The Alternative Democratic Pole (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Polo Democrático Alternativo'' or PDA) is a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political party in Colombia. It was founded as a political alliance of the

Independent Democratic Pole The Independent Democratic Pole (''Polo Democrático Independiente'') or (PDI), was a left-wing social democratic political party in Colombia. Origins Originally formed as a left-wing congressional coalition, the party itself was officially found ...

(PDI) and the Democratic Alternative (AD) in December 2005. Both parties opposed the neoliberal economic program, securitization and militarization of Colombia under then-President

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in t ...

. Subsequently, it was the only parliamentary party to declare opposition to the government of

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade, ...

, and has joined the opposition against the government of Ivan Duque. As of 2009, a considerable part of PDA politicians consist of former guerrilla fighters who gave up armed struggle and demobilized during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As of 2012, a considerable part of PDA politicians including the former guerrilla fighters are affiliated by will to the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

or to Movimiento Progresistas, or by disciplinary action to Marcha Patriótica, instead of PDA.

Political development

The PDI and AD initially had their own pre-candidates for the 2006 presidential race. PDI had nominated Antonio Navarro (former leader of M-19) and AD had nominated Carlos Gaviria. In a primary election held on March 12, 2006, Gaviria won the presidential nomination of the PDA. In the simultaneous legislative elections of 2006, the party won 9 out of 166 Deputies and 11 out of 100 senators. At the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

of 28 May 2006, Carlos Gaviria came second with 22.04% of the vote, 2,613,157 votes. This was the highest ever result for a left-wing candidate in Colombia's history. Thus, the party replaced the long-standing Liberal Party as the country's second force and main opposition party. After the election, the PDA was successful in gaining the support of groups representing the indigenous movement which affiliated with the coalition. Also, on its fourth national congress, the guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN) commented favorably about the PDA's electoral performance and declared that political action should take precedence over armed struggle. Though, PDA is not related to guerrillas or any other armed factions as they clearly state in their founding doctrine: "We oppose to war and to the exercise of violence as means to political action". The PDA could further consolidate its organization and gain support on a local level. In October 2007, the PDA's candidate,

Samuel Moreno Rojas Samuel Gustavo Moreno Rojas (born 11 February 1960) is a Colombian lawyer and politician, son of former congressman Samuel Moreno Díaz and former presidential candidate María Eugenia Rojas Correa, grandson of former Colombian political-militar ...

won the mayoral election in Colombia's capital

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

. In the 2010 congressional election, PDA's support declined. It won 7.8% of votes and 8 of 100 seats in the Senate, and 5.9% of the vote and 4 of 164 seats in the House of Representatives, demoting it to the sixth rank among parliamentary parties. Before the election, a faction of the PDA had split off and joined the

. Clara Lopez was the party's candidate for the 2014 presidential election; she placed fourth in the first round of the election, receiving 1,958,414 votes, representing 15.23%. For the 2022 presidential and

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

the party has joined forces with other left-wing and centre-left parties to form the

Historic Pact for Colombia The Historic Pact for Colombia ( es, Pacto Histórico por Colombia; PHxC) is a political and electoral coalition in Colombia composed of political parties and social movements with ideologies ranging from the centre-left, left-wing, and far-left ...

alliance, whose candidates,

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian economist, politician, and former guerrilla fighter who is the current president of Colombia since 2022. After taking office, Petro was considered by analysts as Colombia' ...

and PDA member

Francia Márquez Francia Elena Márquez Mina (born 1 December 1981) is a Colombian human-rights and environmental activist and lawyer, who is the 13th and current Vice President of Colombia. She was born in Yolombó, a village in the Cauca Department. She firs ...

, were victorious in the second round of the presidential election, making them the first leftists to assume the Presidency and Vice-Presidency in Colombian history. In parliamentary elections the PHxC lists, including PDA members, won the most votes in both the Chamber of Representatives and Senatorial elections.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

References

External links

Polo Democrático Alternativo
(Homepage, Spanish)

(Party's political program, Spanish)
Democracia a distancia: Elecciones 2006 (Portalcol.com)
(Information about the Pole's list of candidates to the Colombian Senate, Spanish). {{Authority control 2005 establishments in Colombia Former member parties of the Socialist International Foro de São Paulo Political parties established in 2005 Social democratic parties in Colombia

Political development

Electoral history

Presidential elections

See also

References

External links