The ''Nueva Mayoría'', also dubbed in English as New Majority, was a

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 ...

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

electoral

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

from 2013 to 2018, composed mainly of

political parties supporting the presidential candidacy of Michelle Bachelet in the 2013 election.

Political objectives

Michelle Bachelet stated that a principal objective of the Nueva Mayoría coalition was to achieve and establish a system of universal and free access to higher education within a time frame of six years. The first time the name of the new coalition was mentioned on 27 March 2013, when Bachelet agreed to be presidential candidate for the primary coalition. On that occasion, she asked that her eventual administration was "the first government of a ''new social majority''".

Composition

The coalition consisted of the four principal parties of the Concert of Parties for Democracy, namely, the Socialist Party of Chile (PS), the Christian Democratic Party (Chile) (PDC), the Party for Democracy (PPD) and the Social Democrat Radical Party (PRSD). In addition, the Nueva Mayoría also included the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), the

Citizen Left The Citizen Left Party of Chile ( es, Partido Izquierda Ciudadana de Chile, IC), known until 2013 as Christian Left Party of Chile ( es, Partido Izquierda Cristiana de Chile, same acronym) was a Chilean left-wing political party. Founded in 1971 ...

(IC), the

Broad Social Movement The MAS Region ( es, MAS Región), known until 2014 as Broad Social Movement ( es, Movimiento Amplio Social, MAS) was a Chilean left-wing political party founded by Alejandro Navarro in 2008. The party was created as a political movement in 2008, ...

(MAS) and centre-left independents. In March 2014, the regionalist Northern Force Party joined the Nueva Mayoría to merge with the Broad Social Movement and found the

MAS Region The MAS Region ( es, MAS Región), known until 2014 as Broad Social Movement ( es, Movimiento Amplio Social, MAS) was a Chilean left-wing political party founded by Alejandro Navarro in 2008. The party was created as a political movement in 2008, ...

Presidential elections

The Nueva Mayoría coalition was registered on 30 April 2013 with the Chilean Electoral Service (SERVEL). The coalition held its

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

on 30 June, where Michelle Bachelet (PS) won with 73% of the vote to become the sole presidential candidate of the bloc, defeating the independent

Andrés Velasco Andrés Velasco Brañes (; born August 30, 1960) is a Chilean economist and professor who served as Minister of Finance (Chile), Minister of Finance in the first government of President of Chile, President Michelle Bachelet from March 2006 to Marc ...

, who won 13% of the preferences, to Claudio Orrego (PDC), which stood at 8.86%, and radical José Antonio Gómez, who reached 5.06%. The pact got more than two million votes from a total of three million voters, tripling the votes obtained by the Alliance. Initially, the coalition intended to hold its parliamentary

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s on 30 June 2013; however, this was annulled because parties failed to reach an agreement regarding their nomination. After several negotiations, an agreement was reached to commence partial and complete primaries in some districts on 4 August 2013. After the primaries, Bachelet went straight to the election process, in which she competed with eight other candidates, the highest number in Chilean electoral history. In those elections, the leader of the coalition achieved a 46.70% of votes, not enough for an absolute majority nationwide, so she had to face a runoff with the candidate of the Alliance, Evelyn Matthei, where finally she won with 62.16% of the vote. This victory marked the first re-election of a woman in office, in addition to the return of the centre-left government after four years of the administration of Sebastián Piñera. On December 2017 the Nueva Mayoría presidential candidate,

Alejandro Guillier Alejandro René Eleodoro Guillier Álvarez (born 5 March 1953) is a Chilean sociologist, television and radio journalist, and independent politician. He is a Senator of the 2nd District of Antofagasta and was the 2017 Presidential candidate of ...

, was defeated by Chile Vamos candidate Sebastián Piñera, who was returning to the government. The Nueva Mayoría coalition dissolved on 11 March 2018, at the end of Bachelet's term and the inauguration of Piñera.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nueva Mayoria Communist Party of Chile Defunct left-wing political party alliances Defunct political party alliances in Chile Political parties established in 2013 Political parties disestablished in 2018 Popular fronts