The Patriotic Society Party (, PSP), formerly the January 21 Patriotic Society () is a

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

and personalist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, led by former army colonel

Lucio Gutiérrez Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa (born 23 March 1957) is an Ecuadorian politician and former military officer who served as the 43rd president of Ecuador from 2003 until his impeachment in 2005. In 2023, he was elected to the National Assembly. ...

. "January 21" refers to the date of the

2000 Ecuadorian coup d'état The 2000 Ecuadorian coup d'état took place on 21 January 2000 and resulted in President Jamil Mahuad being deposed, and replaced by Vice President Gustavo Noboa.Barracca, Steven 'Military coups in the post-cold war era: Pakistan, Ecuador and Vene ...

. At the

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

, 20 October 2002, the party won at least two out of one hundred seats, and additional seats in alliances with other parties. Its leader, Lucio Gutiérrez, a key figure in the 2000 coup d'état, formed an alliance with the indigenous Pachakutik Movement and won 20.3% of the vote in the presidential elections of the same day, winning the second round with 58.7%. His campaign appealed especially to indigenous citizens and lower-class voters. However, Gutiérrez was deposed in 2005, and replaced with

Alfredo Palacio Luis Alfredo Palacio González (22 January 1939 – 22 May 2025) was an Ecuadorian cardiologist and politician who was the 44th president of Ecuador from 2005 to 2007. He had been the 44th vice president under President Lucio Gutiérrez, unt ...

, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. Gutiérrez subsequently returned to Ecuador and was imprisoned for five months before being released. He was not allowed to participate in the 2006 election to succeed Palacio, as his political rights were suspended. His brother, Gilmar Gutierrez, was the Society's presidential candidate in 2006. Gilmar received 17% of the vote and came in third place. However, his party won 23 seats, making it the second-largest party in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, where no party had a majority. Defections to the government left the January 21 Patriotic Society with 19 seats. Lucio Gutiérrez recovered his political rights in 2008 and has unsuccessfully run for president again in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Election results

National Assembly elections

Constituent Assembly elections

References

External links

Official web site
2002 establishments in Ecuador Political parties established in 2002 Political parties in Ecuador Populist parties {{Ecuador-party-stub