The Colorado Party ( es, Partido Colorado, lit=Red Party) is a liberal political party in Uruguay.

Ideology

The party seeks to unite moderate and liberal groups, although its members have had a diverse set of ideologies since its foundation, including Krausism, social democracy, and

liberal conservatism Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

, as well as general pragmatism. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilization of the Uruguayan

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

History

At the 2004 national elections, the Colorado Party won 10 seats out of 99 in the Chamber of Representatives and 3 seats out of 31 in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Its presidential candidate, Guillermo Stirling, won 10.4% of the popular vote and placed third, ending the 10-year rule of Colorado Party and the two-party system.

Earlier history

The Colorado Party was founded in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 17 September 1836. Some of its major historical leaders were Fructuoso Rivera, Venancio Flores, José Batlle y Ordóñez, Luis Batlle Berres,

Jorge Pacheco Areco Jorge Pacheco Areco (April 9, 1920 – July 29, 1998) was a Uruguayan politician and member of the Colorado Party. He served as President of Uruguay from December 6, 1967 to March 1, 1972.

, Juan María Bordaberry, Julio María Sanguinetti, Luis Bernardo Pozzolo, and Jorge Batlle. The party has historically been the most elected party in Uruguayan history with almost uninterrupted dominance during the 20th century. The Colorados were in office from 1865 to 1959, when they were defeated by the Partido Nacional in the

1958 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1958. * 1958 Cardinal electors in Papal conclave * 1958 Papal conclave Africa * 1958 French Togoland parliamentary election * 1958 Nigerien Constituent Assembly election * 1958 South African general e ...

. They returned to office after the 1966 elections. They won the first elections at the end of the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

, in 1984. They went on to win the

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and

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

elections.

Traditional rivals

From its birth until the last decades of the 20th century its traditional rival was the conservative Partido Nacional (also called Partido Blanco).

Post 2004: defeat at polls and rise of Pedro Bordaberry Herrán

The Colorado Party suffered its worst defeat ever in the 2004 national elections, with little over 10 per cent of the popular vote for its presidential candidate Guillermo Stirling, and having only three out of thirty national Senators. Reasons for the party's weak results were many, but these include the economic crisis and old party leaders. Acción Colorada 011

Subsequently, to his defeat in 2004, Guillermo Stirling endorsed Pedro Bordaberry Herrán's '' Vamos Uruguay movement''. Bordaberry Herrán became the presidential candidate for the

2009 presidential election 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra a ...

, and placed third, with 17 percent of the vote, behind

José Mujica José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (; born 20 May 1935) is a Uruguayan politician, former revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and impr ...

and Luis Alberto Lacalle. Bordaberry Herrán placed third again in the 2014 presidential election, with 13% of the vote.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Chamber of Deputies and Senate elections

National Council of Administration and National Council of Government elections

References

{{Authority control Liberal parties in Uruguay Political parties established in 1836 1836 establishments in Uruguay