The Radical Party (Spanish: ''Partido Radical'') 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 ...

an political party. It was formed in 1863 in

Copiapó Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó lies about 800 km nort ...

by a split in the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Not coincidentally, it was formed shortly after the organization of the Grand Lodge of Chile, and it has maintained a close relationship with Chilean Freemasonry throughout its life. As such, it represented the anticlericalist position in Chilean politics, and was instrumental in producing the "theological reforms" in Chilean law in the early 1880s. These laws removed the cemeteries from the control of the Roman Catholic Church, established a civil registry of births and death in place of the previous recordkeeping of the church, and established a civil law of matrimony, which removed the determination of validity of marriages from the church. Prior to these laws, it was impossible for non-Catholics to contract marriage in Chile, and meant that any children they produced were illegitimate. Non-Catholics had also been barred from burial in Catholic cemeteries, which were virtually the only cemeteries in the country; instead, non-Catholics were buried in the beaches, and even on the Santa Lucia Hill in Santiago, which, in the 19th century, functioned as Santiago's dump. In the 20th century, the radicals adopted a moderately center-left stance, taking part to

Pedro Aguirre Cerda Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. A member of the Radical Party since 1906, ...

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

and then to the Democratic Alliance left-wings coalition which succeeded to Cerda's death. During the presidency of

Gabriel Gonzalez Videla In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek language, Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin language, Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic language, Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, transli ...

(1946–1952) it shifted to the right, and many of its members were anti-Communists. In 1950s, the party started to lose ground. At the end of the 1960s, left-wingers gained upper hand in the Radical party, causing some of the more right-wing leaders to leave the party. The

anticommunist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

Radicals formed the

Radical Democracy Radical democracy is a type of democracy that advocates the radical extension of equality and liberty. Radical democracy is concerned with a radical extension of equality and freedom, following the idea that democracy is an unfinished, inclusive, ...

. In the crucial 1970 election, which resulted in the presidency of Salvador Allende, they formed an alliance with the right-wing National Party and, later, supported

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 ...

's 1973 coup. In contrast, the Radical Party was part of the Unidad Popular coalition supporting

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

who became president in 1970. Radicals, supporting gradual reforms, were generally loyal to the leftist governing coalition. In its XXV Congress that took place from 31 July to 5 August 1971, the Radical Party confirmed the left-wing line it had taken already in 1967. The congress declared that the Radicals discard bourgeois democracy as an instrument of capitalist domination and the Radical Party is now a

socialist party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

, that subscribes to

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

and

historical materialism Historical materialism is the term used to describe Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx locates historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. For Marx and his lifetime collaborat ...

. On 3 August, Senators Bossay, Baltra, Acuña, Juliet and Aguirre and deputies Ibáñez, Magalahes, Naudón, Basso, Clavel, Sharpe and Muñoz Barra left the Radical Party. They founded a new party of radicals with more moderate views, paradoxically called ''Partido de Izquierda Radical'' ( Party of Radical Left). The new party initially remained part of the Unidad Popular. On the other hand, a moderate Social Democrat Party, up to then an independent party within the Unidad Popular bloc, merged with the Radical Party. During that time, the Radical Party of Chile declared their organization to be socialist and they officially adhered to the doctrines of historical materialism and class struggle.Declaración político ideológica aprobada en la XXV Convención Nacional del Partido Radical de Chile.

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

Available at www.nuso.org/upload/articulos/17_1.pdf Like other parties, it was banned after the 11 September 1973 coup. In 1983, the Radical Party was one of the creators along with the

Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

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 ...

Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

parties and the renewed sector of the

Socialist Party of Chile The Socialist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'état by General Augusto ...

, of the Democratic Alliance coalition opposing the Pinochet regime. Another area of radicalism, led by Luis Fernando Luengo, came to the United Left and founded the

Democratic Socialist Radical Party The Democratic Socialist Radical Party ( es, Partido Radical Socialista Democrático, PRSD) was a political party of Chile that emerged from a leftist faction of the Radical Party led by Luis Fernando Luengo that came into conflict with Enriqu ...

(PRSD). Both parties supported the option NO in the plebiscite of 1988 and proclaimed

Patricio Aylwin Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the first president of Chile after dictator Augusto Pinochet, a ...

as their presidential candidate, but in the parliamentary elections of 1989 were presented in different lists; the PR was part of the coalition, while the PRSD participated in the list Unity for the Democracy with Broad Party of Socialist Left. After the return to democracy, the Radical Party reformed as a center-left group, and joined the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia, a coalition of parties which also included the Christian Democrats and the Socialists. Its electoral strength was greatly reduced from that which it had enjoyed between 1880 and 1950. In 1994 joined with the Social Democracy Party to form the

Social Democrat Radical Party The Radical Party of Chile ( es, Partido Radical de Chile), is a social-democratic political party in Chile. The party was founded as the Social Democrat Radical Party (''Partido Radical Socialdemócrata'') on 18 August 1994 out of a union ...

(PRSD).

Presidents elected under Radical Party of Chile

* 1932 -

Juan Esteban Montero Juan Esteban Montero Rodríguez (February 12, 1879 – February 25, 1948) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as president of Chile between 1931 and 1932. Early life He was born in Santiago, the son of Benjamín Montero and of Eug ...

* 1938 -

* 1942 -

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 ...

* 1946 -

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; November 22, 1898 – August 22, 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 193 ...

Presidential candidates

The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Radical Party. (Information gathered from th
Archive of Chilean Elections
. * 1866: Pedro León Gallo (lost) * 1871: José Tomás de Urmeneta (lost) * 1876: Aníbal Pinto (won) * 1881:

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 ...

(won) * 1886: none * 1891: Jorge Montt (won) * 1896: Vicente Reyes (lost) * 1901:

Germán Riesco Germán Riesco Errázuriz (; May 28, 1854 – December 8, 1916) was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906. Early life He was born in Rancagua, the son of Mauricio Riesco, a Spanish merchant and o ...

(won) * 1906: Pedro Montt (won) * 1910:

Ramón Barros Luco Ramón Barros Luco (; June 9, 1835 – September 20, 1919) was President of Chile between 1910 and 1915. Barros Luco was born in 1835 in Santiago, Barros Luco was son of Ramón Luis Barros Fernández and Dolores Luco Fernández de Leiva. He grad ...

(won) * 1915:

Javier Ángel Figueroa Javier Ángel Figueroa Larraín (January 17, 1862 – June 26, 1945) was a Chilean lawyer, politician and older brother of former President Emiliano Figueroa Larraín. He was sworn as a lawyer in 1882 and then married Agnes Cañas Arrieta, who bo ...

(lost) * 1920:

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to ...

(won) * 1925:

Emiliano Figueroa Emiliano Figueroa Larraín (; July 12, 1866 – May 15, 1931) was President of Chile from December 23, 1925 until his resignation on May 10, 1927. He also served as Acting president for a few months in 1910. Biography Figueroa was born on July 1 ...

(won) * 1927: none *

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

(won) * 1932:

(won) * 1938:

(won) * 1942:

(won) * 1946:

(won) * 1952:

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) * 1958: Luis Bossay (lost) * 1964:

Julio Durán Julio Antonio Gastón Durán Neumann (20 March 1918 – 27 November 1990), was a Chilean lawyer and politician. He ran for President in 1964 against Eduardo Frei Montalva and Salvador Allende. He was a member of the Radical Democracy Party, wh ...

(lost) *

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

(won) *1988: Plebiscite to extend term of Augusto Pinochet: "No" (won) * 1989:

(won) * 1993:

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz–Tagle (; born 24 June 1942) is a Chilean politician and civil engineer who served as president of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He was also a Senator, fulfilling the role of President of the Senate from 2006 ...

(won)

References

{{Authority control Political parties established in 1863 Political parties disestablished in 1994 Defunct political parties in Chile Radical parties Radical parties in Chile 1863 establishments in Chile 1994 disestablishments in Chile

Presidents elected under Radical Party of Chile

Presidential candidates

See also

References