The Radical Civic Union ( Spanish : Unión Cívica Radical , UCR ) is a centrist and liberal political party in Argentina . It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from conservatism to social democracy , but since 1995 it has been a member of the Socialist International .
121-590: Founded in 1891 by radical liberals , the UCR is the second oldest political party active in Argentina, after the Liberal Party of Corrientes . The party's main support has long come from the middle class . For many years, the UCR was either in opposition to Peronist governments or illegal during military rule . The party has stood for liberal democracy , secularism , free elections and civilian control of
242-485: A centrist sector and another linked to right-wing values. The UCR is headed by a National Committee; its president is the de facto leader of the party. A national convention brings together representatives of the provincial parties and affiliated organisations such as Franja Morada and Radical Youth, and is itself represented on the National Committee. In 1903, Hipólito Yrigoyen began to reorganize
363-679: A coalition of centrist parties , spanning from the Socialists to the Christian-democrats. Ultimately the installation of the Fifth Republic in 1958, and the subsequent emergence of a two-party system based on the Socialist and Gaullist movements, destroyed the niche for an autonomous Radical party. The Radical Party split into various tendencies. Its leading personality, Mendès-France himself, left in 1961 in protest at
484-478: A republican form of government, universal male suffrage and, particularly, anti-clerical policies. Intransigent Radical Civic Union The Intransigent Radical Civic Union ( Spanish : Unión Cívica Radical Intransigente , UCRI) was a political party of Argentina . The UCRI developed from the centrist Radical Civic Union in 1956, following a split at the party's convention in Tucumán . Receiving
605-421: A "radical reform" of the electoral system . This led to a general use of the term to identify all supporting the movement for parliamentary reform. Initially confined to the upper and middle classes, in the early 19th century "popular radicals" brought artisans and the "labouring classes" into widespread agitation in the face of harsh government repression. More respectable " philosophical radicals " followed
726-639: A Bill to reform the British East India Company , dismissed the government and appointed William Pitt the Younger as his Prime Minister. Pitt had previously called for Parliament to begin to reform itself, but he did not press for long for reforms the King did not like. Proposals Pitt made in April 1785 to redistribute seats from the " rotten boroughs " to London and the counties were defeated in
847-597: A charter of rights as insufficient, potentially revocable by a whim of the monarch. Belgian Radicals closely followed the situation in France when, on 26 July to 1 August 1830, a conservative-liberal revolution broke out , overthrowing the autocratic monarchy for a liberal constitutional monarchy . Within a month a revolt had erupted in Brussels before spreading to the rest of the Belgian provinces. After Belgian independence,
968-633: A conservative-liberal rebranding, while Radikale Venstre maintained the radical tradition), took up a new orientation (as in France, where the Radical Party aligned with the centre-right, later causing the split of the Radical Party of the Left ) or dissolved (as in Greece, where the heirs of Venizelism joined several parties). After World War II , European radicals were largely extinguished as
1089-457: A de facto liberal-conservative party of the centre-right: renamed as the 'Valoisien' Radical Party , it advocated alliances with the rest of the liberal centre-right, participating first in the pro- Giscard d'Estaing Union for French Democracy (1972), then with the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (2002). Irish republicanism was influenced by American and French radicalism. Typical of these classical Radicals are 19th century such as
1210-465: A fundamental change toward genuine democracy in Argentina. In 1997, the UCR participated in elections in coalition with Front for a Country in Solidarity (FREPASO), itself an alliance of many smaller parties. This strategy brought Fernando de la Rúa to the presidency in the 1999 elections . During major riots triggered by economic reforms implemented by the UCR government (with the advice of
1331-618: A historical affinity with radicalism and may therefore be called "liberal-radical". According to Encyclopædia Britannica , the first use of the term radical in a political sense is generally ascribed to the English parliamentarian Charles James Fox , a leader of the left wing of the Whig party who dissented from the party's conservative-liberalism and looked favourably upon the radical reforms being undertaken by French republicans , such as universal male suffrage. In 1797, Fox declared for
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#17327984686741452-500: A hundred had the vote. Writers like the radicals William Hone and Thomas Jonathan Wooler spread dissent with publications such as The Black Dwarf in defiance of a series of government acts to curb circulation of political literature. Radical riots in 1816 and 1817 were followed by the Peterloo massacre of 1819 publicised by Richard Carlile , who then continued to fight for press freedom from prison. The Six Acts of 1819 limited
1573-510: A journal for "philosophical radicals", setting out the utilitarian philosophy that right actions were to be measured in proportion to the greatest good they achieved for the greatest number. Westminster elected two radicals to Parliament during the 1820s. The Whigs gained power and despite defeats in the House of Commons and the House of Lords the Reform Act 1832 was put through with
1694-566: A large and socially diverse electorate including many artisans as well as the middle class and aristocracy and along with the county association of Yorkshire led by the Reverend Christopher Wyvill were at the forefront of reform activity. The writings of what became known as the " Radical Whigs " had an influence on the American Revolution . Major John Cartwright also supported the colonists, even as
1815-471: A law of free suffrage. Two years later, in 1912, they approved the law of universal secret, and obligatory voting for men, known as The Sáenz Peña Law . On the other hand, it was also the first Argentinian political party to present a legal project for women to vote in 1919, that eventually did not pass given the conservative majority in Congress. Gabino Ezeiza was a great Payador, and he musically described
1936-671: A major political force except in Denmark, France, Italy ( Radical Party ), and the Netherlands ( Democrats 66 ). Latin America still retains a distinct indigenous radical tradition, for instance in Argentina ( Radical Civic Union ) and Chile ( Radical Party ). The two Enlightenment philosophies of liberalism and radicalism both shared the goal of liberating humanity from the remnants of feudalism. However, liberals regarded it as sufficient to establish individual rights that would protect
2057-487: A military coup on December 6, 1930. The secret vote opened a new chapter in Argentinian History. The government of the UCR indicated the arrival of the government and the direction of the state organization of members of the medial sects that until this moment were indeed excluded from these functions. The first presidency of Hipólito Yrigoyen promoted a series of politics of a new type, which in conjunction
2178-803: A penny periodical he called Pig's Meat in a reference to Burke 's phrase "swinish multitude". Radical organisations sprang up, such as the London Corresponding Society of artisans formed in January 1792 under the leadership of the shoemaker Thomas Hardy to call for the vote. One such was the Scottish Friends of the People society which in October 1793 held a British convention in Edinburgh with delegates from some of
2299-410: A political system of interventions to the provinces and a style of personal and direct management, that would be severely critical for his opposition both inside and outside of the UCR, calling it "personalism". 34°36′42″S 58°23′29″W / 34.61167°S 58.39139°W / -34.61167; -58.39139 Radicalism (historical) Radicalism (from French radical )
2420-691: A pro-Catholic Radicalism distinct from both the anticlerical Radicalism of France, and the Protestant Liberalism of the Dutch north. Following the political crisis of 1829, where the Crown Prince was named prime minister, a limited reform was introduced establishing constitutional rights, similar to the charter of rights of France's autocratic Restoration Monarchy; the Belgian Radicals, like their French counterparts, regarded such
2541-568: A prominent figure in the opposition, despite being still the Vice President. The UCR joined the Civic and Social Agreement to run for the 2009 elections . The loose coalition obtained 29% of the national votes and came a close second to the Front for Victory and allies national outcomes. The Party's reorganization, as well as the 2009 elections, resulted in a gain of party representatives in
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#17327984686742662-617: A time of tension between the American colonies and Great Britain , with the first Radicals, angry at the state of the House of Commons , drawing on the Leveller tradition and similarly demanding improved parliamentary representation. These earlier concepts of democratic and even egalitarian reform had emerged in the turmoil of the English Civil War and the brief establishment of the republican Commonwealth of England amongst
2783-416: A voluntary way, called the "predictable vote", which broke the electoral system. The struggle for democracy in Argentina, not related initially as much with universal suffrage but with the secret vote, in a voting booth , which made independent the wish of the voter from all external pressures. The Sáenz Peña Law of 1912 established the secret and obligatory vote, but due to the fact that it did not recognize
2904-490: Is generally classified as a centrist , or liberal . Due to its heterogeneity, the UCR has also been described as a big tent or catch-all party and social-liberal party, but it is also occasionally classified as a social-democratic . Radicals call themselves the party of civil liberties , democracy and the Constitution . In their history, they resisted authoritarian regimes , won universal suffrage and starred in
3025-613: The 1989 general election , Eduardo Angeloz promised a "red pencil" to cut public deficit spending and mentioned the possible privatization of state companies, which would later be carried out by his rival, the Peronist Carlos Menem . Since de la Rúa's demise in 2001, the UCR has become more and more fragmented politically and geographically. Besides the interventions in Tierra del Fuego and Mendoza, in September 2006,
3146-464: The 2023 elections, the party supported the candidacy of Patricia Bullrich . The party is not currently in any coalition since Juntos por el Cambio's dissolution in 2023. The party was a breakaway from the Civic Union , which was led by Bartolomé Mitre and Leandro Alem . The term 'radical' in the party's name referred to its demand for universal male suffrage , which was considered radical at
3267-486: The American Revolutionary War began and in 1776 earned the title of the "Father of Reform" when he published his pamphlet Take Your Choice! advocating annual parliaments, the secret ballot and manhood suffrage . In 1780, a draft programme of reform was drawn up by Charles James Fox and Thomas Brand Hollis and put forward by a sub-committee of the electors of Westminster. This included calls for
3388-646: The Argentine Senate . In recent years, the UCR has been riven by an internal dispute between those who oppose and those who support the left-wing policies of Peronist President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her husband and predecessor Néstor Kirchner . However, most Radicales K support for the Kirchners ended by mid 2008, when Vice President Julio Cobos opposed the Government bill on agricultural export taxes . He later rejoined UCR, becoming
3509-836: The English Civil War with the Levellers and later the Radical Whigs . During the 19th century in the United Kingdom, continental Europe and Latin America, the term radical came to denote a progressive liberal ideology inspired by the French Revolution . Radicalism grew prominent during the 1830s in the United Kingdom with the Chartists and in Belgium with the Revolution of 1830 , then across Europe in
3630-570: The General Boulanger crisis in the 1880s, the Dreyfus Affair in the 1890s. The Radicals were swept to power first in a coalition government (1899) then in governments of their own from 1902. They finally managed to implement their long-standing programme of reforms, such as the separation of Church and State , or the introduction of secret ballotting . In order to ensure that their legacy would remain unreversed, they unified
3751-606: The International Monetary Fund ), President de la Rúa resigned and fled the country to prevent further turmoil. After three consecutive acting presidents assumed and resigned their duties in the following weeks, Eduardo Duhalde of the PJ took office until new elections could be held. After the 2001 legislative elections , the party lost and became the second-largest party in the federal Chamber of Deputies , winning 71 of 257 seats. It campaigned in an alliance with
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3872-549: The London Working Men's Association (associated with Owenite Utopian socialism ), which called for six points: universal suffrage , equal-sized electoral districts, secret ballot , an end to property qualification for Parliament, pay for Members of Parliament and Annual Parliaments. Chartists also expressed economic grievances, but their mass demonstrations and petitions to parliament were unsuccessful. Despite initial disagreements, after their failure their cause
3993-691: The National Congress . In 2015, the UCR formed a coalition with Republican Proposal , a center-right political party, to form Cambiemos . Cambiemos won the presidential election , which ended its 12 years of opposition. The alliance with Republican Proposal was criticized by the Socialist International and the Young Radicals were suspended from the International Union of Socialist Youth . The UCR
4114-713: The Netherlands , but also Argentina ( Radical Civic Union ), Chile and Paraguay . Victorian era Britain possessed both trends: In England the Radicals were simply the left wing of the Liberal coalition , though they often rebelled when the coalition's socially conservative Whigs resisted democratic reforms, whereas in Ireland Radicals lost faith in the ability of parliamentary gradualism to deliver egalitarian and democratic reform and, breaking away from
4235-800: The Parliament of Great Britain which itself was dominated by the English aristocracy and by patronage. Candidates for the House of Commons stood as Whigs or Tories , but once elected formed shifting coalitions of interests rather than splitting along party lines. At general elections , the vote was restricted to property owners in constituencies which were out of date and did not reflect the growing importance of manufacturing towns or shifts of population, so that in many rotten borough seats could be bought or were controlled by rich landowners while major cities remained unrepresented. Discontent with these inequities inspired those individuals who later became known as
4356-503: The Populist Party , composed of rural western and southern farmers who were proponents of policies such as railroad nationalization, free silver, expansion of voting rights and labor reform. In continental Europe and Latin America , as for instance in France, Italy , Spain , Chile and Argentina ( Radical Civic Union ), Radicalism developed as an ideology in the 19th century to indicate those who supported at least in theory
4477-579: The Reform League . When the Liberal government led by Lord Russell and William Ewart Gladstone introduced a modest bill for parliamentary reform, it was defeated by both Tories and reform Liberals, forcing the government to resign. The Tories under Lord Derby and Benjamin Disraeli took office and the new government decided to "dish the Whigs" and "take a leap in the dark" to take the credit for
4598-539: The Seditious Meetings Act 1795 which meant that a license was needed for any meeting in a public place consisting of fifty or more people. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars , the government took extensive stern measures against feared domestic unrest. The corresponding societies ended, but some radicals continued in secret, with Irish sympathisers in particular forming secret societies to overturn
4719-595: The interwar period , European radical parties organized the Radical Entente , their own political international . Before socialism emerged as a mainstream political ideology, radicalism represented the left-wing of liberalism and thus of the political spectrum. As social democracy came to dominate the centre-left in place of classical radicalism, they either re-positioned as conservative liberals or joined forces with social democrats. Thus, European radical parties split (as in Denmark, where Venstre undertook
4840-414: The left–right political spectrum , as radicalism is an ethic before being an ideology . However, according to Alfonsín, Radicals felt very comfortable as "observers" of all the tendencies that make up European social democracy. Moreover, in 1995 Raúl Alfonsín brought radicalism into the world organization of center-left parties, the Socialist International . Another former leader, Angel Rozas , defined
4961-421: The utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham and strongly supported parliamentary reform, but were generally hostile to the arguments and tactics of the "popular radicals". By the middle of the century, parliamentary Radicals joined with others in the Parliament of the United Kingdom to form the Liberal Party , eventually achieving reform of the electoral system . The Radical movement had its beginnings at
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5082-509: The " Radical Whigs ". William Beckford fostered early interest in reform in the London area. The " Middlesex radicals" were led by the politician John Wilkes , an opponent of war with the colonies who started his weekly publication The North Briton in 1764 and within two years had been charged with seditious libel and expelled from the House of Commons. The Society for the Defence of
5203-592: The 1832 Reform Act, the mainly aristocratic Whigs in the House of Commons were joined by a small number of parliamentary Radicals as well as an increased number of middle class Whigs. By 1839, they were informally being called "the Liberal party ". From 1836, working class Radicals unified around the Chartist cause of electoral reform expressed in the People's Charter drawn up by six members of Parliament and six from
5324-578: The 1840s–1850s during the Revolutions of 1848 . In contrast to the social conservatism of existing liberal politics, radicalism sought political support for a radical reform of the electoral system to widen suffrage . It was also associated with a variety of ideologies and policies, such as liberalism, left-wing politics , republicanism , modernism , secular humanism , antimilitarism , civic nationalism , abolition of titles, rationalism , secularism , redistribution of property , and freedom of
5445-487: The 2007 elections. The Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) has gradually shifted toward center-right positions since the 2005 legislative elections, due to internal divisions and the exclusion of the Alfonsinismo from its ranks. This political process has led the UCR to adopt a more conservative orientation in its focus and ideological alignment. According to the president of the party, now within the organization we can find
5566-607: The 30 members of the Senate 4 were radicals. Nonetheless, Yrigoyen kept up an anti-accord force and a slightly inflammatory conversation and negotiation, not only with the traditional conservative parties that were controlling the senate, but also with the new popular parties that had gained leadership from the secret ballot: the Socialist Party and the Democratic Progressive party. Also, Yrigoyen took forward
5687-524: The 340,000 votes of all the other parties and in the Electoral College their way was put to a vote. Due to this, a long cycle of 14 consecutive years of radical government ensued. The Radical UCR won the presidential elections on three successive occasions: Hipólito Yrigoyen (1916-1922), Marcelo T. de Alvear (1922-1928), and Hipólito Yrigoyen once again (1928-1930). The series of radical governments would be violently interrupted by means of
5808-512: The Bill of Rights which he started in 1769 to support his re-election, developed the belief that every man had the right to vote and "natural reason" enabling him to properly judge political issues. Liberty consisted in frequent elections and for the first time middle-class radicals obtained the backing of the London "mob". Middlesex and Westminster were among the few parliamentary constituencies with
5929-437: The Constitution of 1831 established a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary regime, and provided a list of fundamental civil rights inspired by the French Declaration of the Right of Man. As in Britain, Radicals in Belgium continued to operate within the Liberal Party, campaigning throughout the 19th Century for the property-restricted suffrage to be extended. This was extended a first time in 1883, and universal male suffrage
6050-498: The English corresponding societies . They issued a manifesto demanding universal male suffrage with annual elections and expressing their support for the principles of the French Revolution. The numbers involved in these movements were small and most wanted reform rather than revolution, but for the first time working men were organising for political change. The government reacted harshly, imprisoning leading Scottish radicals, temporarily suspending habeas corpus in England and passing
6171-413: The French Radicals created an Entente Internationale des Partis Radicaux et des Partis Démocratiques similaires : it was joined by the centre-left Radical parties of Europe, and in the democracies where no equivalent existed—Britain and Belgium—the liberal party was to allowed attend instead. After the Second World War the Radical International was not reformed; instead, a centre-right Liberal International
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#17327984686746292-498: The French Revolution needed to be completed through a republican regime based on parliamentary democracy and universal suffrage therefore tended to call themselves "Radicals" – a term meaning 'Purists'. Under the Second Republic (1848–1852), the Radicals, on a platform of seeking a "social and democratic republic", sat together in parliament in a group named The Mountain . When Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte launched his military coup , Radicals across France rose up in insurrection to defend
6413-592: The French Revolution: civic nationalism . Dismayed by the inability of British parliamentarianism to introduce the root-and-branch democratic reforms desired, Irish Radicals channelled their movement into a republican form of nationalism that would provide equality as well as liberty. This was pursued through armed revolution and often with French assistance at various points over the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries . Popular Radicals were quick to go further than Paine, with Newcastle schoolmaster Thomas Spence demanding land nationalisation to redistribute wealth in
6534-474: The House of Commons by 248 votes to 174. In the wake of the French Revolution of 1789 , Thomas Paine wrote The Rights of Man (1791) as a response to Edmund Burke 's counterrevolutionary essay Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), itself an attack on Richard Price 's sermon that kicked off the so-called "pamphlet war" known as the Revolution Controversy . Mary Wollstonecraft , another supporter of Price, soon followed with A Vindication of
6655-406: The National Committee appointed Jujuy Province Senator Gerardo Morales as its new president. Morales stated that he wanted to follow the mandate of the Rosario convention (that is, looking for a possible alliance with Roberto Lavagna). Morales went on to become Lavagna's running mate in the presidential election of October 2007 , coming third. Although this campaign represented the mainstream of
6776-504: The National Committee of the UCR, then led by Ángel Rozas , intervened (suspended of authorities of) the Provincial Committee of the UCR in Tierra del Fuego Province after Radical governor Jorge Colazo spoke in favour of Kirchner's reelection. The intervention was rejected by the Provincial Committee. A party convention held in Rosario in August 2006 officially rejected the possibility of alliances with Kirchner's faction of Justicialism and granted former Party President Roberto Iglesias
6897-516: The Netherlands ( Radical League and Free-thinking Democratic League ), Portugal ( Republican Party ), Romania ( National Liberal Party ), Russia ( Trudoviks ), Serbia ( People's Radical Party ), Spain ( Reformist Party , Radical Republican Party , Republican Action , Radical Socialist Republican Party and Republican Left ), Sweden ( Free-minded National Association , Liberal Party and Liberal People's Party ), Switzerland ( Free Democratic Party ), and Turkey ( Republican People's Party ). During
7018-479: The People's Radical Civil Union) came back to power, led by Arturo Frondizi . The growing tolerance of Frondizi towards his Peronist allies provoked unrest in the army, which ousted the president in March 1962. After a brief military government, presidential elections took place in 1963 with the Peronist Party banned (as in 1958). The outcome saw the candidate of the People's Radical Civic Union (the other party's faction) Arturo Illia coming first but with only 25% of
7139-535: The Rights of Woman . They encouraged mass support for democratic reform along with rejection of the monarchy , aristocracy and all forms of privilege. Different strands of the movement developed, with middle class "reformers" aiming to widen the franchise to represent commercial and industrial interests and towns without parliamentary representation, while "Popular radicals" drawn from the middle class and from artisans agitated to assert wider rights including relieving distress. The theoretical basis for electoral reform
7260-406: The UCR for a new revolution. Two years after he led the armed uprising known as the Revolution of 1905 , which although it failed to put sufficient pressure on the official party, it was able to cause a party breakdown. The more progressive leaders of the autonomists, such as Carlos Pellegrini and Roque Sáenz Peña , began to support that it was necessary to make institutional changes to hold back
7381-493: The UCR start to alliance with center-right anti-peronists. In the 2005 legislative elections , the UCR was reduced to 35 deputies and 13 senators, but remains the second force in Argentine politics. Ahead of the 2007 election, the remaining Radicals divided, between those who wanted to find an internal candidate and those who wanted to back a candidate from another movement, mostly former economy minister Roberto Lavagna , supported by former president Raúl Alfonsín. In May 2005,
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#17327984686747502-485: The UCR were "disappeared", as were members of other parties. Between 1983 and 1989, its leader, Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín , was the first democratically elected president after the military dictatorship headed by generals such as Jorge Videla , Leopoldo Galtieri and Reynaldo Bignone . Alfonsín was succeeded by Carlos Saúl Menem of the Peronist Justicialist Party (PJ). The election of Mr. Alfonsin, who campaigned hard for clean government and civil rights, represented
7623-473: The UCRI President of the Senate , José María Guido , was appointed President of Argentina . A proposed Popular Front uniting banned Peronists, the UCRI and others dissolved ahead of the July 1963 general elections , when Buenos Aires Province Governor Oscar Alende developed objections to the inclusion of conservatives in the alliance. Frondizi, others in the UCRI and Perón instructed their supporters to cast blank ballots, leading to their highest incidence in
7744-431: The United Irishmen in the 1790s, Young Irelanders in the 1840s, Fenian Brotherhood in the 1880s, as well as Sinn Féin , and Fianna Fáil in the 1920s. Japan's radical-liberalism during the Empire of Japan was dissident because it resisted the government's political oppression of republicanism. Rikken Minseitō , who supported the Empire of Japan's system at the time, were classified as " conservative ". Therefore,
7865-434: The United States' Great Depression . From 1930 to 1958, the UCR was confined to be the main opposition party, either to the Conservatives and the military during the 1930s and the early 1940s or to the Peronists during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was only in 1958 that a faction of the party allied with banned Peronists (in the Intransigent Radical Civic Union founded in 1956, splitting from what then called itself
7986-508: The basis for what later became the Labour Party . The territories of modern Belgium had been merged into the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. Aside from various religious and socioeconomic tensions between the Dutch north and proto-Belgian south, over the 1820s a young generation of Belgians, heavily influenced by French Enlightenment ideas, had formulated criticisms of the Dutch monarchy as autocratic. The monarch enjoyed broad personal powers, his ministers were irresponsible before parliament;
8107-425: The case of England's Radical Whigs . Sometimes, the radical wing of the liberals were hardline or doctrinaire and in other cases more moderate and pragmatic. In other countries, radicalism had had enough electoral support on its own, or a favourable electoral system or coalition partners, to maintain distinct radical parties such as in Switzerland and Germany ( Freisinn ), Bulgaria , Denmark , Italy , Spain and
8228-491: The centre-right Orléanists (conservative-liberal and monarchist), the far-right Legitimists (anti-liberal monarchist), and the supporters of a republican military dictatorship, the Bonapartists . Following the Napoleonic Wars and until 1848 , it was technically illegal to advocate republicanism openly. Some republicans reconciled themselves to pursuing liberalism through the socially-conservative monarchy—the 'opportunists'. Those who remained intransigent in believing that
8349-409: The centre-right governments dominated by the conservative-liberal centre-right often gave a portfolio to a Radical, who would join cabinet in a personal capacity as the most left-leaning minister. The party itself was discredited after 1940, due to fact that many (though not all) of its parliamentarians had voted to establish the Vichy regime . Under the dictatorship several prominent Radicals, such as
8470-465: The citizen against the state. He warned against all forms of power – military, clerical, and economic. To oppose them he exalted the small farmer, the small shopkeeper, the small town, and the little man. He idealized country life and saw Paris as a dangerous font of power. The Radical–Socialist Party was the main governmental party of the Third Republic between 1901 and 1919, and dominated government again between 1924 and 1926, 1932–1933 and 1937–1940;
8591-417: The collapse of the parties from the prior political system to the Sáenz Peña Law . The UCR auto-dispersed due to an initiative of Honorio Pueyrredón and its members massively joined radicalism. The National Autonomist Party dissolved. On 2 April 1916, for the first time in Argentinian history, they carried out the presidential elections by means of a secret ballot . The UCR obtained 370,000 votes, against
8712-925: The country's first major extra-parliamentary political party, the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party , which became the leading party of government during the second half of the French Third Republic (until 1940). The success of French Radicals encouraged radicals elsewhere to organize themselves into formal parties in a range of other countries in the late 19th and early 20th century, with radicals holding significant political office in Bulgaria ( Radical Democratic Party ), Denmark ( Radikale Venstre ), Germany ( Progressive People's Party and German Democratic Party ), Greece ( New Party and Liberal Party ), Italy ( Republican Party , Radical Party , Social Democracy and Democratic Liberal Party ),
8833-544: The country's social problems and eradicate poverty. Yrigoyen's presidency however turned out to be rather dictatorial; he refused to cooperate with the Congress and UCR in government fell short of the democratic expectations it had raised when in opposition. The UCR remained in power during the next 14 years: Yrigoyen was succeeded by Marcelo T. de Alvear in 1922 and again by himself in 1928. The first coup in Argentina's modern history occurred on September 6, 1930, and ousted an aging Yrigoyen amid an economic crisis resulting from
8954-434: The democratic republic. This experience would mark French Radicalism for the next century, prompting permanent vigilance against all those who – from Marshall Mac-Mahon to General De Gaulle – were suspected of seeking to overthrow the constitutional, parliamentary regime. After the return to parliamentary democracy in 1871, the Radicals emerged as a significant political force: led by Georges Clemenceau , they claimed that
9075-559: The endorsement of the exiled populist leader, Juan Perón four days before the February 1958 general elections , UCRI presidential candidate Arturo Frondizi defeated the more conservative People's UCR by 17% and the party enjoyed a narrow majority in Congress . Following President Frondizi's forced resignation at the hands of the military, who objected to his political concessions towards Peronism and his close relations with Cuba ,
9196-550: The famous sentence "This old adversary salutes a great friend", thus marking the end of the Peronist-radical rivalry that had marked the pace of the Argentine political scene until then. The growing fight between left-wing and right-wing Peronists took the country into chaos and many UCR members were targeted by both factions. The subsequent coup in 1976 ended Peronist rule. During the military regime , many members of
9317-710: The government and encourage mutinies. In 1812, Major John Cartwright formed the first Hampden Club , named after the English Civil War Parliamentary leader John Hampden , aiming to bring together middle class moderates and lower class radicals. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Corn laws (in force between 1815 and 1846) and bad harvests fostered discontent. The publications of William Cobbett were influential and at political meetings speakers like Henry Hunt complained that only three men in
9438-402: The growth of social and political conflict. When Roque Sáenz Peña was elected president in 1910, the UCR already was not in the position to carry out new assembled uprisings, but the general belief that existed was that a revolution was imminent. Saénz Peña y Yrigoyen, who had been maintaining a personal friendship from childhood, they then had a private meeting in which they agreed to sanction
9559-677: The history of Argentine national elections. Governor Alende ran on the Intransigent Party , but was unable to overcome the boycott, leading him to narrowly lose to People's UCR candidate Arturo Illia , a centrist. Frondizi and his chief economist while in office, Rogelio Julio Frigerio , left the UCRI in August to establish the Integration and Development Movement (MID), whose platform centered on economic growth. The last affiliates of
9680-467: The individual while radicals sought institutional, social/economic, and especially cultural/educational reform to allow every citizen to put those rights into practice. For this reason, radicalism went beyond the demand for liberty by seeking also equality, i.e. universality as in Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité . In some countries, radicalism represented a minor wing within the Liberal political family, as in
9801-551: The law of Sunday rest, and he intervened as a neutral mediator in the conflicts between labor unions and big companies. However, during his time in government, several large worker massacres such as the Tragic Week , La Forestral massacre , and the Firing Squad Executions of Patagonia occurred, with thousands of workers killed. The historian Halperín Donghi explains that the radical governments resolved
9922-474: The legality of the parliamentary republic. The Radicals were not yet a political party as they sat together in parliament out of kinship, but they possessed minimal organisation outside of parliament. The first half of the Third Republic saw several events that caused them to fear a far-right takeover of parliament that might end democracy, as Louis-Napoléon had: Marshall Mac-Mahon 's self-coup in 1876,
10043-618: The local Radical committees into an elector party: the Radical-Socialist Party , the first major modern political party in French history. Intellectuals played a powerful role. A major spokesman of radicalism was Émile Chartier (1868–1951), who wrote under the pseudonym "Alain." He was a leading theorist of radicalism, and his influence extended through the Third and Fourth Republics. He stressed individualism, seeking to defend
10164-426: The main body of liberals, pursued a radical-democratic parliamentary republic through separatism and insurrection. This does not mean that all radical parties were formed by left-wing liberals. In French political literature, it is normal to make a clear separation between Radicalism as a distinct political force to the left of Liberalism but to the right of Socialism. Over time, as new left-wing parties formed to address
10285-493: The military . Especially during the 1970s and 1980s, it was perceived as a strong advocate for human rights . The UCR had different fractures, conformations, incarnations and factions, through which the party ruled the country seven times with the presidencies of Hipólito Yrigoyen (1916-1922 and 1928-1930), Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear (1922-1928), Arturo Frondizi (1958-1962), Arturo Illia (1963-1966), Raúl Alfonsín (1983-1989) and Fernando de la Rúa (1999-2001). After 2001,
10406-622: The national UCR leadership, substantial elements backed other candidates, notably the Radicales K . Cobos was elected vice president as the running mate of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner through the Plural Consensus alliance, and several Radicals were elected to Congress as part of the Kirchners' Front for Victory faction. The official UCR ranks in Congress were reduced to 30 in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies and 10 in
10527-519: The new social issues, the right wing of the Radicals would splinter off in disagreement with the main Radical family and became absorbed as the left wing of the Liberal family—rather than the other way around, as in Britain and Belgium. The distinction between Radicals and Liberals was made clear by the two mid-20th-century attempts to create an international for centrist democratic parties. In 1923–24,
10648-512: The party has been particularly fragmented. As the Justicialist Party led by Nestor and Cristina Kirchner moved to the left, the UCR aligned itself with anti-Peronist centre-right parties. From 2015 to 2023, the UCR was a member of the centre-right Cambiemos / Juntos por el Cambio coalition, along with Republican Proposal and Civic Coalition ARI , and supported Mauricio Macri in the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections. For
10769-495: The party is virtually "broken due to the stance of the leaders who support the alliance [with Kirchner]". Roberto Iglesias eventually resigned the presidency of the party in November 2006 due to differences with Lavagna, having reached the conclusion that an alliance with him would be a mistake, and joined Stolbizer's camp, maintaining that the party should look for its own candidate (the so-called Radicales R ). On 1 December 2006
10890-482: The party leaders had admitted that they reviewing requests of intervention against the provincial committees of Río Negro and Santiago del Estero . In Santa Fe , the UCR had teamed up with the Socialist Party to support Socialist candidate for governor Hermes Binner , in exchange for the vice-governorship, taken by the former governor Aldo Tessio 's daughter, the fiscal federal Griselda Tessio , winning
11011-472: The party's acceptance of De Gaulle's military coup and joined the small social-democratic Unified Socialist Party . A decade later, a second faction advocated maintaining an alliance with the Socialist-dominated coalition of the left; it broke away in 1972 to form the Radical Party of the Left , which maintains close ties to the Socialist Party. The remainder of the original Radical Party became
11132-828: The permission to negotiate with other political forces. This led to several months of talks with Lavagna. The continued dissidence of the Radicales K prompted the intervention of the UCR Provincial Committee of Mendoza on 1 November 2006, due to the public support of President Kirchner by Mendoza's governor, the Radical Julio Cobos . The measure was short-lived, as the Mendoza Province Electoral Justice overturned it three days later. Deputy and UCR National Committee Secretary General Margarita Stolbizer stated that
11253-524: The political-ideological identity of the party as humanist and center-left. He and his faction gave a progressive look to the party. On the conservative side of the party sat Ricardo Balbín . The party was particularly divided since the 1960s and again since the end of the 1990s. After Balbín's death, Fernando de la Rúa who gave a neoliberal and conservative tint to the party and who famously said that "we are radicals, not socialists", kept UCR conservatives active until he became president in 1999. During
11374-545: The politics of French Radicalism with credibility derived from members' activism in the French resistance . In the 1950s, Pierre Mendès-France attempted to rebuild the Radical Party as an alternative to both the Christian-democratic MRP , while also leading the opposition to Gaullism which he feared to be another attempt at a right-wing coup. During this period the Radicals frequently governed as part of
11495-464: The popular culture in favor of Yrigoyen. The UCR put an end to their electoral political abstention, and went to the parliamentary elections, without forming electoral alliances. For the first time in Argentina, they voted in a voting booth to guarantee a secret ballot . The predictable vote, the secret vote, and democracy. Before 1912, Argentina was using an electoral system in which votes were expressed verbally, or by ticket, in public place, and in
11616-529: The press . In 19th-century France, radicalism was originally the extreme left of the day, in contrast to the social-conservative liberalism of Moderate Republicans and Orléanist monarchists and the anti-parliamentarianism of the Legitimists and Bonapartists . Until the end of the century, radicals were not organised as a united political party, but they had rather become a significant force in parliament. In 1901, they consolidated their efforts by forming
11737-592: The problem of regional equality in Argentina, but as a consequence of this, they brought social inequalities to a higher level at the same time. This is because radicalism was lacking solutions for the people on the bottom of the social hierarchy, through systematically neglecting class differences. Radicalism, during the first government of Yrigoyen, was in the minority in Congress: In the Deputy Chamber 45 members were radicals and 70 opposers, while amongst
11858-693: The radical liberal movement during the Japanese Empire was not separated from socialism and anarchism unlike the West at that time. Kōtoku Shūsui was a representative Japanese radical liberal. After World War II, Japan's left-wing liberalism emerged as a "peace movement" and was largely led by the Japan Socialist Party . Since Japanese conservatism was influenced by Shintoism , Japan's radical liberalism and democratic socialism against it were influenced by Christianity . One of
11979-510: The reform. As a minority government, they had to accept radical amendments and Disraeli's Reform Act 1867 almost doubled the electorate, giving the vote even to working men. The Radicals, having been strenuous in their efforts on behalf of the working classes, earned a deeply loyal following—British trade unionists from 1874 until 1892, upon being elected to Parliament, never considered themselves to be anything other than Radicals and were labeled Lib-Lab candidates. Radical trade unionists formed
12100-804: The right of women to vote or to be voters, it is incorrect to say that Argentina had a truly universal voting system until 1947. The UCR first won the elections to governor in Santa Fe (Manuel Menchaca), from which followed a trail of triumphs in the rest of the country. Among the radical leaders at this time were: José Camilo Crotto (CF), Leopoldo Melo (CF), Vicente Gallo (CF), Fernando Saguier (CF), Marcelo T. de Alvear (CF), José L. Cantilo (CF), Delfor del Valle (PBA), Horacio Oyhanarte (PBA), Rogelio Araya (SF), Rodolfo Lehmann (SF), Enrique Mosca (SF), Elpidio González (CBA), Pelagio Luna (LR), Miguel Laurencena (ER), José Néstor Lencinas (Mza), Federico Cantoni (SJ). The electoral triumphs of radicalism caused
12221-427: The right to demonstrate or hold public meetings. In Scotland , agitation over three years culminated in an attempted general strike and abortive workers' uprising crushed by government troops in the " Radical War " of 1820. Magistrates powers were increased to crush demonstrations by manufacturers and action by radical Luddites . To counter the established Church of England doctrine that the aristocratic social order
12342-503: The separation of powers was minimal; freedom of press and association were limited; the principle of universal suffrage was undermined by the fact that the largely Catholic south, despite possessing two-thirds of the population, received as many seats to the Estates-General (parliament) as the smaller Protestant north; and the Dutch authorities were suspected of forcing Protestantism onto Catholics. These concerns combined to produce
12463-477: The six points later adopted in the People's Charter (see Chartists below). The American Revolutionary War ended in humiliating defeat of a policy which King George III had fervently advocated and in March 1782 the King was forced to appoint an administration led by his opponents which sought to curb Royal patronage. In November 1783, he took his opportunity and used his influence in the House of Lords to defeat
12584-439: The smaller, more leftist FREPASO. The party has subsequently declined markedly and its candidate for president in 2003, Leopoldo Moreau , gained just 2.34% of the vote, beaten by three Peronists and more seriously, by two former radicals, Ricardo López Murphy of Recrear and Elisa Carrió of ARI , who have leached members, support and profile from the UCR. Since Nestor Kirchner 's led peronist PJ switched into political left,
12705-555: The socially-conservative liberal republicanism of Léon Gambetta and Jules Ferry had drifted away from the ideals of the French Revolution, and that the Radicals were the true heirs to 1791. In 1881, they put forward their programme of broad social reforms: from then on, the tactic of the main Radical Party was to have 'no enemies to the left' of the Republic, allying with any group that sought social reform while accepting
12826-426: The struggle for the causes of the popular majorities. Raúl Alfonsín thought that radicalism advocated social democracy . He wanted to form a "broad popular, democratic, reformist and national movement"; to end privilege, authoritarianism and demagoguery and consolidate an authentic social democracy in the country. He also explained that Radicals do not define themselves, as European political parties usually do, on
12947-432: The support of public outcry, mass meetings of "political unions" and riots in some cities. This now enfranchised the middle classes, but failed to meet radical demands. The Whigs introduced reforming measures owing much to the ideas of the philosophic radicals, abolishing slavery and in 1834 introducing Malthusian Poor Law reforms which were bitterly opposed by "popular radicals" and writers like Thomas Carlyle . Following
13068-487: The time, when Argentina was ruled by an exclusive oligarchy and government power was allocated behind closed doors. The party unsuccessfully led an attempt to force the early departure of President Miguel Juárez Celman in the Revolution of the Park ( Revolución del Parque ). Eventually a compromise was reached with Juárez Celman's government. Hardliners who opposed this agreement founded the current UCR, led by Alem's nephew,
13189-733: The trends of the American radical movement was the Jacksonian democracy , which advocated political egalitarianism among white men. Radicalism was represented by the Radical Republicans , especially the Stalwarts, more commonly known as Radical Republican. A collection of abolitionist and democratic reformers, some of whom were fervent supporters of trade unionism and in opposition to wage labor such as Benjamin Wade. Later political expressions of classical Radicalism centered around
13310-607: The vague political grouping known as the Levellers, but with the English Restoration of the monarchy such ideas had been discredited. Although the Glorious Revolution of 1688 had increased parliamentary power with a constitutional monarchy and the union of the parliaments brought England and Scotland together, towards the end of the 18th century the monarch still had considerable influence over
13431-459: The votes (approximately 19% of the votes were blank ballots returned by Peronists owing to their party being banned). Although Argentina experienced during Illia's presidency one of the most successful periods of history in terms of economic performance, the president was ousted by the army in June 1966. Illia's peaceful and ordered style of governing — sometimes considered too "slow" and "boring" -
13552-500: The young and charismatic Hipólito Yrigoyen . In 1893 and 1905 , the party led unsuccessful revolutions to overthrow the government. With the introduction of free, fair and confidential voting in elections based on universal adult male suffrage in 1912, the Party managed to win the general elections of 1916, when Hipólito Yrigoyen became president. As well as backing more popular participation, UCR's platform included promises to tackle
13673-498: The young left-leaning former education minister Jean Zay , and the influential editorialist Maurice Sarraut (brother to the more famous Radical party leader Albert ), were assassinated by the regime's paramilitary police , while others, notably Jean Moulin , participated in the resistance movement to restore the Republic . The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance was established after World War II to combine
13794-522: Was a political movement representing the leftward flank of liberalism between the late 18th and early 20th century. Certain aspects of the movement were precursors to modern-day movements such as social liberalism , social democracy , civil libertarianism , and modern progressivism . This ideology is commonly referred to as "radicalism" but is sometimes referred to as radical liberalism , or classical radicalism , to distinguish it from radical politics . Its earliest beginnings are to be found during
13915-408: Was achieved in 1893 (though female suffrage would have to wait until 1919). After this Radicalism was a minor political force in Belgium, its role taken over by the emergence of a powerful social-democratic party . During the nineteenth century, the Radicals in France were the political group of the far-left, relative to the centre-left " opportunists " (Gambetta: conservative-liberal and republican),
14036-559: Was divinely ordained, radicals supported Lamarckian Evolutionism , a theme proclaimed by street corner agitators as well as some established scientists such as Robert Edmund Grant . Economic conditions improved after 1821 and the United Kingdom government made economic and criminal law improvements, abandoning policies of repression. In 1823, Jeremy Bentham co-founded the Westminster Review with James Mill as
14157-513: Was established, closer to the conservative-liberalism of the British and Belgian Liberal parties. This marked the end of Radicalism as an independent political force in Europe, though some countries such as France and Switzerland retained politically important Radical parties well into the 1950s–1960s. Many European parties that are nowadays categorised in the group of social-liberal parties have
14278-555: Was heavily criticized at the time. During the 1970s, Peronist government (1973–1976), the UCR was the second-most supported party, but this didn't actually grant the party the role of being the political opposition. In fact, the Peronist government's most important criticisms came from the same Peronist Party (now called Justicialist Party ). The UCR's leader in those times, Ricardo Balbín , saluted Peron's coffin (Perón had died on July 1, 1974, during his third mandate as president) with
14399-565: Was provided by "Philosophical radicals" who followed the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham and strongly supported parliamentary reform, but were generally hostile to the arguments and tactics of the "popular radicals". In Ireland, the United Irishmen movement took another direction, adding to the doctrine of a secular and parliamentary republic inspired by the American and French republican revolutions , another doctrine of
14520-474: Was signaling a transformative nationalist tendency, between that which emphasized the creation of the state-owned oil business YPF, the new rural laws, the fortification of the public railways, the Reform University, and a strongly autonomous political exterior for the greatest improvements. On the matter of labor, he propelled several laws for workers such as the law of the 8 hour work day and
14641-509: Was taken up by the middle class Anti-Corn Law League founded by Richard Cobden and John Bright in 1839 to oppose duties on imported grain which raised the price of food and so helped landowners at the expense of ordinary people. The parliamentary Radicals joined with the Whigs and anti-protectionist Tory Peelites to form the Liberal Party by 1859. Demand for parliamentary reform increased by 1864 with agitation from John Bright and
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