Christian Democrat Party of Chile
From Freepedia
| Image:Chile flag 300.png |
| Politics of Chile |
Politics of Chile |
|
Politics Portal |
The Christian Democrat Party of Chile (Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Chile) is a political party in Chile and governs as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition.
The party supported in the 1999/2000 presidential elections Ricardo Lagos Escobar, who won 48.0 % in the first round and was elected with 51.3 % in the second round. At the last legislative elections, 16 december 2001, the party won as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy 23 out of 117 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 12 out of 38 elected seats in the Senate.
It is led by Adolfo Zaldivar. The current president, Ricardo Lagos Escobar is from another party in the coalition, the Socialist Party.
The past two presidents of the fairly recent democratic Chile have been from one party. These presidents owed allegiance to the Christian Democrat Party (Partido Demócrata Cristiano) or the PDC. The Christian Democrat Party is the single largest political entity with governmental power within Chile. The PDC actually operates as the leader of a coalition consisting of five total political parties. This coalition is called the Coalition of Parties for Democracy. In the Senate, as of 2001, the PDC seated twelve members. Having one-fourth of the total forty-eight Senators come from the PDC, this party proves itself to be a dominant political power.
Customarily, the PDC backs specific initiatives in an effort to bridge communism and capitalism. This idea has been called “communitarian socialism.” In addition to this objective, the PDC also supports a strong national government. Specifically, in the 1990’s, the PDC modernized by adopting a position closer to economic liberalism. Many of the parties in Chile have come to accept the free market that has helped to revitalize Chile’s economy. The current president of the PDC is senator Adolfo Zaldívar.
