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61-819: Its ideological origins date back to Guzmán's Guildist Movement , born out of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 1966, espousing the independence and depoliticization of intermediate bodies of civil society. The UDI is today a conservative political party with strong links to the Opus Dei , that opposes abortion in nearly all or all cases. UDI has for most of its history formed coalitions with National Renewal (RN) and other minor movements under different names such as; Participación y Progreso (1992), Unión por el Progreso de Chile (1993), Alliance for Chile (1999–2009, 2013), Coalition for Change (2009–2012) and Chile Vamos (2015–present). UDI

122-473: A Constitution draft to Pinochet and the Junta. A constitutional referendum , considered "highly irregular" and "fraudulent" by some observers, occurred on 11 September 1980, in which 67% of voters approved the new constitution . The Constitution took effect on 11 March 1981, establishing a "transition period." During this time, Pinochet would wield executive power and the Junta would hold legislative power for

183-468: A Rapa Nui folk song, "Iorana, Presidente" (Hello, President), the latter of which was composed by then 8-year-old Laura Alarcón Rapu . In its early stages the campaign put its focus on the economic success achieved by the government, but when this failed to appeal to viewers, the strategy followed was to introduce criticism of the No adverts and the publication of polls that showed massive support for Pinochet, and

244-444: A TV interview that he met with relatives of Disappeared Detainees, who saw the party as a serious and reliable institution, through which they could get some of the solutions that Socialist governments had not granted them. Of these numerous meetings, arose the document "Peace Now" ("La Paz Ahora"), which sought to give a sign of national reconciliation. Also in 2003, stressed the frictions and conflicts between RN and UDI, mainly due to

305-720: A common Parliament list. The UDI's option lost the 1989 presidential election , this time against the center-left Concertación 's leader, the Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin . In the 1989 parliamentary elections, the Independent Democratic Union obtained a 9.82% of votes in deputies (14 deputies out of 120) and 5.11% in the Senate (2 senators elected on 38). Jaime Guzmán won a seat as Senator for Western Santiago constituency. Although Guzman took third place with only 17% of

366-597: A dispute between the parties for the leadership within the Alliance for Chile, as well as personal disagreements between the presidents of both parties, Pablo Longueira and Sebastián Piñera . That is Joaquin Lavin, who was then leader of the Alliance for Chile and only presidential candidate, had suddenly and publicly call on both the resignation from their posts. In 2005, UDI selected Joaquín Lavín for presidential elections again, but National Renewal launched its own candidate,

427-400: A main role in the opposition against Bachelet's second administration in congress, stating disagreement and rejecting the main reforms on the tax system, change the electoral system, eliminating for-profit education, reforming labour laws, allowing same-sex marriage and decriminalizing abortion in the cases of rape, fetal inviability and in case of serious risk of the mother's life and health and

488-574: A moderate approach on social policy like maternity leave, taxes and civil unions for same-sex couples and directly opposing any kind of therapeutic abortion legalization. In the 2013 primaries the UDI candidate for the Alliance (Chile) was former economy minister Pablo Longueira in which he beat National Renewal opponent Andrés Allamand , however, Longueira had to resign amid the campaign due to his depression and personal issues. The replacement of Longueira

549-587: A new look of the programmes starting in the 18 September broadcast, with the new format almost identical to those of the No – a presenter, Hernán Serrano, introduced each topic, and more testimonies were added. Both sides called for massive rallies: on 22 September the No side started the March of Joy ( Marcha de la alegría ), which lasted 10 days and joined supporters from the northernmost and southernmost cities of Chile in Santiago. These rallies were often stopped by

610-558: A new political party: the Independent Democratic Union in 1989. UDI strongly supported Pinochet's remaining in power in the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite . After the "Yes" option was defeated and presidential elections were announced, the UDI joined National Renewal and formed the "Democracy and Progress" alliance ( Democracia y Progreso ). Hernan Büchi , the former Minister of Finances under Pinochet, ran for president for this alliance. The alliance also ran

671-429: A project change to the constitution. In 2015, the UDI formed a new centre-right coalition called Chile Vamos alongside National Renewal and Evópoli . During 2014 and 2015 the party faced a major crisis amid the controversies around the campaign funding and links with major holding corporate groups like Penta, Soquimich and Corpesca, the scandals had both political and judicial consequences, many leaders and members of

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732-534: A relatively new face, a moderate support for Augusto Pinochet and a proposal eminently pragmatic rather than dogmatic, took him to get the 47.51% of the votes against the Concertación candidate Ricardo Lagos on the first ballot, with a difference of about 30,000 votes (i.e., almost one vote per polling place). Finally, in January 2000, Lavín got 48.69% of the votes against 51.31% of Lagos in the second round. That

793-459: A thing under any circumstances, tearing up a document that would authorize Pinochet's emergency powers. The rest of the junta, consisting of Stange and Navy chief Admiral José Toribio Merino , followed this stance, arguing that Pinochet had already had his turn and lost. Without any support from the junta, Pinochet was forced to accept the result. The other junta members, who had preferred a civilian to run for president instead of Pinochet, regarded

854-551: The 2005 parliamentary elections , UDI maintained its status as largest party in Congress, electing 33 out of 120 deputies. During the government of Michelle Bachelet (2006–2010), UDI was the majority party in both houses of Congress and successfully fought the municipal election of 2008. At the internal level, in July 2008 was first presented two lists to lead the party: one headed by Juan Antonio Coloma and Victor Perez Varela (who had

915-559: The Archive of Chilean Elections ). Gremialismo Gremialismo , or guildism , is a social, political, and economic ideology, inspired in the Catholic social teachings that claims that every correct social order should base itself in intermediary societies between persons and the state, which are created and managed in freedom, and that the order should serve only the purposes for which they were created. In Chile , gremialismo

976-654: The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) such as Jaime Bellolio or Javier Macaya . It was during the university strikes of the 1960s when Jaime Guzmán , President of the Law Students Union at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile , who opposed the protests and strikes led by the Christian-democrats and left-wing students- gathered a group of students and founded the Movimiento Gremial (Guildist Movement) and ran for

1037-633: The 2001 elections, when it became the largest party in Chile, removing that title to the Christian Democrats. In 1998, when Pinochet was arrested in London, the UDI and National Renewal pressed the Frei government to return him to Chile. In 1999, Joaquín Lavín , the mayor of Las Condes and member of UDI, was proclaimed as the Alliance for Chile candidate for the presidential election. Even as

1098-517: The Carabineros or the secret police on claimed suspicion of possible attacks, or for no stated reason, and the demonstrators were attacked by armed pro-Yes supporters without the police taking any action. On 2 October the Yes campaign called for a huge rally in downtown Santiago. The rallies had different coverage by the news media, which struggled to show more Chileans standing for the Yes side than for

1159-553: The National Party and the Christian Democrats, to form the National Renewal party (RN), who managed briefly to unite all the right movements in the country. However, UDI members maintained their own identity in the new party, which caused a crisis in 1988, culminating in the resignation of all former UDI members to National Renewal. Allamand stayed in charge of National Renewal, while Jaime Guzman managed to register

1220-492: The National Renewal candidate for the same constituency, Miguel Otero. The Independent Democratic Union remained as a minor party in the early years of transition, compared with its ally National Renewal, but over the years managed to win preferences, match and surpass them. In subsequent elections, UDI began to grow noticeably: got 12.11% in a congressional election in 1993, a 14.45% in elections in 1997 and 25.19% in

1281-463: The Navy, Air Force, and Carabineros distanced themselves from Pinochet, expressing their wish for a civilian to represent the regime in the 1988 plebiscite. However, Pinochet imposed himself as the candidate. The plebiscite – as detailed in the 1980 Constitution – consisted of two choices: The campaign is regarded, along with the registration process, as one of the key factors that led to the victory of

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1342-443: The No campaign: superior in argumentation, superior in filming, superior in music. Its signature tune, with the slogan "La alegría ya viene" (Joy is coming) as its main element, was so catchy that even the Yes campaign creatives hummed it during their brainstorming sessions. The No side used a rainbow as its main symbol, with the intention of symbolising the plural views of the opposition (each member party had its own colour depicted in

1403-408: The No side in the plebiscite. For the first time in the history of Chile, both options were guaranteed free electoral advertising spaces —franjas—of 15 minutes each, late at night or early in the morning. (There were similar spaces in prime time, but only for the government). They were first broadcast on 5 September, at 11 pm, just one month before the referendum. In a short time the spots prepared by

1464-555: The No side were seen to be better, despite the Yes side creating a more elaborate campaign devised by an Argentinian advertising agency and with the assistance of the Chilean Armed Forces. The Minister of the Interior Sergio Fernández, one of the main coordinators of the official campaign, said: The (campaign) results were poor. In a few days nobody could ignore the evident technical superiority of

1525-480: The No spots. One advert featured a middle-aged woman describing her experience of being kidnapped and tortured after the 1973 coup, and advocating a no vote, followed by her son Carlos Caszely , one of Chile's top footballers of the 1970s and 1980s, and a critic of the Pinochet regime. The Yes campaign had two main goals: creating fear amongst voters by reminding them of the chaotic situation of Chile in 1973, with

1586-415: The No, and were considered to be too close to the Yes campaign. Voting eligibility extended to individuals aged 18 or older on election day, who were either Chilean citizens or foreigners with legal residency in Chile for a minimum of five years. Only those listed on the electoral roll were permitted to vote, although registration was not obligatory. Registered Chilean citizens were required to participate in

1647-513: The SJN's documents were reportedly destroyed by the dictatorship in 1988. 1988 Chilean national plebiscite A referendum on whether Augusto Pinochet , the head of a military dictatorship , should become president for eight years under resumed civilian rule was held in Chile on 5 October 1988. The "No" side won with 56% of the vote, marking the end of Pinochet's 16 + 1 ⁄ 2 -year rule. Democratic elections were held in 1989, leading to

1708-538: The State administration and give a consensual political solution to Inverlink case and MOP-Gate case , which affected the institutional stability of the Lagos administration. The result of this is the election finance law, high public management law and others. During this period, especially outstanding figure is the party president, Pablo Longueira . A milestone in the party's image came in 2003 when Longueira reported in

1769-436: The backing of the historical leaders of the party) and one by Jose Antonio Kast and Rodrigo Alvarez (supported mainly by the younger members). Coloma got 63% of member votes. Coloma's board immediately got down to the details of the upcoming 2008 Chilean municipal election , and just finished it, the preparations for next year's parliamentary and presidential election. In December 2008, the highest party leaders decided to forgo

1830-440: The capital. The Air Force chief, General Fernando Matthei , was the first member of the junta to publicly admit to the press, while entering La Moneda to meet Pinochet, that Pinochet had lost the plebiscite. In his final move, Pinochet summoned his junta to a meeting at La Moneda, during which he requested extraordinary powers to have the military seize the capital. General Matthei refused, stating that he would not agree to such

1891-426: The consequent coup d'état (a background blamed on supporters of the No side), and improving the general perception of Augusto Pinochet, regarded by the public as an arrogant and authoritarian leader. The spots included jingles with lyrics supportive of the Junta and songs that were close to promoting a cult of personality around Pinochet, such as the main campaign anthem, "Un horizonte de esperanza" (A Horizon of Hope) or

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1952-469: The countryside and peripheral neighbourhoods that would help extend its influence in the middle and lower classes. One of them was Simon Yévenes, UDI member assassinated by left-wing resistance fighters on April 2, 1986. On April 29, 1987, the Independent Democratic Union merged with other related movements such as National Union Movement, led by Andrés Allamand , and National Labour Front, led by Sergio Onofre Jarpa, plus some former members and supporters of

2013-399: The dictatorship. The SNJ was created by the advice of Jaime Guzmán and was an example of the dictatorship adopting gremialism. Some right-wing student union leaders like Andrés Allamand were skeptical to the attempts as they were moulded from above and gathered disparate figures such as Miguel Kast , Antonio Vodanovic and Jaime Guzmán. Allamand and other young right-wingers also resented

2074-455: The dominance of gremialism in the SNJ since they considered it to be a closed gremialist club. From 1975 to 1980, the SNJ arranged a series of ritualized acts in cerro Chacarillas  [ es ] reminiscent of Francoist Spain . The policy towards the sympathetic youth contrasted with the murder, surveillance, and forced disappearances that dissident youth faced from the regime. Most of

2135-659: The election of councilmen. Also, UDI is the second largest party by number of mayors in Chile (only one mayor less than Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Chile ). Sebastián Piñera , the candidate of the Coalition for Change , was elected President of the Republic of Chile on January 17, 2010, in runoff against Senator Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle . UDI and its territorial deployment was key to the Piñera's success. Meanwhile, in 2009 Chilean parliamentary election , UDI managed to remain

2196-408: The election of senators. Its bench is the largest obtained by a single party in Chile since 1990. UDI currently has 39 deputies and 8 senators. In the 2008 Chilean municipal election , UDI got 347 councilmen (16.16% of councilmen) by a vote of 15.11%, and obtained 58 mayors (16.81% of mayors) by a vote of 20.05%. That year, it was the largest party by elected councilmen and the most voted for party in

2257-564: The establishment of a new government in 1990. Army General Augusto Pinochet and leaders of the Air Force , Navy , and police force took power on 11 September 1973, in a coup d'état that deposed the democratically elected Socialist President Salvador Allende . Allende committed suicide as the presidential palace was being bombarded. A military junta – led by Pinochet, Air Force General Gustavo Leigh , Navy Admiral José Toribio Merino , and Carabinero Chief General César Mendoza –

2318-489: The fight against left-wing armed organizations which kept operating in Chile after the restoration of restricted democracy. On April 1, 1991, Guzmán was shot dead by members of the armed left-wing group Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front ( Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez ), after leaving his lecture of Constitutional Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He was replaced as senator by

2379-540: The junta functioned strictly as a legislative body until the return to democracy in 1990. On 24 September 1973, the junta set up a commission to draft a blueprint for a new constitution. By 5 October 1978, the commission had completed its work. Over the next two years, the proposal was studied by the Chilean Council of State, presided over by former president Jorge Alessandri . In July 1980, the Council submitted

2440-500: The largest party in the country and elected 40 deputies out of 120, representing the largest bank obtained by a single political party in Chile since 1990. In August 2010 they met for the second time the lists of Juan Antonio Coloma and Jose Antonio Kast to lead the party, again with a triumph for Coloma with more than 67% of the votes. Many members of UDI played a main role during the Piñera administration, among them were Joaquin Lavin in

2501-463: The millionaire businessman and former senator Sebastián Piñera . Attempts to choose a single candidate for the right-wing failed. Piñera got second in the election, and there was a runoff between him and the Concertación candidate, Michelle Bachelet . Lavín urged his supporters to vote for Piñera, whom he endorsed wholeheartedly. However, in the 2006 runoff, Piñera was defeated by Bachelet . In

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2562-436: The ministry of education where he faced the 2011–2013 Chilean student protests and the cause he had to resign in 2011, Pablo Longueira in the ministry of economy, Andres Chadwick in the ministry of interior and public security, Laurence Golborne in the ministry of mining. The party's influence in the government forced the Piñera administration to have a conservative shift on educational, economic and cultural issues, having

2623-464: The name Independent Democratic Union Movement (Movimiento Unión Demócrata Independiente). The emerging movement, a supporter of the military government, had (as opposed to the traditional right-wing political groups) a strong empathy with the lower classes, in order to seize from the Marxist left its traditional domain. Amid the growing economic crisis of the time, UDI engaged in empowering leaders in

2684-619: The next eight years. Before this period ended, a presidential candidate was to be proposed by the Commanders-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the Carabinero Chief General for the following eight-year term. The candidate would be ratified by registered voters in a national plebiscite. On August 30, 1988, Pinochet was declared the candidate. In the last years of the dictatorship, the commanders-in-chief of

2745-521: The option to offer the country a UDI presidential candidate and provided support for Piñera's candidacy in order to avoid a fifth consecutive Concertacion government. This decision was ratified later, unanimously by party members, August 22, 2009. In the 2009 Chilean parliamentary election , UDI held the largest plurality in the election of deputies, electing 40 deputies (one third of the House) with 23.04% (1,507,001 votes), and got 21.21% (369,594 votes) in

2806-546: The origins of the movement: One of the first measures of the military dictatorship that came to power though the 1973 coup d'etat was to set up the Secretaría Nacional de la Juventud (SNJ, National Youth Office), which was done on October 28, 1973, even before the Declaration of Principles of the junta made in March 1974. It was a way of mobilizing sympathetic elements of the civil society in support for

2867-438: The party, former ministers, senators, deputies were convicted under the scandals and the party suffered a major down in their approval ratings. Despite the scandals and the internal crisis of the party, the UDI became again the most voted party in the country during the 2016 Chilean municipal elections. The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Independent Democratic Union. (Information gathered from

2928-421: The rainbow) and, at the same time, the hope of a better Chile and a more prosperous future. Their campaign, directed by American and Chilean advertising men, combined both criticism (including testimony by victims of torture and relatives of disappeared people during the dictatorship) and optimism, highlighting that the No option did not mean returning to the socialist system of former president Salvador Allende, but

2989-550: The re-establishment of democracy. This idea was supported by the appearance of right-wing leaders standing for No. A popular jingle was composed, with the main slogan of the campaign, " Chile, la alegría ya viene " (Chile, joy is on its way), and both Chilean and international celebrities, such as Patricio Bañados (renowned journalist banned from TV by the Junta), Sting , Jane Fonda , Richard Dreyfuss , Sara Montiel , Robert Blake , Paloma San Basilio and Christopher Reeve starred in

3050-459: The result as Pinochet's personal defeat. Pinochet and opposition forces agreed to revise the 1980 Constitution . The 54 proposed amendments were approved by 91% of voters in a referendum on 30 July 1989 . Presidential and parliamentary elections took place as scheduled on 14 December 1989. The opposition candidate, Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin , won the election with 55% of the vote and took office on 11 March 1990. The newly elected Congress

3111-476: The university's Student Union (Federación de Estudiantes) election. The movement quickly became one of the most important in the Catholic University, and later won the presidency of the university's Student Union. Jaime Guzmán criticized liberal democracy and sought inspiration in authoritarian corporatism, proposing the principle of subsidiarity and to invigorate intermediate social movements, by

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3172-482: The vote, behind Christian Democrat Andrés Zaldívar and Party for Democracy leader Ricardo Lagos , the two main leaders of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy, the binomial system allowed Zaldívar's and his election and deferred Ricardo Lagos who got 30%. By 1990, Guzman was positioned as the leader of the opposition and was one of the harshest critics of the new democratic government, accusing it of softness in

3233-494: The voting process. In the wake of his electoral defeat, Pinochet attempted to implement a plan for an auto-coup. The results of the vote were delayed, and reporting of results ceased on election night. He sought to orchestrate chaos and violence in the streets to justify his power grab. However, the Carabinero police, led by General Director Rodolfo Stange , refused an order to lift the cordon against street demonstrations in

3294-545: The way that these were independent to develop their own specific purposes. Well into the government of Salvador Allende , some young members of the National Party and the Christian Democrats became part of the Gremialismo Movement of Jaime Guzmán. Guzmán supported a military coup against Allende's government, which happened shortly thereafter on September 11, 1973 ( see : Chilean coup of 1973 ). He

3355-428: Was Evelyn Matthei representing the party and the government coalition, in the first round she got the second place with a 25,03% of the votes, the right's second worst result since the return to democracy in 1990 so far, in the second round Michelle Bachelet defeated Matthei by a 25-point margin (62,17% vs 37,83%) being in relative terms the biggest margin of victory since 1994. The Independent Democratic Union played

3416-610: Was a close advisor of General Augusto Pinochet . Guzmán was later appointed a member of the Commission for the Study of the New Constitution, who worded the new constitution promulgated in 1980. After the 1982 economic crisis, which caused the temporary removal of the " Chicago Boys " from cabinet, Guzmán moved away from the government and decided to found the movement he desired, establishing it on September 24, 1983, under

3477-463: Was sworn in the same evening. The following day, the four drafted an official document suspending the 1925 constitution and Congress , establishing the Junta as the country's supreme authority. Pinochet was designated as its first president, and the four verbally agreed to rotate the office. Shortly after, the Junta formed an advisory committee, which Pinochet successfully staffed with Army officers loyal to himself. One of their initial recommendations

3538-508: Was the highest percentage of the vote received by any right-wing presidential candidate in the 20th century in Chile. During the first half of the presidential term of Ricardo Lagos (2000–2006), UDI established itself as a relevant political actor of the opposition. Proof of this are the results of UDI in the 2000 municipal elections, the parliamentary elections of 2001, and the Lagos-Longueira agreement of January 17, 2003 to modernize

3599-612: Was the largest political party in Congress between 2010 and 2014. The party has been part of the government coalition twice, from 2010 to 2014 and 2018 to 2022. The party has liberal-conservative and social-conservative factions. The social-conservative faction is characterised by its political work in poor sectors, while the liberal-conservative faction is characterised by its connections to Chile's business class, its links to think tanks such as Libertad y Desarrollo (LyD), and its training of young political leaders, often students from

3660-647: Was the main doctrine of the liberal-conservative movement that emerged in the second half of the 1960s and led the opposition to the University Reform of the Catholic University of Chile . Thus, it opposed the left and the center. The principal thinker of gremialism was a lawyer and professor who was later a Pinochet advisor, Jaime Guzmán . There has been a dispute on whether or not gremialismo thought has been influenced by Juan Vázquez de Mella . The gremialist Javier Leturia wrote about

3721-561: Was to discard the idea of a rotating presidency, arguing it would create too many administrative problems and lead to confusion. In March 1974, six months after the Junta's establishment, Pinochet verbally attacked the Christian Democratic Party , stating that there was no set timetable for a return to civilian rule. On 18 December 1974, Pinochet was declared the Supreme Leader of the nation. After that date,

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