Alternative Democratic Pole

The Alternative Democratic Pole (Spanish: Polo Democrático Alternativo or PDA) is a left-wing political party in Colombia,[7] active from 2005 to the present. In 2022 it was successful at the polls and formed the Government of Columbia.

Alternative Democratic Pole
Polo Democrático Alternativo
PresidentAlexander López Maya
Senate leaderIván Cepeda Castro
FoundedDecember 2005 (2005-12)
Merger ofIndependent Democratic Pole
Democratic Alternative
HeadquartersBogotá, Colombia
IdeologySocial democracy[1][2]
Progressivism
Protectionism
Political positionLeft-wing[3][4][5][6]
National affiliationHistoric Pact for Colombia
Regional affiliationSão Paulo Forum
Colours  Yellow
Chamber of Representatives
9 / 188
Senate
6 / 108
Website
www.polodemocratico.net

It was founded as a political alliance of the Independent Democratic Pole (PDI) and the Democratic Alternative (AD) in December 2005. Both parties opposed the neoliberal economic program, securitization and militarization of Colombia under then-President Álvaro Uribe.[6] Subsequently, it was the only parliamentary party to declare opposition to the government of Juan Manuel Santos, and then joined the opposition against the government of Ivan Duque.

As of 2009, a considerable number of PDA politicians were still former guerrilla fighters who gave up armed struggle and demobilized during the late 1980s and early 1990s.[8] And by 2012, a considerable part of PDA politicians including the former guerrilla fighters were more alligned with the Green Party[9], the Movimiento Progresistas,[10] or Marcha Patriótica,[11] than the PDA.

Political development

The PDI and AD initially had their own pre-candidates for the 2006 presidential race. PDI had nominated Antonio Navarro (former leader of M-19) and AD had nominated Carlos Gaviria.

In a primary election held on March 12, 2006, Gaviria won the presidential nomination of the PDA.

In the simultaneous legislative elections of 2006, the party won 9 out of 166 Deputies and 11 out of 100 senators.

At the presidential elections of 28 May 2006, Carlos Gaviria came second with 22.04% of the vote, 2,613,157 votes.[12] This was the highest ever result for a left-wing candidate in Colombia's history.[7] Thus, the party replaced the long-standing Liberal Party as the country's second force and main opposition party.[4]

After the election, the PDA was successful in gaining the support of groups representing the indigenous movement affiliated with the coalition.[3] The guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN) (at its fourth national congress) commented favorably on the PDA's electoral performance and declared that political action should take precedence over armed struggle.[13] PDA's own founding doctrine repudiates armed guerilla politics: "We oppose war and the exercise of violence as means of political action".[14]

Later the PDA further consolidated its organization and gained support on a local level.[15] In October 2007, the PDA's candidate, Samuel Moreno Rojas won the mayoral election in Colombia's capital Bogotá.[16]

In the 2010 congressional election, PDA's support declined. It won 7.8% of votes and 8 of 100 seats in the Senate, and 5.9% of the vote and 4 of 164 seats in the House of Representatives, demoting it to the sixth rank among parliamentary parties. Before the election, a faction of the PDA had split off and joined the Green Party.[17]

Clara Lopez was the party's candidate for the 2014 presidential election;[18][19] she placed fourth in the first round of the election, receiving 1,958,414 votes, representing 15.23%.[20]

For the 2022 presidential and parliamentary election, the party joined forces with other left-wing and centre-left parties to form the Historic Pact for Colombia (Spanish PHxC) alliance, whose candidates Gustavo Petro and PDA member Francia Márquez, were victorious in the second round of the presidential election, making them the first leftists to assume the Presidency and Vice-Presidency in Colombian history. In the parliamentary elections, PHxC candidates, including PDA members, won the most votes in both the Chamber of Representatives and Senatorial elections; in both chambers seats are awarded by proportional representation.

Electoral history

Presidential elections
Election year Candidate # votes  % vote Result Note
2006 Carlos Gaviria Díaz 2,609,412 22.04% (2nd) Red XN Defeated
2010 Gustavo Petro 1,331,267 9.14% (4th) Red XN Defeated
2014 Clara López Obregón 1,958,414 15.23% (4th) Red XN Defeated
2018 Sergio Fajardo 4,602,916 23.78% (3rd) Red XN Defeated
2022 Gustavo Petro 11,291,986 50.44% (1st) Green tickY Winner coalition with Historic Pact for Colombia

See also

References
  1. Schirmer, Jennifer (2009), "A Norwegian-Supported Peace Building Project: Conversations among Security Forces, Former Guerillas, and Civil Society", Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War, United States Institute of Peace, p. 407
  2. Rochlin, James F. (2007), Social Forces and the Revolution in Military Affairs: The Cases of Colombia and Mexico, Palgrave Macmillan, p. 90
  3. Houghton, Juan (2008), "Colombia", The Indigenous World 2008, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), p. 136
  4. Taylor, Steven L.; Botero Jaramillo, Felipe; Crisp, Brian F. (2008), "Precandidates, Candidates, and Presidents: Paths to the Colombian Presidency", Pathways to Power, Pennsylvania State University Press, p. 291
  5. Roldán, Mary (2010), "End of Discussion: Violence, Participatory Democracy, and the Limits of Dissent in Colombia", Violent Democracies in Latin America, Duke University Press, p. 64
  6. Hristov, Jasmin (2009), Blood & Capital: The Paramilitarization of Colombia, Ohio University Press, p. 144
  7. Rochlin, James F. (2007), Social Forces and the Revolution in Military Affairs: The Cases of Colombia and Mexico, Palgrave Macmillan, p. 83
  8. Schirmer, Jennifer (2009), "A Norwegian-Supported Peace Building Project: Conversations among Security Forces, Former Guerillas, and Civil Society", Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War, United States Institute of Peace, p. 406
  9. Diario, El Espectador. "El M19 está apoderándose del Partido Verde".
  10. Diario, El Universal. "Gustavo Petro renuncia a filas del Polo Democrático".
  11. Revista, Semana. "Partido Comunista "sí está fuera del Polo": Comité Ejecutivo Nacional".
  12. National Registry of Civil State, results of the 2006 presidential election. http://www.registraduria.gov.co/resprelec2006/0528/index.htm Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Valencia, León (2009), "The ELN's Halting Moves toward Peace", Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War, United States Institute of Peace, p. 99
  14. Partido, Polo Democrático Alternativo. "Ideario de Unidad". Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  15. Hudson, Rex A. (2010), Colombia: A country study (Fifth ed.), Library of Congress Federal Research Division, p. xli
  16. Hudson, Rex A. (2010), Colombia: A country study (Fifth ed.), Library of Congress Federal Research Division, p. xxvi
  17. Kline, Harvey F. (2012), Historical Dictionary of Colombia, Scarecrow Press, p. 404
  18. "Clara López es la candidata a la Presidencia por el Polo Democrático". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  19. "Clara López, candidata del Polo para presidenciales de 2014". El Espectador (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  20. "Resolución No. 10368: Por la cual se establece el calendario Electoral para las elecciones de Presidente y Vicepresidente de la República (primera vuelta) para el período Constitucional 2014–2018" (PDF). Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
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