Action 21 ( pap, Accion 21, A21) is an

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

n political party in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

with its ideology based in

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

and

progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...

. The party's name is derived from its desire to be the party of the 21st century, as well as the fact it contests the 21 seats of the

Parliament of Aruba The Parliament of Aruba ( pap, Parlamento di Aruba, nl, Staten van Aruba) is the unicameral legislature or parliament of Aruba. The parliament has 21 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. Each member holds their s ...

and its first electoral participation was 25 June 2021. The party was founded on 18 December 2020 by

Miguel Mansur Miguel José Mansur (born 15 July 1977) is an Aruban politician of the Accion 21 party. He was elected a Senator of the Parliament of Aruba in the elections of 25 June 2021. He was the top vote getter amongst new candidates and fifth overall of 17 ...

, economist and financial expert. The inspiration for the party originated with an article published 18 July 2020 by Mansur titled, "Status Aparte: The Road to Prosperity or Poverty?" which questioned the effect of Aruba's self-governing autonomy since 1 January 1986. Its emergence was spurred on by the corona crisis and the uproar over Aruba's autonomy and self-reliance in the context of the reform package supervised by the Caribbean Body for Reform and Development (COHO). The spearheads of the party are the reactivation of the economy, the restructuring of the financial situation of Aruba and government reforms. It stands for cooperation with the Netherlands and improving relations within the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

. Accion 21 participated with a list of fourteen candidates during the 2021

elections in Aruba Aruba elects a legislature on the national level. The Estates (''Staten'') have 21 members, elected for a four-year term by Open list Party-list proportional representation. Seats are distributed between parties that have gained at least one full ...

. The party presented a progressive manifesto that championed free enterprise, fiscal reform, LGBT rights, open government, electoral law reform, abortion rights, euthanasia and legalization of cannabis. The party received 3,410 votes in the 2021 elections and one seat in the eleventh

. Shortly after the elections three candidates withdrew from the party over internal disagreements. Party leader Miguel Mansur was the highest vote getter of all new political candidates. The party is currently part of the opposition and continues to advocate for closer ties with the Netherlands, fiscal reform and against abuse of power, corruption and nepotism.

References

{{Aruban political parties Political parties in Aruba