{{short description|Colombian political party}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}} {{infobox political party | logo = Logo Partido U Colombia.png | logo_size = 125 | colorcode = {{party color|Social Party of National Unity}} | foundation = {{start date and age|2005}} | split = [[Colombian Liberal Party]] | headquarters = [[Bogotá]], [[Colombia]] | international = [[Liberal International]] (observer) | website = {{URL|http://www.partidodelau.com/}} | country = Colombia | native_name = Partido de la Unión por la Gente | president = [[Dilian Francisca Toro]] | leader1_title = Leader | leader1_name = [[Juan Manuel Santos]] | ideology = {{ubl|class=nowrap| | [[Social liberalism]] | [[Third Way]]<ref name="crowe1">{{cite web|last=Crowe |first=Darcy |url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050804575319222637484944.html |title=Colombia Elects Santos as President |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=June 21, 2010 |access-date=September 13, 2012}}</ref> | [[Liberalism]] ([[Liberalism in Colombia|Colombian]]) | [[Catch-all party]] | '''Historical:''' | [[Uribism]] }} | position = [[Centre-right]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Crowe |first=Darcy |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050804575319222637484944.html |title=Colombia Elects Santos as President |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=21 June 2010 |accessdate=13 September 2012}}</ref>{{cref|A}} | national = [[Team for Colombia]] (2021–2022) | seats1_title = [[Chamber of Representatives of Colombia|Chamber of Representatives]] | seats1 = {{Composition bar|15|188|hex={{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} | seats2_title = [[Senate of Colombia|Senate]] | seats2 = {{Composition bar|10|108|hex={{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} | seats3_title = [[List of Colombian Department Governors|Governors]] | seats3 = {{Composition bar|4|32|hex={{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} | seats4_title = [[Mayors]] | seats4 = {{Composition bar|258|1102|hex={{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} | colours = {{Color box|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}|border=darkgray}} [[Orange (colour)|Orange]] | footnotes = {{cnote|A|It has been also positioned as [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]]<ref name="crowe1"/> and [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Redacción Política |url=https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/colombia-un-pais-de-derechas-articulo-376603 |title="Colombia es un país de derechas" |language=es |publisher=El Espectador |date=2012-09-21 |access-date=2022-03-20}}</ref>}} }} {{Liberalism in Colombia|Parties}} The '''Union Party for the People''' ({{langx|es|Partido de la Unión por la Gente}}), or '''Party of the U''' ({{langx|es|Partido de la U}}), is a [[Liberalism|liberal]] [[political party]] in [[Colombia]]. The Party is led by former president [[Juan Manuel Santos]].
After supporting the presidencies of [[Álvaro Uribe]], Juan Manuel Santos and [[Iván Duque]], the party is currently part of the majority of left-wing president [[Gustavo Petro]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Osorio |first=Camila |date=2022-07-20 |title=Gustavo Petro logra a última hora la mayoría en el Congreso |url=https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2022-07-20/gustavo-petro-logra-a-ultima-hora-la-mayoria-en-el-congreso.html |access-date= |website=[[El País]] |language=es-CO}}</ref>
==History==
{{update|section|date=June 2019}}
The Party was formed in 2005, with the objective of uniting various congressional supporters of President [[Alvaro Uribe]], also known as [[Uribism|Uribistas]], into one political party, and to provide a political platform for the [[2006 Colombian presidential election]]s. Most of its members defected from the [[Colombian Liberal Party]], yet it failed to unite all Uribistas: in particular the [[Radical Change]] (Cambio Radical) refused to join.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}
In 2006, the party took part in the [[2006 Colombian parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]], in which it won 30 out of 166 deputies and 20 out of 100 senators. Three years later, more than half of the congressmen from the [[Radical Change|Radical Change Party]] changed their standing towards the Party of the U, which resulted in it becoming Colombia's largest political party.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}
For the [[2010 Colombian presidential election|2010 presidential elections]], Party of the U chose former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as a presidential candidate and Governor [[Angelino Garzon]] as a vice presidential candidate. [[Juan Manuel Santos]] was elected with 69% of the vote in the runoff. The Party also obtained 27 seats in the Senate in the 2010 congressional elections.
In 2012, the [[Uribism|Uribistas]] and former President [[Alvaro Uribe]] along with [[Francisco Santos Calderon]] decided to form their own separate party, the [[Democratic Center (Colombia)|Democratic Center]]. This was the result of constant intervention and criticism from former President [[Alvaro Uribe]] towards his presidential successor [[Juan Manuel Santos]]. The announcement of peace negotiations with the [[FARC]] and the [[Colombian Government]] was a partial factor that led to the fragmentation. Nevertheless, the party did not suffer high-level defections towards the Democratic Center. It came first in the Senate elections, followed in second place by the Democratic Center led by Alvaro Uribe who then became a Senator.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}
In 2014, President [[Juan Manuel Santos]] was re-elected for a second term, in a close race against former cabinet colleague and ex-Finance Minister [[Oscar Ivan Zuluaga]] of the [[Democratic Center (Colombia)|Democratic Center]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-27862555|title=Santos re-elected in Colombian poll|work=BBC News|date=June 16, 2014}}</ref>
In 2021, political leaders from multiple parties formed a coalition called the [[Historic Pact for Colombia]]. After the election of President [[Gustavo Petro]] in 2022, Party of the U allied with the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zelik |first=Raul |date=August 31, 2023 |title=In Government, but not in Control - Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung |url=https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/50936/in-government-but-not-in-control |access-date=January 29, 2026 |website=www.rosalux.de |language=en}}</ref>
==Ideological platform== The Programmatic Declaration ''(Declaración Programática)'' is the official ideological platform of the party.
* The Social Party of National Unity supports the development of the welfare state and recognises the family as the base of society. * The Party supports the implementation of a market-based economy. * It promotes globalisation, emphasising education, science, and technology as key pillars that can help Colombia succeed in a global market. * The Party supports decentralisation and more autonomy of the regions. Currently, the [[Caribbean region of Colombia|Caribbean Region]] is the first to begin the process to obtain more autonomy. * President Santos has also claimed that he supports Tony Blair's [[Third Way (centrism)|Third Way]] approach.<ref>{{cite web|last=Crowe |first=Darcy |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704050804575319222637484944 |title=Colombia Elects Santos as President |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=June 21, 2010 |access-date=September 13, 2012}}</ref>
Since 2012, the party has been an observer member of the [[Liberal International]].<ref>[http://www.liberal-international.org/editorial.asp?ia_id=2351 Partido de la U – Colombia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213170228/http://www.liberal-international.org/editorial.asp?ia_id=2351 |date=December 13, 2013 }}, Liberal International: Observer members. Retrieved on March 2, 2013.</ref>
== Election results== === Presidential elections === {| class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="2" |Election Year ! rowspan="2" |Candidate ! colspan="2" |First Round ! colspan="2" |Second Round ! rowspan="2" |Result |- !Votes !Percentage !Votes !Percentage |- |[[2006 Colombian presidential election|2006]] |Supported [[Álvaro Uribe]] |7,363,421 |62.35 (#1) | colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"| |{{yes|Won}} |- |[[2010 Colombian presidential election|2010]] |[[Juan Manuel Santos]] |6,802,043 |46.68 (#1) |9,028,943 |69.13 (#1) |{{yes|Won}} |- |[[2014 Colombian presidential election|2014]] |[[Juan Manuel Santos]] |3,301,815 |25.69 (#2) |7,816,986 |50.95 (#1) |{{yes|Won}} |- |[[2018 Colombian presidential election|2018]] |[[Germán Vargas Lleras]] |1,407,840 |7.28 (#4) | colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"| |{{no|Lost}} |- |[[2022 Colombian presidential election|2022]] |[[Federico Gutiérrez]] |5,069,448 |23.94 (#3) | colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"| |{{no|Lost}} |}
=== Legislative elections === {| class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="2" |Election Year ! colspan="3" |House of Representatives ! colspan="3" |Senate |- !Votes !Percentage !Seats !Votes !Percentage !Seats |- |[[2006 Colombian parliamentary election|2006]] |1,453,353 |16.75 (#2) |{{Composition bar|29|163|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |1,015,523 |17.49 (#1) |{{Composition bar|20|102|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |- |[[2010 Colombian parliamentary election|2010]] |2,469,489 |26.11 (#1) |{{Composition bar|48|162|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |2,804,123 |25.84 (#1) |{{Composition bar|28|102|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |- |[[2014 Colombian parliamentary election|2014]] |2,297,786 |19.61 (#1) |{{Composition bar|38|166|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |2,230,208 |19.11 (#1) |{{Composition bar|21|102|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |- |[[2018 Colombian parliamentary election|2018]] |1,840,481 |12.74 (#4) |{{Composition bar|25|166|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |1,853,054 |12.80 (#5) |{{Composition bar|14|102|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |- |[[2022 Colombian parliamentary election|2022]] |1,506,567 |8.87 (#7) |{{Composition bar|15|188|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |1,439,579 |12.80 (#6) |{{Composition bar|10|102|{{party color|Social Party of National Unity}}}} |}
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.partidodelau.com/}} {{Colombian political parties}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Social Party Of National Unity}} [[Category:Liberal parties in Colombia]] [[Category:Political parties established in 2005]]