People's Democratic Union (Portugal)

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UDP 6h Congress poster
UDP 6h Congress poster

The People's Democratic Union (Portuguese: União Democrática Popular, pron. IPA[uni'ɐ̃ũ dɨmu'kɾatikɐ pupu'laɾ], or UDP) is a left-wing political movement in Portugal. UDP is now transformed into a political association in its last congress in 2005 due to the merger with other left-wing parties in the Leftwing Bloc.

The party was founded in December 1974 as a common mass front of the Committee for Support to the Reconstruction of the Party (Marxist-Leninist) (CARP(ML)), Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist Unity (URML) and Revolutionary Communist Committees (Marxist-Leninist). UDP ran lists in the first free election in Portugal in 1975, and elected one MP in that election. UDP also ran in the subsequent elections until 1983. After that it ran integrated in the electoral lists of the Portuguese Communist Party until 1991.

In 1998 it became part of the Leftwing Bloc after a merger with other small left-wing parties, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Politics 21 and the Front of the Revolutionary Left.