Broad Front (Uruguay)

Broad Front
Frente Amplio
President Jorge Brovetto
Founded February 5, 1971
Headquarters Montevideo, Uruguay
Newspaper Voces del Frente
Ideology Social-democracy,
Socialism,
Communism
Political position Left-wing
International affiliation Alliance of Democrats
Foro de São Paulo
Website
http://www.frenteamplio.org.uy/
Party flag
Politics of Uruguay
Political parties
Elections

The Broad Front (Spanish: Frente Amplio, FA) is a Uruguayan left-wing coalition of political parties. It is led by Jorge Brovetto. Frente Amplio has close ties with PIT-CNT trade union and the cooperative housing movement.

Contents

History

Frente Amplio was founded as a coalition of more than a dozen fractured leftist parties and movements in 1971. The first president of the front and its first candidate for the presidency of the country was General Liber Seregni. The front was declared illegal during 1973 military coup d'état of and emerged again in 1984 when democracy was restored in Uruguay.

In 1994 Progressive Encounter (Encuentro Progresista) was formed by several minor independent factions and the Frente Amplio. EP and FA started contesting elections jointly under the name Encuentro Progresista - Frente Amplio. Later another force, Nuevo Espacio, became linked to the front. Thus it started contesting elections as Encuentro Progresista - Frente Amplio - Nueva Mayoria.

In 2005 member organizations of Progressive Encounter and New Majority (essentially Nuevo Espacio) merged into the front, and the coalition took the name of the larger force, Frente Amplio. Previously, EP and later NM had been allied with FA but organizationally separate structures.

At the 2004 general election, the party won 51.7% of the popular vote and 52 out of 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 17 out of 31 in the Senate, while its presidential candidate, Tabaré Vázquez, won the presidential election. The Front retained its majority and the presidency in the 2009 election with José Mujica elected as president.

The alliance is - as far as available - formed by:

Splits

Along its history, despite the fact of constantly attracting political factions from other parties, the Broad Front suffered some splits as well:

Ideology

The Broad Front consists primarily of progressive and political parties. However, in government it has tended to follow policies favouring a market economy with expanded social programs. Not all the parties in the Broad Front can be considered left-wing, indeed some lean towards fiscal conservatism or social conservatism. Uruguay Assembly of Danilo Astori can be considered a centrist party and Astori has followed fiscal conservative policies as finance minister, whereas the Christian Democratic Party is vocally opposed to abortion. Tabaré Vázquez during his presidency maintained his pro-life stance, in contrast to the stance of many in his own Socialist Party, leading him to leave his positions in the party [1].

2004 electoral strength

e • d Summary of the 31 October 2004 General Assembly of Uruguay election results
Parties and alliances Votes Chamber of Deputies Chamber of Senators
% Seats % Seats
Broad Front – Progressive Encounter – New Majority (Frente Amplio – Encuentro Progresista – Nueva Mayoría) 51.7 52 17
National Party (Partido Nacional-Blancos) 35.1 36 11
Colorado Party (Partido Colorado) 10.6 10 3
Independent Party (Partido Independiente) 1.9 1 -
Total (turnout  %)   99   31
Source: Electoral Court and El País Uruguay, Angus Reid

Results in the 2004 internal elections

In 2004 the first internal elections for EP-FA-NM was held. Previously elections had only been held within FA.

List Party Votes %
609
Espacio 609
Movimiento de Participación Popular
Izquierda Abierta
Movimiento Claveles Rojos
Columna Blanca
148,426 33.18
90
Espacio 90
Partido Socialista
Movimiento Socialista Emilio Frugoni
Partido por la Seguridad Social
Acción Renovadora
79,090 17.68
2121
Espacio 2121
Asamblea Uruguay
Movimiento Popular Frenteamplista
40,741 9.11
738
Alianza Progresista
Confluencia Frenteamplista
Corriente 78
Partido Demócrata Cristiano
Corriente Encuentrista Independiente
37,628 8.41
77
Vertiente Artiguista
Artiguismo y Unidad
Izquierda Democrática Independiente
34,536 7.72
99000
Nuevo Espacio
30,762 6.88
1001
Democracía Avanzada
Partido Comunista del Uruguay
Frente Izquierda de Liberación
26,569 5.94
326
Movimiento 26 de Marzo
12,175 2.72
1303
Corriente Popular
8,776 1.96
1813
Liga Federal Frenteamplista
7,425 1.66
5271
Corriente de Izquierda
Tendencia Marxista
Alternativa Popular 1815 - Espacio Solidario
Partido Socialista de los Trabajadores-CI
Unión Popular
5,233 1.17
567
Unión Frenteamplista
Partido por la Victoria del Pueblo
2,664 0.64
9393
Corriente de Unidad Frenteamplista
2,354 0.53
1968
Partido Socialista de los Trabajadores-IV Internacional
387 0.09
871
Partido Obrero Revolucionario (Trotskista-Posadista)
371 0.08
5205
Movimiento 20 de Mayo
198 0.04
11815 86 0.02
2571
Agrupación 5 de Febrero de 1971
23 0.01
Total:
447,313

Latest elections

e • d 2009 Uruguayan parliamentary election results
Parties Votes % Seats
Chamber of
Deputies
Senate
Broad Front 1,093,869 47.49 50 16
National Party 657,327 28.54 30 9
Colorado Party 383,912 16.67 17 5
Independent Party 56,156 2.44 2
Popular Assembly 15,166 0.66
Total 2,303,336 100.00
Registered voters 2,563,250 89.86% turnout
Source: Corte Electoral

See also

External links