reform Act. Until the land is finally distributed, the land should be cultivated by settlement cooperatives under the supervision of the Corporación de la Reforma Agraria (CORA) . As a result, land that is rarely used by large landowners should be managed more productively. In May 1968 the Health Act ( Ley de Medicina Curativa ) was promulgated; In addition, accident insurance and a fund for upgrading pensions were set up.

As one of the first government measures, the school system was reformed: elementary school was extended from six to eight years and high school was shortened from six to four years. During the reign of Frei, kindergartens were set up and over 3,000 new schools built, the illiteracy rate fell from 16.4% to 11%.

Under the name "Promoción Popular", the government continued the political mobilization of society that the DC had for years. The inclusion of the “marginalized” sectors of society in politics should ensure organization and progress not “from above” but “from the grassroots” and, last but not least, guarantee a broad and lasting basis for the DC itself. For this purpose, Juntas de Vecinos (neighborhood groups), Centros de Madres or Asociaciones de Apoderados and various sports clubs were founded. Furthermore, the active voting age was lowered to 18 and illiterate people were given their right to vote. At the heart of the mobilization, however, was the trade union and political organization for small farmers and farm workers, which was illegal in Chile until 1967. Within a few years, the number of unionized farmers rose from 2000 to 114,000.

Christian Democrats under Allende

One of the events that shaped the current character of the Christian Democrats is the election of Salvador Allende , who achieved 36.6% and thus not an absolute majority of the votes, but was appointed by the Senate with the votes of the Christian Democrats. The PDC put Radomiro Tomic up as a candidate, who lost the 1970 election to the socialist Allende with 27.8% of the vote. The center party, fearing that the Unidad Popular might disregard private property and promote Marxist politics, reached a compromise called the Estatuto de Garantías Democráticas .

Demonstrations for and against Allende divided Chilean society

As time went on, UP policies became more radical. The internal struggles between the Communist (which was more moderate at the beginning of their reign) and the Socialist Party unleashed a state crisis. Inflation rose, supplies collapsed, the unions began to occupy private companies, etc. The Christian Democratic Party was in the opposition and was looking for a democratic way out of the state crisis. For example, she organized a meeting between the party leader of the PDC and Allende, together with the Cardinal Archbishop of Santiago, D. Raúl Silva Henríquez , which however did not lead to a happy ending.

Coup and military dictatorship

A significant part of the PDC called for the removal of Allende because of his disregard for the constitution, his aversion to law and control organs. This culminated on September 11, 1973 with a coup d'état . The armed forces overthrew President Salvador Allende and established an authoritarian regime that lasted sixteen years. The Christian Democratic Party was again in opposition, but in this case against a right-wing government that was loyal to its neoliberal policy and disregarded human dignity and personal freedom.

The Christian Democratic Party was soon dissolved, its property confiscated and its political activities prohibited. Their leaders nonetheless kept in contact with one another and published opposition magazines that were later banned. Numerous Christian Democrats participated in the defense of human rights, including Patricio Aylwin and his brother Andrés, Jaime Castillo Velasco, Soledad Alvear and Adolfo Zaldivar, among many others.

Transition to democracy

In 1980 , the military government under Pinochet presented the draft for a new constitution, which was to be confirmed by a referendum. Former Christian Democratic President Eduardo Frei Montalva called on Chilean voters to reject the military government's draft constitution because of its anti-democratic content. Nevertheless, this draft constitution was confirmed in a controversial referendum. Christian Democratic Party leader Andrés Zaldívar was banned from Chile after leading the campaign against the 1980 constitution.

The new constitution came into force in March 1981. Shortly thereafter, Chile suffered from an economic crisis that shook the neoliberal model that had been in practice since 1975. In the end, numerous bankrupt banks and private companies had to be taken over by the state. Unemployment rose to 30%, the middle class was also threatened with poverty and no one saw a short-term solution. During this economic crisis a popular movement against the authoritarian regime emerged. First the miners protested in the copper mines, later this protest was supported by the political parties and by a broad majority of the population in all cities of the country. The military regime responded with repression against the union's political leaders and carried out raids in the greater Santiago area. Trade unions and student associations united to form the Asamblea de la Civilidad . Politicians from all parties united to form the Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democrática), whose program included the observance of human rights, free elections and a humane economic policy. This alliance was the predecessor of today's Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia, which has ruled Chile since 1990.

As a result of these protests and the repression that followed, a spiral of violence emerged that became uncontrollable. That is why the Interior Minister started a dialogue with the newly founded Democratic Alliance. However, these negotiations failed because General Pinochet rejected any amendment to the constitution. However, there were some reliefs: some exiled politicians were allowed to return, press censorship was relaxed and political criminal law was applied less strictly. The vast majority of Chileans understood that democracy had to be achieved not through force but through broad consensus among all parties. The Catholic Church brokered a national agreement that regulated the transition to democracy. Pope John Paul II called on the Chileans for national reconciliation during his state visit in April 1987 . A free election committee was then formed. General Pinochet rejected his proposals, however, and announced a referendum (provided for by the constitution) on his remaining in the presidency, which was to take place in October 1988 .

The forces of the opposition formed a common alliance. In February 1988, representatives of 17 parties signed an appeal of the Concertación de Partidos por el No reasonable. The common position of all parties was called for:

• enable free parliamentary and presidential elections with a second ballot and a term of office reduced to four years as quickly as possible,
• the abolition of all laws that made banishment possible for ideological reasons or that placed the military outside of popular sovereignty,
• a national agreement that stipulates the compromises reached and human rights,
• the immediate return of all Chileans exiled abroad and the return of their citizenship,
• an amendment to the political party law.

A short time later, the Concertación announced that the then President of the Christian Democratic Party, Patricio Aylwin, would lead the campaign against the re-election of Pinochet. In July 1988 the state of emergency that had existed since 1973 was lifted, Augusto Pinochet was the only candidate to be admitted. The referendum to extend his term of office was held on October 5, 1988 without any particular incident. When the negative election result was officially recognized, thousands of Chileans celebrated the victory of democracy on the streets. After the successful referendum (53% of the voters voted against Pinochet), the Concertación por el No decided to transform into a permanent political alliance called the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia . Their first task was to draw up a joint list of candidates, formulate a government program and nominate the Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin as a joint candidate for the first democratic presidential election after the military dictatorship.

President Aylwin (1989–1994)

On December 14, 1989 , Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin Azócar was elected the first democratic president of the Republic of Chile since the 1973 coup with 55% of the vote. His government program comprised five priorities:

• The national reconciliation through education and punishment of human rights violations between 11 September 1973 to 1 March 1990 were committed by supporters of the military dictatorship. The victims of the military dictatorship were compensated and cared for by a newly created institution.
• Constitutional amendments to gradually democratize the state organs , including the reintroduction of universal suffrage, the abolition of the irretrievability of the army leadership and the democratization of local government through direct election of mayors and neighborhood councils, which culminated in 1992 in the first free local elections since the 1973 coup.
• The economic growth in social justice should be borne by the private sector, but are regulated by state corrections. An annual framework agreement between the government, trade unions and employers set minimum wages and salaries in the public sector. A tax reform increased the tax burden to finance the increased social spending. Between 1990 and 1993 Chile achieved an annual economic growth of 7% with falling inflation. Social spending increased by 32% over the same period.
• To promote social justice , the Aylwin government also established a solidarity fund (FOSIS), a national women's service (SERNAM), a national youth institute (INJ), a national agency for indigenous development (CONADI) and a disability and senior committee. The previous planning office was converted into a planning and coordination ministry, whose tasks also include the supervision of social programs.
• The normalization of international relations by resuming diplomatic relations with all countries, by joining the Rio Group and APEC , by concluding a free trade agreement with Mexico and by making state visits to all Latin American countries. The successful transition to democracy increased Chile's international reputation. This enabled the country to open up new sales markets and diversify and increase its exports.

President Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994-2000)

On March 11, 1994 , the Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle was elected President of the Republic of Chile to succeed his party colleague Patricio Aylwin Azócar. He saw himself as a modernizer who wanted to prepare Chile for the challenges of the 21st century. His most urgent program item comprised an educational reform, which is characterized by all-day schools, school autonomy and freedom of teaching materials.

More than 2 billion pesos have been spent improving roads, ports and airports, and water pipes. Many construction projects were financed by private operators. The three main ports of the country modernized after their decentralization and a fourth port was built in Punta Arenas . Over 1,500 km of country roads were expanded to four lanes, the coastal road expanded and construction of the Andean road began.

A judicial reform is intended to separate the tasks of the prosecutor (public prosecutor) and the judge and to negotiate in a public oral hearing instead of the previous written procedure. This judicial reform requires 7,500 new posts: 642 public prosecutors, 413 appellate judges, 396 main negotiating judges, 432 public defenders and 6,000 judicial employees. For this new justice system, 300 new courthouses will have to be built in numerous Chilean cities.

Family policy is also one of the priorities of Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle's presidency. Numerous legislative changes are intended to strengthen the position of women and children:

• a constitutional amendment on equality between men and women
• a new law against violence within families
• the equality of legitimate and illegitimate children through a new family law
• the introduction of the community of gains for spouses
• the introduction of special family dishes
• an adoption law that removes the differences between full and partial adoption
• Law to protect minors from physical or emotional violence
• a newly formulated comprehensive sexual criminal law
• a legal ban on pregnancy tests for female applicants

During his reign, economic growth averaged 5.7%, the inflation rate was 6.1%, unemployment was 7%, the budget surplus was 1.2%, investments were 24% of GDP, the savings rate was 20.5 % of GDP, the current account deficit was 3.5%. The Asian crisis in the second half of 1998 hit the Chilean economy hard. The government's social spending was not cut, however, and in 2000 the Chilean economy again experienced above-average economic growth of 5.7%.

In terms of foreign policy, the government succeeded in reconciling with Argentina , settling all controversial border issues and integrating it into Mercosur . Free trade agreements with Australia , Ecuador , Canada , Mexico (extension of the 1991 agreement), New Zealand , Singapore and the European Union tied Chile more closely into the world economy. However, Chile's accession to NAFTA failed due to internal resistance from the United States of America. In order to facilitate international trade, the government unilaterally lowered the tariff on January 1, 2003 from 11% to 6%.

The Frei government founded an audit office and set up an inter-departmental working group on administrative reform. The Internet is the key technology of administrative reform: an electronic procurement system enables control of all government procurement processes and saves the state $ 200 million a year.

The PDC today

The Senator Adolfo Zaldívar served as party chairman until 2006 . He strove for a morally clean political style, which led to the expulsion of two corrupt MPs. In the same style, he wanted to give his party an independent identity, but this was difficult in view of the participation in the Concertación. Adolfo Zaldívar was expelled from the PDC on December 27, 2007.

The PDC candidate for the presidential elections in 2005, Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear at the time , renounced the preliminary decision in favor of socialist Michelle Bachelet , who ran and won the Concertación as a joint candidate.

For the elections in 2009, Senator Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, who became President of Chile in 1994, ran for the PDC.

Results of the PDC in parliamentary elections

Election year	Share of votes		be right
1961	15.9%		213,468
1965	43.6%		995.187
1969	31.1%		716,547
1973	29.1%		1,055,120
1989	26.0%		1,766,347
1993	27.1%		1,827,373
1997	23.0%		1,331,745
2001	18.9%		1,162,210
2005	20.8%		1,370,501
2009	14.2%		940.265
2013	15.6%		967.003
2017	10.3%		616,668

See also

• Party system of Chile
• Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia

Web links

Commons : Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Chile  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Partido Demócrata Cristiano

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Garrido, Pablo Revolución en Libertad, Concepto y programa político de la Democracia cristiana chilena Programa de Historia de Las Ideas Políticas en Chile (2012)
2. ↑ ^{a b} Gomez Peralta, Hector. Precisiones conceptuales sobre la democracia cristiana y el neo-liberalismo [1] (2012)
3. ↑ ^{a b} Serrano, Sol. Conservadurismo y Democracia Cristiana . Centro de Estudios Miguel Enríquez. (2005)
4. ↑ ^{a b} Walker, Ignacio. Democracia Cristiana y Concertación: los casos de Chile, Italia y Alemania Revista de Ciencia Política (2006)
5. ^ Flags of the World.
6. ^ Church Report: Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973 (US National Archives and Records Administration)