The Independent Democratic Pole (''Polo Democrático Independiente'') or (PDI), was 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 ...
social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
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
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
.
Origins
Originally formed as a left-wing congressional coalition, the party itself was officially founded on July 17, 2003. The congressional movement consisted of the union of diverse tendencies among the Colombian left (including former guerrillas, labor and union leaders, indigenous representatives and others), including many of, but not necessarily limited to,
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
extraction.
Some of the members of the original group which did not formally join the new party remained as members of separate political structures, one of which then founded
Democratic Alternative (AD).
Political platform
The PDI's platform principally consisted of supporting a negotiated settlement with the country's leftwing insurgencies, defending the principles and practical applications of Colombia's 1991 Constitution, rejecting the country's traditionally
bipartisan
Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...
politics, and promoting democracy, freedom and social justice while also respecting human rights. The party completely rejected the armed struggle of the
FARC
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflic ...
and
ELN as an effective means to solve Colombia's social, political and economical problems.
Political development
Despite threats and violent actions from elements of the country's radical right-wing, most notably from
AUC paramilitaries and others, which have resulted in the murder of some of its members, the PDI has become a nationally recognized movement and it has enjoyed some recent electoral successes, such as winning the October 2003 election for the office of
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 ...
's mayor through their candidate
Luis Eduardo Garzón
Luis Eduardo Garzón (nicknamed "Lucho") (born February 11, 1951 in Bogotá) is the former Mayor of Bogotá (2004–2007), a left-wing Colombian political activist and a former union leader. He is a former member of the Alternative Democratic Po ...
, the governorship of the
Valle del Cauca department through
Angelino Garzón
Angelino Garzón Quintero (born 29 October 1946) is a Colombian politician who served as Vice President of Colombia, under President Juan Manuel Santos. He was the 69th Governor of Valle del Cauca from 2004 to 2008, and served as the second M ...
, and being partially responsible for the failure of the government's October 2003 referendum (which it opposed, together with the
Colombian Liberal Party
The Colombian Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Colombiano; PLC) is a centre to centre-left political party in Colombia. It was founded as a classical liberal party but later developed a more social-democratic tradition, joining the Socialis ...
and others). The party also became part of a few ruling coalitions in other local municipalities, such as
Nariño,
Pasto
Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the city had appr ...
.
The PDI was present as an observer in the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
. The PDI was in political opposition to the government of 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 ...
, being critical of many of his actions and generally rejecting his policies as counter-productive or ineffective. This has not prevented several of its members from participating in discussions and finding points of agreement with some Uribe supporters or with other more traditional politicians.
Ahead of the 2006 elections, the PDI and Democratic Alternative formed an alliance called
Alternative Democratic Pole
The Alternative Democratic Pole (Spanish: ''Polo Democrático Alternativo'' or PDA) is a left-wing political party in Colombia.
It was founded as a political alliance of the Independent Democratic Pole (PDI) and the Democratic Alternative (AD) ...
(PDA). The PDA chose AD's
Carlos Gaviria Díaz
Carlos Emilio Gaviria Díaz (8 May 1937 – 31 March 2015) was a Colombian lawyer, professor and politician. He served as the 5th Chief Magistrate of the Constitutional Court of Colombia, where he served as a Magistrate from 1993 to 2001. After ...
as its presidential candidate, defeating the PDI's
Antonio Navarro Wolff
Antonio José Navarro Wolff (born 9 July 1948) is an engineer, a former combatant and a Colombian politician.
Navarro used to be a former Commandant and leader of the 19th of April Movement (M-19), a former guerrilla movement that operated in C ...
in a close race.
See also
*
Politics of Colombia
The Politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidential system, presidential representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government, and of a mu ...
*
List of political parties in Colombia
This article lists political parties in Colombia.
Colombia had historically maintained a two-party system, which means that there were two dominant political parties, resulting in considerable difficulty for anybody to achieve major electoral s ...
External links
PDI webpageDemocracia a distancia: Elecciones 2006 (Portalcol.com)
(Information about the Pole's list of candidates to the Colombian Senate, Spanish).
{{ColParties
Social democratic parties in Colombia
Former member parties of the Socialist International
Political parties established in 2003
fr:Pôle démocratique indépendant (Colombie)