Independent Democratic Union
Political party in Chile / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Independent Democratic Union (Unión Demócrata Independiente, UDI) is a conservative[2] and right-wing[5] political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with Augusto Pinochet. Guzmán was a senator from 1990 until his murder by communist guerrillas on April 1, 1991.
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Independent Democratic Union Unión Demócrata Independiente | |
---|---|
Leader | Javier Macaya |
Secretary-General | María José Hoffmann |
Chief of Deputies | Gonzalo Ramírez |
Chief of Senators | Gustavo Sanhueza |
Founder | Jaime Guzmán |
Founded | September 24, 1983 |
Headquarters | Suecia 286, Providencia, Santiago de Chile |
Youth wing | Nuevas Generaciones UDI |
Membership (2023) | 34,121 [1] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Right-wing[A][5][6][7] |
National affiliation | Chile Vamos |
International affiliation | International Democracy Union[8] |
Regional affiliation | Union of Latin American Parties[9] |
Colours | Blue, White and Yellow |
Chamber of Deputies | 23 / 155 |
Senate | 9 / 43 |
Regional boards | 46 / 278 |
Mayors | 60 / 345 |
Communal Councils | 352 / 2,224 |
Party flag | |
Website | |
http://www.udi.cl/ | |
^ A: The party has also been described as centre-right[10] and far-right.[11] |
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.[12]
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 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[13] and social-conservative factions.[14][15] The social-conservative faction is characterised by its political work in poor sectors,[14] while the liberal-conservative faction is characterised by its connections to Chile’s business class,[14] its links to think tanks such as Libertad y Desarrollo (LyD),[15] and its training of young political leaders, often students from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC)[14] such as Jaime Bellolio or Javier Macaya.[14]