The National Falange ( es, Falange Nacional, FN) was a Chilean Christian political party that existed between 1935 and 1957. It was the basis of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC); still it is customary to use the expressions "Falange" and "Falangista" to refer to members and activities of the Christian Democrats and the same party, respectively.

History

In 1935 a group of younger social-Christians split from the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

to form the National Falange. Despite its name this group was largely made up of

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

and

reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...

Catholics, and bore little resemblance to Spanish

Falangism Falangism ( es, falangismo) was the political ideology of two political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española de las JONS, Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de la ...

. In its early years it imitated elements of fascist movements with some of its members wearing uniforms and undergoing paramilitary training. With its progressive economic program (creating an alternative to capitalism, "redeeming" the

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...

) it was in open conflict with the Catholic high clergy who accused it of disrespecting the Church's leadership and siding with communists. Despite its aim to be a centrist alternative to the left and the right, and relatively great public attention, it never received more than 4 percent of the votes. Later it supported the administration of

Juan Antonio Ríos Juan Antonio Ríos Morales (; November 10, 1888 – June 27, 1946) was a Chilean political figure who served as president of Chile from 1942 to 1946, during the height of World War II. He died in office. Early life Ríos was born at the ''Hu ...

(1942–46) and in 1957 merged with the

Social Christian Conservative Party The Social Christian Conservative Party ( es, Partido Conservador Social Cristiano, PCSC) was a centrist political party in Chile, founded in 1949 as the Conservative Party split in two factions. For electoral purposes, one of the factions was name ...

into the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

.A. Hennessy, 'Fascism and Populism in Latin America', W. Laqueur, ''Fascism: A Reader's Guide'', Harmondsworth: Pelican, 1979, p. 288 One of its former members,

Eduardo Frei Montalva Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the ...

, became President of Chile in 1964. Other notable members include

Radomiro Tomic Radomiro Tomic Romero (7 May 1914 – 3 January 1992) was a Chilean politician of Croatian origin. He was one of the most prominent leaders of that country's Christian Democratic Party. Born in Calama, Tomic received his law degree from the Un ...

and

Bernardo Leighton Bernardo Leighton Guzmán (August 16, 1909, Negrete, Bío Bío Province – January 26, 1995, Santiago) was a Chilean Christian Democratic Party politician and lawyer. He served as minister of state under three presidents over a 36-year care ...

Presidential candidates

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

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

(won) *

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

Eduardo Cruz-Coke Eduardo Cruz-Coke Lassabe (April 22, 1899 – March 18, 1974) was a Chilean political figure, the conservative candidate in Chile's 1946 presidential election and the principal creator of the Chilean health system. Cruz-Coke was born in Valp ...

(lost) *

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

Pedro Alfonso ''Pulcher ut Absalon, virtute potens quasi Sanson, instructisque bonis, documenta tenet Salomonis''. " edrois handsome as Absalom, as strong as Samson, and he possesses the wisdom of Solomon." —'' Poema de Almería'', ...

(lost)

References

{{Reflist Christian democratic parties in South America Defunct political parties in Chile Political parties established in 1935 Political parties disestablished in 1957 1935 establishments in Chile 1957 disestablishments in Chile