The Christian People's Party ( es, link=yes, Partido Popular Cristiano, PPC) is a
center-right and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
political party based on the principles of
Christian democracy. It was founded in 1966 by a group of Peruvian Christian Democrat Party (''Democracia Cristiana'') dissidents, led by
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes (20 February 1919 – 18 March 2021) was a Peruvian Christian Democrat (PDC) and Christian People's Party (PPC) politician who served as the Mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He was also a Minister of Justice, member ...
.
In 2000, its inscription was renewed, and it became part of
National Unity
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
, although not in a permanent basis.
Leaders of the party have included Mario Polar Ugarteche, Roberto Ramírez del Villar, Ernesto Alayza Grundy,
Felipe Osterling Parodi, and
Lourdes Flores Nano.
In 2021, after losing the presidential elections and failing to overcome the electoral threshold, the party is expected to lose its electoral registration.
Foundation
The party was founded on December 18, 1966 by a group of members of the
Democracia Cristiana party that defected by ideological motifs. While their former party supported a constitutional break to accelerate the reforms needed by the country, the founders of the PPC, led by
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes (20 February 1919 – 18 March 2021) was a Peruvian Christian Democrat (PDC) and Christian People's Party (PPC) politician who served as the Mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He was also a Minister of Justice, member ...
still believed in the constitutional order. Thus they retired from Democracia Cristiana and founded the new party.
History of the PPC
Military dictatorship of Velasco
In 1968, General
Juan Velasco Alvarado staged a
coup d'etat against
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
, an ally of
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes (20 February 1919 – 18 March 2021) was a Peruvian Christian Democrat (PDC) and Christian People's Party (PPC) politician who served as the Mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He was also a Minister of Justice, member ...
. The PPC did not support the military regime and was one of its most fierce opponents, along with the
Partido Aprista Peruano (APRA). The latter was declared illegal.
Constituent Assembly of 1978
In 1978, the government of General
Francisco Morales-Bermúdez
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...
called for elections for a
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
. The PPC attained the second place in the polls, after the APRA. Bedoya Reyes, widely preferred by the Assembly members to become its president, gave the position to the veteran APRA leader,
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (February 22, 1895 – August 2, 1979) was a Peruvian politician, philosopher, and author who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political movement, the oldest currently existing political ...
.
General Elections of 1980
Luis Bedoya Reyes ran as the PPC's candidate for president in the General Elections of 1980, with Ernesto Alayza and Roberto Ramírez del Villar as first vice-president and second vice-president. Despite Bedoya finishing in the third place, the PPC got six Senators elected, as well as 10 deputies.
During the elections, the PPC allied with the soon-to-be elected President
Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
, from
Acción Popular. The PPC-Accíon Popular coalition gave Belaúnde the majority in the Senate and in the Deputies Chamber. The coalition also designated four PPC members as
Ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
, including its leader
Bedoya Reyes and
Felipe Osterling Parodi.
General Elections of 1985
For the General Elections of 1985, the coalition with Acción Popular was finished, and thus, both parties presented separate candidates. Bedoya Reyes finished in third again, trailing behind
Alfonso Barrantes Lingán
Alfonso Barrantes Lingán (San Miguel de Pallaques, November 27, 1927 – Havana, December 2, 2000) was a Peruvian politician in the mid-1980s who served as Mayor of Lima from 1984 to 1986. He ran for President of Peru two times, losing on bo ...
and ahead of
Javier Alva Orlandinj. During
Alan García
Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the Peruvian Apris ...
's government, the PPC criticised the
heterodox
In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , "other, another, different" + , "popular belief") means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". Under this definition, heterodoxy is similar to unorthodoxy, w ...
economic model designed by the APRA.
The PPC had only a few members in both chambers. Its most important representatives were Felipe Osterling Parodi in the
Senate of Peru and
Javier Bedoya – son of the founder of the PPC – in the
Chamber of Deputies. When
Alan García
Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the Peruvian Apris ...
sought to take control of private banking,
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes (20 February 1919 – 18 March 2021) was a Peruvian Christian Democrat (PDC) and Christian People's Party (PPC) politician who served as the Mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He was also a Minister of Justice, member ...
and
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano (born October 7, 1959) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served as a councilwoman of Lima, Deputy from Lima from 1990 to 1992, Democratic Constituent Congresswoman from 1992 to 1995, Congresswoman from ...
rallied in the streets against the proposal. They were joined in the manifestations by the famous Peruvian writer
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...
. The movement did stop the government from passing the polemical Law.
General Elections of 1990
In 1990, the PPC enters a liberal coalition with Acción Popular and
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...
's
Movimiento Libertad (Liberty Movement), forming the Frente Democrático (
Democratic Front, FREDEMO), which launched Vargas Llosa as a candidate for the presidency. Although he wasn't elected, the coalition's participation in the Chamber of Deputies was a success: it got 25 representatives, attaining the majority, including
Javier Bedoya, one of the most voted deputies nationwide.
Democratic Constituent Congress election of 1992
The PPC held the presidency of the Senate under
Felipe Osterling Parodi's leadership when, in 1992,
Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto ( or ; born 28 July 1938) is a Peruvian politician, professor and former engineer who was President of Peru from 28 July 1990 until 22 November 2000. Frequently described as a dictator,
*
*
*
*
*
*
he remains a ...
staged a self-coup, dissolving both Chambers of the Congress, neutralising the FREDEMO and the APRA.
Fujimori held polls to elect a
Democratic Constituent Congress, where his party,
Cambio 90
Cambio 90 (lit. ''Change 90'', C90) was a Peruvian right-wing political party which entered the political spectrum in early 1990, and throughout the 1990s until late-2000 was the most powerful political party in Peru alongside New Majority, se ...
-
Nueva Mayoría, got an absolute majority. The PPC was divided between those who wanted to be part of the elections and those who did not want to. Amongst those who did not want to participate where
Natale Amprimo,
Alberto Borea and
Alberto Andrade, arguing that the PPC should not be part of a non-democratic process. In the other hand,
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes (20 February 1919 – 18 March 2021) was a Peruvian Christian Democrat (PDC) and Christian People's Party (PPC) politician who served as the Mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He was also a Minister of Justice, member ...
,
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano (born October 7, 1959) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served as a councilwoman of Lima, Deputy from Lima from 1990 to 1992, Democratic Constituent Congresswoman from 1992 to 1995, Congresswoman from ...
and Xavier Barrón contended that the PPC should present itself to guarantee
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
in the Constituent Congress. The decision of being part of the elections led to the resignations of Amprimo, Borea and Andrade. The PPC was the second most-voted party, but it was far behind of
Cambio 90
Cambio 90 (lit. ''Change 90'', C90) was a Peruvian right-wing political party which entered the political spectrum in early 1990, and throughout the 1990s until late-2000 was the most powerful political party in Peru alongside New Majority, se ...
-
Nueva Mayoría.
General Elections of 1995 and 2000
In the
General Elections of 1995, the PPC nominated
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano (born October 7, 1959) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served as a councilwoman of Lima, Deputy from Lima from 1990 to 1992, Democratic Constituent Congresswoman from 1992 to 1995, Congresswoman from ...
as its candidate for president, but in the end she resigned to support
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra (; ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Mini ...
's candidacy. Fujimori won without a run-off and the PPC only got the seventh place in the elections for Congressmen and 3 out of 120.
When Alberto Fujimori wanted to run for a third period in the
General Elections of 2000, he was strongly opposed by the PPC. Congressmen Xavier Barrón,
Ántero Flores Aráoz and Lourdes Flores proposed a law project that gave way to a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, where the people could decide whether Fujimori could participate in the elections. The Congress, controlled by
Cambio 90
Cambio 90 (lit. ''Change 90'', C90) was a Peruvian right-wing political party which entered the political spectrum in early 1990, and throughout the 1990s until late-2000 was the most powerful political party in Peru alongside New Majority, se ...
-
Nueva Mayoría did not let the Law pass. After the proposal of the law, the
National Jury of Elections
The National Jury of Elections (''Jurado Nacional de Elecciones'', JNE) of Peru is an autonomous constitutional organ, headquartered in Lima. Its goal is to oversee the legality of electoral processes, guaranteeing the respect for the population' ...
withdrew the PPC's inscription as a party, so it could not present candidates for the Congress. Because of that,
Alejandro Toledo
Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (; born 28 March 1946) is a Peruvian politician who served President of Peru, from 2001 to 2006. He gained international prominence after leading the opposition against president Alberto Fujimori, who held ...
's
Perú Posible party decided to support the PPC, including Xavier Barrón and Antero Flores Aráoz, as guests in its list for the Congress. Both of them were elected to Congress.
General Elections of 2001 and 2006
In 2001, during the interim government of
Acción Popular's
Valentín Paniagua
Valentín Toribio Demetrio Agustin Paniagua Corazao (23 September 1936 – 16 October 2006) was a Peruvian lawyer and politician who briefly served as President of Peru from 2000 to 2001. Elected President of Congress on 16 November 2000, he ...
, the PPC recouped its inscription. It became part of a political coalition with
Renovación Nacional and
Cambio Radical, named
Unidad Nacional (National Unity). The alliance's candidate for president was
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano (born October 7, 1959) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served as a councilwoman of Lima, Deputy from Lima from 1990 to 1992, Democratic Constituent Congresswoman from 1992 to 1995, Congresswoman from ...
, who placed third by a narrow margin.
In 2006, the Unidad Nacional coalition continued, maintaining
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano (born October 7, 1959) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served as a councilwoman of Lima, Deputy from Lima from 1990 to 1992, Democratic Constituent Congresswoman from 1992 to 1995, Congresswoman from ...
as its candidate. She did not pass to the round-off, again by a narrow margin, and again trailing behind Alan García, who would become President for a second time.
2007 to 2010
In 2007,
Ántero Flores Aráoz, the former president of the party, said in a disgraceful way that he would like to run for the Presidency of the Republic, as long as his party accredits it. He was accused of having a little brotherly and loyal behavior with the leader and members of the party, so he finally resigned from the PPC. Soon after, he was appointed permanent ambassador of Peru to the OAS.
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano (born October 7, 1959) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served as a councilwoman of Lima, Deputy from Lima from 1990 to 1992, Democratic Constituent Congresswoman from 1992 to 1995, Congresswoman from ...
ran for mayor of Lima in the municipal elections of Lima in 2010, being defeated by
Susana Villarán.
General Elections of 2011
In 2010, they formed the
Alliance for the Great Change
The Alliance for the Great Change—PPK ( es, Alianza por el Gran Cambio – PPK) was an electoral alliance in Peru formed for the 2011 general election to promote the presidential candidacy of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski ("PPK").
Constituent Partie ...
, launching
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...
to the presidency in the general elections of Peru in 2011. This alliance won 12 of the 130 seats in the Congress of the Republic, 7 of which belong to the PPC .
In November 2011,
Raúl Castro Stagnaro was elected as the new party president, replacing
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano (born October 7, 1959) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who served as a councilwoman of Lima, Deputy from Lima from 1990 to 1992, Democratic Constituent Congresswoman from 1992 to 1995, Congresswoman from ...
.
2013 to 2014
The PPC decided to support the Metropolitan Council of Lima in the popular consultation process for the revocation of March 2013, getting Mayor Susana Villarán to commit to fulfilling an agenda for Lima. The councilors of the mayor's party were revoked, but those of the PPC were supported by the citizens. In November of the same year, the PPC achieved victory in the new municipal elections, held to replace the accessories who had entered after the March process. Thus, since January 2014, the PPC is the first minority of the Metropolitan Council.
In 2014, the PPC bases elected the former mayor of Villa El Salvador, Jaime Zea as a Candidate for Mayor of Lima. The result of the electoral process was one of the worst defeats of the party, barely obtaining 7 district mayoralties in Lima and its candidate 3% of the votes, remaining in 6th place.
General elections of 2016
In 2016, they formed a political coalition with
APRA called the
Popular Alliance, after not obtaining any seats in congress, the political alliance was dissolved. That is why it does not have representation in congress for the period 2016-2021, the Partido Popular Cristiano party is in crisis. In this same year, the party premises are for sale valued at US $2,000,000.00.
Post-2016 elections
The PPC militants, according to the party's Statute, convened a National Congress for December 16 and 17, 2017, in order to be able to elect a new national leadership due to the absence of authorities since 2016. Former Congressman
Alberto Beingolea was elected in this process, defeating fellow former Congressman
Javier Bedoya de Vivanco.
2021 general elections
For the
2021 general election,
Alberto Beingolea announced the establishment of ''National Unity'', a party leadership roundtable of the Christian People's Party to analyze options if running in a coalition or independently in the elections. The roundtable managed to negotiate with a variety of political personalities and parties until reaching an agreement
César Acuña
Cesar Acuña Peralta (born 11 August 1952) is a Peruvian politician and entrepreneur in the field of education. A controversial figure in Peruvian politics, he is the founder and leader of the Alliance for Progress party, which has achieved reco ...
of
Alliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress ( es, Alianza para el Progreso, links=no), initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, ostensibly aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marí ...
. The alliance was officially signed on 12 October 2020, but lasted only six days, upon the revelation of disconformity from PPC's leadership, most prominently from the party Secretary General,
Marisol Pérez Tello
María Soledad Pérez Tello de Rodríguez (born April 11, 1969) is a Peruvian lawyer, notary and politician. A prominent member of the Christian People's Party, she currently serves as its Secretary General since December 2017.
Born in the sout ...
, who rejected Acuña by stating "she would not support a plagiarizer". Illegal audios were revealed by the press, and the alliance broke off almost immediately.
Following the failed agreement with
Alliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress ( es, Alianza para el Progreso, links=no), initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, ostensibly aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marí ...
, Beingolea announced that he would run for the party's presidential nomination.
He formally attained the nomination on 29 November 2020. On election day, Beingolea lost the election, placing 11th and the party failed to win any seats in the Congressional election and the party is expected to lose its electoral registration.
Election results
Presidential elections
Elections to the Congress of the Republic
Elections to the Senate
References
External links
*
''Christian People's Party'' webpage
{{Authority control
1966 establishments in Peru
Catholic political parties
Christian democratic parties in South America
Conservative parties in Peru
International Democrat Union member parties
Political parties established in 1966
Political parties in Peru
Social conservative parties