Radical Party of Chile

{{short description|Chilean political party}} {{about|the 20th century party|the party formed in 2018 as the ''Social Democrat Radical Party''| Radical Party of Chile (2018)}} {{use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox political party | colorcode = {{party color|Radical Party (Chile)}} | name = Radical Party | native_name = Partido Radical | logo = Emblema Partido Radical Chile.svg | logo_size = 150px | leader1_title = Leader (s) | leader1_name = [[Manuel Antonio Matta]], [[Ramón Allende Padín]], [[Enrique Mac Iver]], [[Juan Esteban Montero]], [[Pedro Aguirre Cerda]], [[Juan Antonio Ríos]], [[Gabriel González Videla]], [[Anselmo Sule]] | foundation = {{Start date|df=yes|1863|12|27}} | dissolution = 18 August 1994 | split = [[Liberal Party (Chile, 1849–1966)|Liberal Party]] | merged = [[Social Democrat Radical Party]] | headquarters = [[Santiago de Chile]] | youth_wing = ''Juventud Radical de Chile'' | ideology = [[Liberalism and radicalism in Chile|Liberalism]] [[Radicalism (historical)|Radicalism]] [[Anti-clericalism]] [[Social liberalism]] | position = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]] | national = [[Liberal Alliance (Chile)|Liberal Alliance]] {{small|(1891–1925)}} [[Popular Front (Chile)|Popular Front]] {{small|(1937–41)}} [[Democratic Alliance (Chile)|Democratic Alliance]] {{small|(1942–47)}} [[Democratic Front of Chile|Democratic Front]] {{small|(1962–64)}} [[Popular Unity (Chile)|Popular Unity]] {{small|(1969–73)}} ''[[Concertación]]'' {{small|(1988–1994)}} | international = [[Socialist International]] {{small|(1981–94)}} | colours = {{Color box|#0000FF|border=darkgray}} {{Color box|#FFFFFF|border=darkgray}} {{Color box|#FF0000|border=darkgray}} [[Blue]], [[white]], [[red]] | country = Chile }} The '''Radical Party''' (Spanish: ''Partido Radical'') was a [[Chile]]an political party. It was formed in 1863 in [[Copiapó]] by a split in the [[Liberal Party (Chile, 1849–1966)|Liberal Party]].<ref>Helen Bailey, Abraham Nasatir, ''Latin America'', Prentice Hall, 1973</ref> Not coincidentally, it was formed shortly after the organization of the [[Grand Lodge of Chile]], and has maintained a close relationship with Chilean Freemasonry throughout its life. As such, it represented the [[anticlericalism|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]]'s [[Popular Front (Chile)|Popular Front]] and then to the [[Democratic Alliance (Chile)|Democratic Alliance]] left-wings coalition which succeeded to Cerda's death. During the presidency of [[Gabriel Gonzalez Videla]] (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]] Radicals formed the [[Radical Democracy (Chile)|Radical Democracy]]. 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 [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]]'s 1973 coup. In contrast, the Radical Party was part of the [[Popular Unity (Chile)|Unidad Popular]] coalition supporting [[Salvador Allende]] 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]], that subscribes to [[class struggle]] and [[historical materialism]]. 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 Izquierda Radical'' ([[Party of Social Democracy (Chile)|Radical Left Party]]).<ref>[http://www.salvador-allende.cl/Unidad_Popular/Gabinetes/ministros.html CRONOLOGIA 1971 La aceleración de los cambios]</ref> The new party initially remained part of the [[Popular Unity (Chile)|Unidad Popular]]. On the other hand, a moderate [[:es:Partido Social Demócrata (Chile)|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, class struggle, and anti-capitalism.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100707080146/www.nuso.org/upload/articulos/17_1.pdf Declaración político ideológica aprobada en la XXV Convención Nacional del Partido Radical de Chile]</ref> 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 Democratic Party (Chile)|Christian Democrat]], [[Liberal Party (Chile, 1988)|Liberal]], [[Chilean Social Democracy Party|Social Democrat]] parties and the renewed sector of the [[Socialist Party of Chile]], of the [[Democratic Alliance (Chile, 1983)|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]] (PRSD). Both parties supported the option NO in the plebiscite of 1988 and proclaimed [[Patricio Aylwin]] 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 [[Chilean Social Democracy Party|Social Democracy Party]] to form the [[Social Democrat Radical Party]] (PRSD).

==Presidents elected under Radical Party of Chile== * 1932 - [[Juan Esteban Montero]] * 1938 - [[Pedro Aguirre Cerda]] * 1942 - [[Juan Antonio Ríos]] * 1946 - [[Gabriel González Videla]]

== Presidential candidates == The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Radical Party. (Information gathered from the [http://eleccion.atspace.com/ Archive of Chilean Elections]). *[[1866 Chilean presidential election|1866]]: [[Pedro León Gallo]] (lost) *[[1871 Chilean presidential election|1871]]: [[José Tomás de Urmeneta]] (lost) *[[1876 Chilean presidential election|1876]]: [[Aníbal Pinto]] (won) *[[1881 Chilean presidential election|1881]]: [[Domingo Santa María]] (won) *[[1886 Chilean presidential election|1886]]: none *[[October 1891 Chilean presidential election|1891]]: [[Jorge Montt]] (won) *[[1896 Chilean presidential election|1896]]: [[Vicente Reyes (politician)|Vicente Reyes]] (lost) *[[1901 Chilean presidential election|1901]]: [[Germán Riesco]] (won) *[[1906 Chilean presidential election|1906]]: [[Pedro Montt]] (won) *[[1910 Chilean presidential election|1910]]: [[Ramón Barros Luco]] (won) *[[1915 Chilean presidential election|1915]]: [[Javier Ángel Figueroa]] (lost) *[[1920 Chilean presidential election|1920]]: [[Arturo Alessandri]] (won) *[[1925 Chilean presidential election|1925]]: [[Emiliano Figueroa]] (won) *[[1927 Chilean presidential election|1927]]: none *[[1931 Chilean presidential election|1931]]: [[Juan Esteban Montero]] (won) *[[1932 Chilean presidential election|1932]]: [[Arturo Alessandri]] (won) *[[1938 Chilean presidential election|1938]]: [[Pedro Aguirre Cerda]] (won) *[[1942 Chilean presidential election|1942]]: [[Juan Antonio Ríos]] (won) *[[1946 Chilean presidential election|1946]]: [[Gabriel González Videla]] (won) *[[1952 Chilean presidential election|1952]]: [[Pedro Enrique Alfonso|Pedro Alfonso]] (lost) *[[1958 Chilean presidential election|1958]]: [[Luis Bossay]] (lost) *[[1964 Chilean presidential election|1964]]: [[Julio Durán]] (lost) *[[1970 Chilean presidential election|1970]]: [[Salvador Allende]] (won) *1988: [[1988 Chilean national plebiscite|Plebiscite to extend term of Augusto Pinochet]]: "No" (won) *[[1989 Chilean presidential election|1989]]: [[Patricio Aylwin]] (won) *[[1993 Chilean presidential election|1993]]: [[Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle]] (won)

==See also== *[[:Category:Radical Party of Chile politicians]]

== References == {{reflist}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:Radical Party of Chile| ]] [[Category:Political parties established in 1863]] [[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1994]] [[Category:Defunct political parties in Chile]] [[Category:Radical parties]] [[Category:Radical parties in Chile]] [[Category:1863 establishments in Chile]] [[Category:1994 disestablishments in Chile]]