Democratic Union of the Valencian Country (in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: ''Unió Democràtica del País Valencià'', UDPV) was 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 political ideology ...

in the

Valencian Country The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It was founded clandestinely in the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

in 1962. The party was illegal until 1977.Partits y conformació d'elits polítiques autonòmiques. Transició política i partits políticis al País Valencià, Institut de Ciencies Polítiques i Socials, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 2000.
/ref>

History

The UDPV originally had about 50 members. The most prominent leaders of the organization in the 1960s were

Vicente Ruiz Monrabal Vicente Ruiz Monrabal (1936 in Sedaví, Spain – 2011) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Ruiz qualified as a lawyer at the University of Valencia. During his time at University he became President of the Rural Catholic Youth group and a member ...

, Vicent Diego, Francesc Fayos and Empar Escrivà. The founding meeting was held in May 1964, signing a cooperation pact with the

Democratic Union of Catalonia The Democratic Union of Catalonia ( ca, Unió Democràtica de Catalunya; , UDC), frequently shortened as Union ( ca, Unió; ), was a regionalist, Christian-democratic political party in the Catalonia region of Spain existing between 1931 and 2017 ...

in May 1965. In collaboration with communist activists, UDPV participated in the campaign against the Francoist referendum in 1968. UDPV also maintained some contacts with the

Valencian Socialist Party Valencian Socialist Party ( ca-valencia, Partit Socialista Valencià) was a political party in Valencia, Spain. It existed informally between 1962 and 1968, during the Francoist State, which had banned all the political organizations other than th ...

. In March 1973 the party attended the First Conference of the

Christian Democratic Team of the Spanish State Christian Democratic Team of the Spanish State (in Spanish: ''Equipo Demócrata Cristiano del Estado Español'', EDCEE) was a political alliance of the Democratic Union of Catalonia, the Federation of Christian Democracy (composed of Democratic ...

(EDCEE) at the

Abbey of Montserrat Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery was f ...

, entering the "team" in November of that year. The second and third congresses of the party were held in 1974 and 1976, respectively. In the Spanish elections of 1977 run with the

Federation of Christian Democracy Federation of Christian Democracy ( es, Federación de la Democracia Cristiana, FDC) was a Spanish political organization formed on April 14, 1977 by Democratic Left of Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez and Democratic People's Federation of José María Gi ...

as the

in the

, gaining the 2.6% of the vote. The party disappeared later that year.

References

* Benito Sanz and Miquel Nadal (1996). ''Tradició i modernitat en el valencianisme''. Edicions Tres i Quatre, Valencia. * Joan Martí and Lluís B. Prats
La Alternativa nacionalista al País Valencià durant la Transició
{{Authority control Political parties in the Valencian Community Anti-Francoism Christian democratic parties in Europe 1962 establishments in Spain 1977 disestablishments in Spain Political parties established in 1962 Political parties disestablished in 1977

History

See also

References