Social Christian Unity Party
| Social Christian Unity Party | |
|---|---|
| President | Pedro Muñoz Fonseca |
| Secretary-General | Rodolfo Piza Rocafort |
| Treasurer | Emilce Fuentes Hernández |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Ideology |
Christian democracy Conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| International affiliation |
Centrist Democrat International (formerly) Christian Democrat Organization of America |
| Colours | Blue and Red |
| Legislative Assembly |
8 / 57 |
| Party flag | |
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|
Politics of Costa Rica Political parties Elections | |
The Social Christian Unity Party (Partido de Unidad Socialcristiana) is a centre-right political party in Costa Rica.
PUSC considers itself a Christian democratic party and, as such, is a member of the Christian Democrat Organization of America (ODCA). It was founded in 1983 by merger of the parties that were part of the Unity Coalition: the Christian Democratic, the Republican Calderonist, the Popular Union and the Democratic Renewal Party. Its historical roots are in Calderonism, i.e. the movement of supporters of Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, who was the country's president in the 1940s. From its foundation until 2006, the PUSC was one of Costa Rica's two dominant parties, alongside the National Liberation Party. It provided three presidents: Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier (1990–94), Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (1998–2002) and Abel Pacheco (2002–06).
2002 election
In the legislative elections held on 3 February 2002, the party won 29.8% of the popular vote and 19 out of 57 seats. In the presidential election, held concurrently with the legislative vote, its candidate, Abel Pacheco de la Espriella won 38.6% of the vote. He was subsequently elected to the presidency in a runoff election on 7 April with 58.0% of the vote.
Corruption scandals
During Pacheco's presidency, the news media revealed corruption scandals involving former presidents Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría and Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier, which cost the Party greatly in the next election (see below).
2006 election
In the 2006 general election, PUSC presidential candidate Ricardo Toledo secured around 3.5% of the national vote. In the parliamentary election, the party won 5 out of 57 seats.
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