The Constitutionalist Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Constitucionalista, PLC) is a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
. At the
Nicaraguan general election of 5 November 2006, the party won 25 of 92 seats in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
. However, the party suffered a devastating loss in the
2011 general election, losing 23 seats in the National Assembly.
History
The Constitutionalist Liberal Party is the political successor of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, a faction which has existed since Nicaragua became independent during the 1830s. After being defeated by
the Legitimists (future members of the
Conservative Party) in a civil war in the 1850s, the Democratic Party returned to power in 1893 under President
José Santos Zelaya
José Santos Zelaya López (1 November 1853 in Managua – 17 May 1919 in New York City) was the President of Nicaragua from 25 July 1893 to 21 December 1909.
Early life
He was a son of José María Zelaya Irigoyen, who was originally from ...
, who lost power in 1909.
Under pressure from American troops who had occupied Nicaragua, the Democrats lost power the following year, and remained out of power until 1926 when, following another revolt, they forced the Conservatives into a coalition government. Some factions of the Democratic Party, along with some factions of the Conservative Party, supported
Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was the leader of Nicaragua from 1937 until his assassination in 1956. He was only officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 195 ...
, who gained power in the 1930s, defeating another Democratic faction led by
Augusto Sandino
Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Augusto Aníbal
*Augusto dos Anjos
* Augusto Arbizo
*Augusto Barbera (born 1938), Italian law professor, politician and judge
*Augusto B ...
, who continued fighting after the 1926 coalition agreement. The Democrats and Conservatives were both marginalized by the Somoza family, who formed the
Nationalist Liberal Party
The Nationalist Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Nacionalista, PLN) was a political party in Nicaragua.
When Anastasio Somoza García took power in 1936, the party aligned itself with the United States and other caudillos in Latin America, li ...
, and continued to be out of power when the Somozas were overthrown by the
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto Cé ...
in 1979.
In 1968, Ramiro Sacasa Guerro, a relative of the Somozas and education minister, opposed
Anastasio Somoza Debayle's re-election bid and formed the Constitutionalist Liberal Movement (MLC) faction within the Nationalist Liberal Party. The formation of this faction, which believed in opposing Somoza by political means instead of through armed struggle, led to Somoza dismissing Sacasa from his position.
After the Sandinista victory in 1979, the MLC earned a seat on the Council of State which was founded following the end of Somoza's rule, but that seat was soon revoked following the FSLN's accusations of the MLC's lack of representation. After Sacasa's death in a car accident, the MLC became a political party in 1983, and again gained a seat in the Council of State, occupied by Public Prosecutor Julio Centeno.
The Democratic Party had by this time split into many Liberal groups, many of whom supported the
United Nicaraguan Opposition
The United Nicaraguan Opposition (''Unidad Nicaragüense Opositora'', UNO) was a Nicaraguan rebel umbrella group formed in 1985, led by the triumvirate of Adolfo Calero, Alfonso Robelo, and Arturo Cruz. However, the great majority of UNO's milita ...
which successfully opposed the Sandinistas in the 1990 elections. By the late 1990s, led by
Arnoldo Alemán, most of the Democratic/Liberal groups consolidated to form the Constitutionalist Liberal Party, which was at first known as the Liberal Alliance. In 1996 Alemán won the presidential election and served as president until 2002, while the party won 42 of the 93 seats in the 1996 congressional elections, more than any other party. At the November 2001 elections, the party gained a majority in Congress, winning 47 of 92 seats. The same day, its candidate
Enrique Bolaños
Enrique José Bolaños Geyer (; 13 May 1928 – 14 June 2021) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007.
From 1997 to 2002, Bolaños served as vice president under Arnoldo Alemán ...
won the presidential elections.
Though still a strong force in Nicaragua, there have been many disputes within it since 2001 which, by 2006, had caused it to lose its majority in Congress and the presidency. Bolaños broke with the PLC to form the
Alliance for the Republic.
José Rizo
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
was nominated as the presidential candidate and José Antonio Alvarado was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate for the
November 2006 elections.
Eduardo Montealegre
Eduardo Montealegre Rivas (born 9 May 1955) is a Nicaraguan politician. He ran for president in the 2006 general election as the candidate of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN-PC) a split-off of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) in allia ...
, another presidential candidate for the elections, was a former member of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party and formed the
Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance
The Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance ( – ALN) is a political coalition in Nicaragua. It was started in 2005 by Eduardo Montealegre and other members of the Constitutional Liberal Party (Partido Liberal Constitucionalista – PLC) who opposed former ...
which includes other former PLC members. Montealegre and Rizo were both defeated, as Sandinista
Daniel Ortega finished far enough ahead of both of them to avoid a runoff. Rizo came in third place with 26% of the vote. The party came in second place in the congressional elections.
The party was a member of the
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
, but left that organization in 2005.
Electoral History
Presidential elections
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
1968 establishments in Nicaragua
Conservative parties in Nicaragua
Organizations of the Nicaraguan Revolution
Political parties established in 1968
Political parties in Nicaragua
Liberal parties in Nicaragua