The Liberal Party of Chile ( es, Partido Liberal de Chile) is a

social-liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

political party in Chile, founded 26 January 2013 in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The main figure of the party is the deputy Vlado Mirosevic.

Ideology

The Liberal Party of Chile is a social-liberal party. It promotes

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

liberalism and

progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...

(with particular reference to the social liberalism in Europe).

Chilean social liberalism

In Chile, the word

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

is, after the dictatorship of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

, often synonymous with

technocracy Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...

classic liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economi ...

and

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberali ...

. The Liberal Party of Chile is based on social liberalism and thus opposes the neoliberalism that still influences many Chilean institutions. Following the tradition of the first liberals of the 19th century, the Liberal Party of Chile intends to combine its economic policy with a strong social policy.

Platform

The Liberal Party of Chile supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, the legalisation of marijuana, the legalisation of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

and the legalisation of euthanasia. Further, they support

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

, which also opposes the heritage of Pinochet who implemented

centralism Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...

in the country. Finally, the party supports changing the Chilean constitution implemented by Pinochet in 1980.

History

Chilean social-liberal tradition

The Liberal Party of Chile is inspired by the tradition of Chilean liberals from before the rise of Pinochet and Chilean

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

. They supported a

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

, hated tyranny and concentration of power and wanted the secular state to promote social rights such as public education. The Liberal Party of Chile is inspired by these ideas in, for example, their support for free education for all. Among the figures of the liberal party of the 20th century were

Ramón Freire Ramón Freire Serrano (; November 29, 1787 – December 9, 1851) was a Chilean political figure. He was head of state on several occasions, and enjoyed a numerous following until the War of the Confederation. Ramón Freire was one of the pr ...

, José Miguel Infante,

Francisco Bilbao Francisco Bilbao Barquín (; 19 January 1823 – 9 February 1865) was a Chilean writer, philosopher and liberal politician. Early life Francisco Bilbao Barquin was born in Santiago on 9 January 1823 to Rafael Bilbao Beyne and Argentina Mercedes ...

, Pedro León Gallo Goyenechea,

Domingo Santa María Domingo Santa María González (; August 4, 1825 – July 18, 1889) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1881 and 1886. Early life He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of Luis José Santa María G ...

and

José Manuel Balmaceda José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While he was ...

Chilean political context

In Chile the historic Liberal Party ceased to exist in 1966 when it merged with the

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...

, giving rise to the National Party which supported the coup d'état of 1973 However historical liberal ideas such as the defence of civil rights were not practised during the dictatorship. The system established in Chile during the dictatorship was not challenged much until the late 2000s and early 2010s. The Chilean student protests of 2011 showed for the first time in 35 years the discomfort of a group of people with the Chilean political system which was criticized for excessively favouring the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of education. The demonstrations criticized using the market as the main resource allocator and the private sector to manage many public services. The criticism also targeted the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, since major legislative changes require super-majorities in the congress while the electoral system favours two political blocs, which impedes political processes.

Birth of Liberal Party of Chile

The Liberal party of Chile originated in the ChileFirst (''ChilePrimero'') movement. ChileFirst was a political movement created in 2007 by former members of the Party for Democracy (''Partido por la Democracia'') led by Senator Fernando Flores Labra and supporting the candidature of

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

in the

presidential election 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 pre ...

of 2009 and 2010. After a break with the original founders, on 26 January 2013 the party was officially formed as the Liberal Party of Chile (Partido Liberal de Chile), a name change from the existing ChilePrimero. The majority of the founders were young, a part of the middle class and not previously members of other parties. They were inspired by the ideals of the Chilean liberalism from the 19th century and especially by the values of

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

, democratic reforms and freedom of initiative. On 15 June 2013 the party announced the formation of an

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

with the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

(''Partido Progresista'' – PRO) and decided to support Marco Enriquez Ominame for president in the election of 2013. The pact was called "If you want, Chile changes" (''Si tu quieres, Chile cambia'') and included the Liberal party of Chile with deputies, senators and regional councilors supporting it. In the parliamentary elections of 2013 the party's President Vlado Milosevic was elected as deputy of the 1. district, the Region of

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...

and

Parinacota Parinacota (in hispanicized spelling), Parina Quta or Parinaquta (Aymara, ''parina'' flamingo, ''quta'' lake, "flamingo lake", other hispanicized spellings ''Parinaccota, Parinajota'') may refer to: Lakes * Parinaquta (Carabaya), in Peru, Puno Re ...

. In 2017 the party joined the left-wing coaliation Frente Amplio.

Presidential candidates

The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Liberal Party. (Information gathered from th
Archive of Chilean Elections
. *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Marco Enríquez-Ominami Marco Antonio Enríquez-Ominami Gumucio (born 12 June 1973) is a Chilean-French, filmmaker, politician, and perennial candidate. From 2006 to 2010 he was a Socialist Party deputy in Chile's lower chamber. In 2009 he quit the party and ran for P ...

(lost) *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

: Beatriz Sánchez (lost) *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Yasna Provoste Yasna Provoste Campillay (born 16 December 1969) is a Chilean teacher and Christian Democrat politician of Diaguita descent, who served as minister during the presidencies of Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet. In 2008, after frauds committe ...

(lost)

Electoral results

Parliamentary elections

Parliamentary election results for deputies in District 1 (Arica, Camarones, General Lagos and Putre) Parliamentary election results for deputies in District 26 (Ancud, Calbuco, Castro, Chaitén, Chonchi, Cochamó, Curaco de Vélez, Dalcahue, Futaleufú, Hualaihué, Maullín, Palena, Puerto Montt, Puqueldón, Queilén, Quellón, Quemchi and Quinchao)

Leaders

* President: Patricio Morales (2021–present) * Vice president (Valparaíso): Juan Carlos García (2021–present) * Vice president: Alejandra Cortés (2021–present) * Vice president: Guillermo Moreno (2021–present) * Secretary General: Nicole Troncoso (2021–present)

Authorities

Deputies

References

External links

Official site

Deputy Vlado Mirosevic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Party of Chile (2013) 2013 establishments in Chile Liberal International Liberal parties in Chile Political parties established in 2013 Political parties in Chile Progressive parties Social liberal parties