Party of the Democratic Revolution
From Freepedia
The Party of the Democratic Revolution (in Spanish: Partido de la Revolución Democrática, PRD) is one of the three main political parties in Mexico.
Founded in Mexico City on May 5, 1989 by Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, Heberto Castillo, Gilberto Rincón Gallardo, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, and other leading left-wing politicians, it was proclaimed to be the party of the 6 de julio (July 6), referring to the date of Mexico's 1988 presidential election. On that date, it is alleged that Cárdenas, the candidate of a coalition of center-left parties (the Frente Democrático Nacional) won the election but was denied victory by fraudulent means. Victory was instead given to the PRI candidate, Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Cardenas and some of his followers had left the PRI in protest.
The party traces its pedigree to the Partido Comunista de México (PCM, the Communist Party of Mexico), Partido Socialista Unificado de México (PSUM, the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico), and the Partido Mexicano Socialista (PMS, the Mexican Socialist Party). The PMS donated its registration with the Federal Electoral Commission (CFE) to enable the new party to be established. A large number of defectors from the PRI also swelled the PRD's ranks.
In the presidential elections of 2 july 2000, its candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano won 16.6 % of the popular vote. In the senatorial elections of the same date, the party took part in the Alliance for Mexico, winning 15 out of 128 seats in the Senate of Mexico. Three years later at the last legislative elections, the party won 17.6 % of the popular vote and 95 out of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
The PRD has a strong electoral presence in central and southern Mexico. The party has won gubernatorial races in several states including Guerrero, Chiapas, Michoacán, Zacatecas, Baja California Sur. It has also maintained control over the Federal District (Mexico City) ever since the city's voters were first allowed to elect local authorities in 1997. In the 2003 local elections, 13 of the Federal District's 16 borough mayoral races (jefes delegacionales) were won by PRD candidates.
The head of the Mexico City government, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has recently announced his candidacy for the party's nomination for the July 2006 presidential elections. He is assumed to be one of the favourites.
