The Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal), commonly known as the Blue Party ( es, Partido Azul) Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p413 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 ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, ruling the country for most of the period between 1904 and 1940.

History

The party was established in 1887 to represent the interests of landowners and middle class merchants.Nohlen, p414 The Colorado Party was established in the same year and was dominant until the Liberal Revolution in 1904, after which the Liberal Party remained in government for almost the entire period until 1940. However, the party was dissolved by Higinio Morinigo in 1942,Nohlen, p428 and by the end of the 1947 revolution the Colorado Party was the only one left in the country.Nohlen, p415 The Liberal Party continued to exist abroad and in 1963 the Renewal Group faction returned to the country to become the "official" opposition to the Stroessner regime. This caused a split in the party, with the remainder being renamed the Radical Liberal Party. In the 1963 elections the party's candidate Ernesto Gavilan received 7.7% of the vote, whilst the party won 20 of the 60 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.Nohlen, pp433-435 In the Constitutional Assembly elections in 1967 the party won just eight of the 120 seats, finishing third behind the Colorado Party and the Radical Liberal Party. After this defeat the party was reduced to being the third party in the Stroessner regime. They won only three Chamber seats in the 1968 elections. It regained a seat in the 1973 elections, and remained at four seats after the 1978 elections. The

1983 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general elec ...

saw the party win seven seats, which they retained in the 1988 elections. After the Stroessner regime was overthrown, support for the party rapidly dwindled. In the

1989 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1989. Africa * 1989 Beninese parliamentary election * 1989 Botswana general election * 1989 Equatorial Guinean presidential election * 1989 People's Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * ...

the party received just 0.5% of the national vote and failed to win a seat. They failed to regain any seats in the 1993 elections, and did not contest any further elections.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Chamber of Deputies elections

Senate elections

References

{{Authority control Political parties established in 1887 Defunct liberal political parties Defunct political parties in Paraguay Formerly banned political parties Liberal parties in South America