Party of the Democratic Revolution

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Party of the Democratic Revolution
Partido de la Revolución Democrática
Leader Jesús Zambrano Grijalva[1]
Founded May 5, 1989 (1989-05-05)
Headquarters Mexico City, Mexico
Ideology Social democracy,[2]
Political position Centre-left[3][4][5] to Left-wing[6][7][8]
National affiliation Broad Progressive Front (PRD+PT+MC)
International affiliation Socialist International,
Progressive Alliance
Continental affiliation Foro de São Paulo, COPPPAL
Colours Yellow
Seats in the Chamber of Deputies
100 / 500
Seats in the Senate
22 / 128
Governorships
4 / 32
Website
http://www.prd.org.mx
Politics of Mexico
Political parties
Elections
  States governed by the PRD.

The Party of the Democratic Revolution (Spanish: Partido de la Revolución Democrática, PRD) is a social democratic[9] political party in Mexico and one of two Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International. The PRD is a member of the Broad Progressive Front alliance.

History

Founded in Mexico City on May 5, 1989 by Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Heberto Castillo, Marco Rascón Córdova, Gilberto Rincón Gallardo, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, other prominent former 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, Socialist Mexican 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 National Democratic Front (Frente Democrático Nacional) won the election but was denied victory by fraudulent means. Victory was instead handed to PRI candidate, Carlos Salinas.

Electoral presence

The party only has electoral presence in central and Southern Mexico, whereas in the North its voting averages is only 5%. It has won gubernatorial races in some states including Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Guerrero and Michoacán, 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 three 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 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.

Video Scandals

Main article: Videoscandals

The party had enjoyed a reputation of honesty unmatched by its competitors, 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 discredit him as a possible presidential candidate[citation needed].

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 the 9.09% of the ballot tally sheets which supposedly presented irregularities, the Federal Electoral Institute recorded the vote results in favor of Felipe Calderón by a margin of 0.58 percent.[10] These results were later validated by the Federal Electoral Tribunal. However, the PRD claims that there was election fraud. The claims of election fraud have been rejected by the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF), which considered these "notoriously out of order" ("notoriamente improcedente") and certified PAN's candidate Felipe Calderón as the winner.

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) for six weeks to demand a recount of all votes, which was not granted. The camps were later dismantled after confrontation with the Mexican Army became likely, and Obrador was declared "Legitimate President" by his followers in a "public open vote" (people in the main square raising their hands). Obrador does not recognize the legitimacy of Calderón.

In 2008 after bitter infighting within the party Jesús Ortega, an opponent of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was elected party president. In the 2009 legislative elections, López Obrador supported two smaller parties while maintaining his ties to the PRD.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.prd.org.mx/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=158
  2. ↑ La Botz, Dan (121), Democracy in Mexico: Peasant Rebellion and Political Reform, South End Press 
  3. ↑ Langston, Joy (2008), "Legislative Recruitment in Mexico", Pathways to Power: Political Recruitment and Candidate Selection in Latin America (Penn State Press): 158 
  4. ↑ Reyes-Heroles, Federico (2005), "Mexico's Changing Social and Political Landscape", Mexico's Democracy at Work (Lynne Rienner Publishers): 43 
  5. ↑ Meade, Teresa A. (2010), of the Democratic Revolution centre left&f=false A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to present, Wiley-Blackwell, p. 306 
  6. ↑ Recondo, David (2009), "Mexico, an Emerging Economy in the Shadow of the Superpower", The Emerging States (Columbia University Press): 105 
  7. ↑ Wainwright, Tom (17 November 2011), "The empire strikes back: The party that ruled Mexico for 71 years is hoping to win power again", The Economist 
  8. ↑ Rubio, Luis; Davidow, Jeffrey (September–October 2006), "Mexico's Disputed Election", Foreign Affairs 
  9. ↑ Rhodes Cook (2004). The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place for Us?. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-0-7425-2594-8. Retrieved 19 August 2012. 
  10. ↑ Felipe Calderón won over Andrés Manuel López Obrador by 0.58 percent

External links

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