Party of the Democratic Revolution

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Partido de la Revolución Democrática
PRD
Leader Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo [1]
Founded May 5, 1989
Headquarters 84, Benjamín Franklin - Mexico City, Mexico
Political Ideology Center-left, Social liberalism, Social democracy
International Affiliation Socialist International
Continental Affiliation Foro de São Paulo
Colours yellow
Website http://www.prd.org.mx

See also:
Politics of Mexico
Political parties in Mexico
Elections in Mexico

The Party of the Democratic Revolution (in Spanish: Partido de la Revolución Democrática, PRD) is one of the three main political parties in Mexico.

Contents

[edit] History

Founded in Mexico City on May 5, 1989 by Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, Heberto Castillo, Gilberto Rincón Gallardo, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, other prominent PRI members and left-wing politicians. The party was originally founded by including many smaller left-wing parties such as the Partido Comunista Mexicano (PCM, Mexican Communist Party), Partido Socialista Unificado de México (PSUM, Unified Socialist Party of Mexico), Partido Mexicano Socialista (PMS, Mexican Socialist Party) and Partido Mexicano de los Trabajadores (PMT, Mexican Workers' Party). The PMS donated its registration with the Federal Electoral Commission (CFE) to enable the new party to be established.

It was proclaimed to be the party of the 6 de julio (July 6), referring to the date of the 1988 presidential election where it is alleged that Cárdenas, the candidate of a coalition of center-left parties called Frente Democrático Nacional (Democratic National Front) won the election but was denied victory by fraudulent means. Victory was instead handed to PRI candidate, Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

[edit] Electoral Presence

     States governed by the PRD
     States governed by the PRD

The party only has electoral presence in central and Southern Mexico, whereas in the North its voting averages 5%. It has won gubernatorial races in some states including Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Guerrero, Michoacán and Zacatecas (although, most of them have been obtained with former members of the PRI). It has also maintained control over the Federal District (Mexico City) since 1997, with 3 former members of the PRI. In the 2003 local elections, 13 of the Federal District's 16 boroughs (delegaciones) were won by PRD candidates; in the 2006 election, that figure rose to 14.

In the 2000 presidential election the Alianza por México (the "Alliance for Mexico", comprising the PRD and four smaller parties) candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano won 16.6% of the popular vote and 15 seats in the Senate. Three years later in the 2003 legislative elections the party won 17.6% of the popular vote and 95 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

In the 2006 legislative elections the party won 127 out of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 26 out of 128 Senators.

[edit] Video Scandals

Main article: Videoscandals

The party had enjoyed a reputation of honesty unmatched by its competitors[citation needed] , until the "Video Escándalos" (Video Scandals) a series of videos where notable party members were taped receiving cash funds or betting large sums of money in a Las Vegas casino. Party members who were seen on the video tapes were expelled from the party, but those who were supposedly associated are still active members.

Later, another video was recorded by Cuba's government where Carlos Ahumada states that members of the PRI and PAN were planning the situation presented in the first video as part of a plot against Andrés Manuel López Obrador to get him away as possible presidential candidate[citation needed].

[edit] Recent History

The former mayor of Mexico City, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was the presidential candidate for the "Coalición por el Bien de Todos" (Coalition for the Good of All) in the 2006 presidential elections. After the general election of July 2, 2006, and a recount of only 9.09% of all the ballot tally sheets, the Federal Electoral Institute recorded the vote results in favor of Felipe Calderón by a margin of 0.58 percent[2]. However, PRD claims that there was election fraud. The claims of election fraud have been rejected by the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF), which considered these "notably inadmissible" ("notoriamente improcedente") and certified PAN candidate Felipe Calderón as the winner. Meanwhile, the PRD had called for demonstrations and set up camps in the capital's main square blocking one of its main avenues (Paseo de la Reforma) to ask for a recount of all votes. The camps were later dismantled and Obrador was declared "Legitimate President" by his followers. He does not recognize the legitimacy of Calderón.

[edit] References

[edit] External links