Christian People's Party (Peru)
Encyclopedia
The Christian People's Party is a center-right and conservative political party based on Christian Democracy
. It was founded in 1966 by a group of Peruvian Christian Democracy (Democracia Social Cristiana) dissidents, led by Luis Bedoya Reyes
.
It is the third oldest active party in Peru, trailing to the Peruvian Aprista Party and Popular Action. In 2000 its inscription was renewed, and it became part of National Unity
, albeit not in a permanent basis.
Leaders of the party have included Mario Polar Ugarteche, Roberto Ramírez del Villar, Ernesto Alayza Grundy, Felipe Osterling Parodi, and Alberto Borea Odría.
party that defected by ideological motifs. While their former party supported a constitutional break to accelerate the reforms needed by the country, the founders of the PPC, led by Luis Bedoya Reyes
still believed in the constitutional order. Thus they retired from Democracia Cristiana and founded the new party.
staged a coup d'etat
against President Fernando Belaúnde Terry
, an ally of Luis Bedoya Reyes
. The PPC did not support the military regime and was one of its most fierce opponents, along with the Partido Aprista Peruano
(APRA). The latter was declared illegal.
called for elections for a Constituent Assembly
. The PPC attained the second place in the polls, after the APRA. Bedoya Reyes, widely preferred by the Assembly members to become its President, gave the position to the veteran APRA leader, Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre
.
During the elections, the PPC allied with the soon-to-be elected President Fernando Belaúnde Terry
, from Acción Popular. The PPC-Alianza Popular coalition gave Belaúnde the majority in the Senate and in the Deputies Chamber. The coalition also designated four PPC members as Ministers
, including its leader Bedoya Reyes
and Felipe Osterling Parodi.
. During Alan García's government, the PPC criticised the heterodox economic model designed by the APRA.
The PPC had only a few members in both chambers. Its most important representatives were Felipe Osterling Parodi in the Senate of Peru and Javier Bedoya
– son of the founder of the PPC – in the Chamber of Deputies
. When Alan García sought to take control of private banking, Luis Bedoya Reyes
and Lourdes Flores
rallied in the streets against the proposal. They were joined in the manifestations by the famous Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa
. The movement did stop the government from passing the polemical Law.
's Movimiento Libertad (Liberty Movement), forming the Frente Democrático (FREDEMO, Democratic Front), which launched Vargas Llosa as a candidate for the Presidency. Although he did not get elected, the coalition's participation in the Deputies Chamber was a success: it got 25 representatives, attaining the majority, including Javier Bedoya, one of the most voted deputies nationwide.
staged a self-coup, dissolving both Chambers of the Congress, neutralising the FREDEMO and the APRA.
Fujimori held polls to elect a Democratic Constituent Congress, where his party, Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoría, got an absolute majority. The PPC was divided between those who wanted to be part of the elections and those who did not want to. Amongst those who did not want to participate where Natale Amprimo
, Alberto Borea
and Alberto Andrade
, arguing that the PPC should not be part of a non-democratic process. In the other hand, Luis Bedoya Reyes
, Lourdes Flores
and Xavier Barrón contended that the PPC should present itself to guarantee democracy
in the Constituent Congress. The decision of being part of the elections led to the resignations of Amprimo, Borea and Andrade. The PPC was the second most-voted party, but it was far behind of Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoría.
as its candidate for President, but in the end she resigned to support Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
's candidacy. Fujimori won without a run-off and the PPC only got the seventh place in the elections for Congressmen .
When Alberto Fujimori wanted to run for a third period in the General Elections of 2000, he was strongly opposed by the PPC. Congressmen Xavier Barrón, Antero Flores Aráoz
and Lourdes Flores proposed a law project that gave way to a referendum
, where the people could decide whether Fujimori could participate in the elections. The Congress, controlled by Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoría did not let the Law pass. After the proposal of the law, the National Jury of Elections withdrew the PPC's inscription as a party, so it could not present candidates for the Congress. Because of that, Alejandro Toledo
's Perú Posible party decides to support the PPC, including Xavier Barrón and Antero Flores Aráoz as guests in its list for the Congress. Both them got elected as Congressmen.
's Valentín Paniagua
, the PPC recouped its inscription. It became part of a political coalition with Renovación Nacional
and Cambio Radical, named Unidad Nacional (National Unity). The alliance's candidate for President was Lourdes Flores
, who achieved the third place by a narrow margin.
In 2006 the Unidad Nacional coalition continued, maintaining Lourdes Flores
as its candidate. She did not pass to the round-off, again for a narrow margin, and again trailing behind Alan García, who would become Peru's President for a second time.
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
. It was founded in 1966 by a group of Peruvian Christian Democracy (Democracia Social Cristiana) dissidents, led by Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes was a Peruvian Christian Democrat and Christian People's Party politician in the late 1960s. He was the mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He is also a former Minister of Justice, member of the Peruvian Congress and ran for Peruvian president two times...
.
It is the third oldest active party in Peru, trailing to the Peruvian Aprista Party and Popular Action. In 2000 its inscription was renewed, and it became part of National Unity
National Unity (Peru)
National Unity was a Peruvian center-right, mainly Christian democratic electoral alliance.National Unity was founded in 2000 by Lourdes Flores Nano and was considered Peru's third largest party. The party participated in the 2001 presidential election, on 8 April 2001, when its candidate,...
, albeit not in a permanent basis.
Leaders of the party have included Mario Polar Ugarteche, Roberto Ramírez del Villar, Ernesto Alayza Grundy, Felipe Osterling Parodi, and Alberto Borea Odría.
Foundation
The party was founded on December 18, 1966 by a group of members of the Democracia CristianaChristian Democrat Party (Peru)
Christian Democrat Party , a political party in Peru that surged in 1956. Founded by Ernesto Alayza Grundy, Luis Bedoya Reyes, Mario Polar Ugarteche, Héctor Cornejo Chávez, Roberto Ramírez del Villar and others....
party that defected by ideological motifs. While their former party supported a constitutional break to accelerate the reforms needed by the country, the founders of the PPC, led by Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes was a Peruvian Christian Democrat and Christian People's Party politician in the late 1960s. He was the mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He is also a former Minister of Justice, member of the Peruvian Congress and ran for Peruvian president two times...
still believed in the constitutional order. Thus they retired from Democracia Cristiana and founded the new party.
Military dictatorship of Velasco
In 1968, General Juan Velasco AlvaradoJuan Velasco Alvarado
Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado was a left-leaning Peruvian General who ruled Peru from 1968 to 1975 under the title of "President of the Revolutionary Government."- Early life :...
staged a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
against President Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando Belaúnde Terry was President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms . Deposed by a military coup in 1968, he was re-elected in 1980 after eleven years of military rule...
, an ally of Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes was a Peruvian Christian Democrat and Christian People's Party politician in the late 1960s. He was the mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He is also a former Minister of Justice, member of the Peruvian Congress and ran for Peruvian president two times...
. The PPC did not support the military regime and was one of its most fierce opponents, along with the Partido Aprista Peruano
American Popular Revolutionary Alliance
The Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana is a centre-left Peruvian political party.At the legislative elections held on 9 April 2006, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and 36 out of 120 seats in the Congress of the Republic...
(APRA). The latter was declared illegal.
Constituent Assembly of 1978
In 1979 the government of General Francisco Morales BermúdezFrancisco Morales Bermúdez
Francisco Morales Bermúdez Cerruti is a Peruvian general who came to power in Peru in 1975 after deposing his predecessor, General Juan Velasco. His grandfather and all his original family were from the old Peruvian department of Tarapacá, which is now part of the Chilean territory...
called for elections for a Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
. The PPC attained the second place in the polls, after the APRA. Bedoya Reyes, widely preferred by the Assembly members to become its President, gave the position to the veteran APRA leader, Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre was a Peruvian political leader who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance political movement.-Life:Haya de la Torre was born in the northern Peruvian city of Trujillo...
.
General Elections of 1980
Luis Bedoya Reyes ran as the PPC's candidate for President in the General Elections of 1980, with Ernesto Alayza and Roberto Ramírez del Villar as First Vice-president and Second Vice-president. Despite Bedoya finishing in the third place, the PPC got six Senators elected, as well as some deputies.During the elections, the PPC allied with the soon-to-be elected President Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando Belaúnde Terry was President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms . Deposed by a military coup in 1968, he was re-elected in 1980 after eleven years of military rule...
, from Acción Popular. The PPC-Alianza Popular coalition gave Belaúnde the majority in the Senate and in the Deputies Chamber. The coalition also designated four PPC members as Ministers
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
, including its leader Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes was a Peruvian Christian Democrat and Christian People's Party politician in the late 1960s. He was the mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He is also a former Minister of Justice, member of the Peruvian Congress and ran for Peruvian president two times...
and Felipe Osterling Parodi.
General Elections of 1985
For the General Elections of 1985, the coalition with Acción Popular was finished, and thus, both parties presented separate candidates. Bedoya Reyes finished in third again, trailing behind Alfonso Barrantes LingánAlfonso Barrantes Lingán
Alfonso Barrantes Lingán was a Peruvian politician most active in the mid-1980s.-Mayor of Lima:Affiliated with the United Left Party, he was the mayor of Lima from 1984 to 1986...
. During Alan García's government, the PPC criticised the heterodox economic model designed by the APRA.
The PPC had only a few members in both chambers. Its most important representatives were Felipe Osterling Parodi in the Senate of Peru and Javier Bedoya
Javier Bedoya
Javier Bedoya de Vivanco is a Peruvian politician and a Congressman representing Lima.His father Luis Bedoya Reyes is the founder of the Christian People's Party and was Mayor of Lima, member of the Peruvian Congress and Minister of Justice, among others...
– son of the founder of the PPC – in the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
. When Alan García sought to take control of private banking, Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes was a Peruvian Christian Democrat and Christian People's Party politician in the late 1960s. He was the mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He is also a former Minister of Justice, member of the Peruvian Congress and ran for Peruvian president two times...
and Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano is a Peruvian politician and lawyer. She currently leads the Unidad Nacional ' alliance and the Partido Popular Cristiano ' in Peru, which is the most well-known right-of-center party of the country.-Biography:Lourdes Flores was born in Lima on 7 October 1959...
rallied in the streets against the proposal. They were joined in the manifestations by the famous Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
. The movement did stop the government from passing the polemical Law.
General Elections of 1990
In 1990 the PPC enters a liberal coalition with Acción Popular and Mario Vargas LlosaMario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
's Movimiento Libertad (Liberty Movement), forming the Frente Democrático (FREDEMO, Democratic Front), which launched Vargas Llosa as a candidate for the Presidency. Although he did not get elected, the coalition's participation in the Deputies Chamber was a success: it got 25 representatives, attaining the majority, including Javier Bedoya, one of the most voted deputies nationwide.
Democratic Constituent Congress of 1992
The PPC held the Presidency of the Senate under Felipe Osterling Parodi's leadership when, in 1992, Alberto FujimoriAlberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
staged a self-coup, dissolving both Chambers of the Congress, neutralising the FREDEMO and the APRA.
Fujimori held polls to elect a Democratic Constituent Congress, where his party, Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoría, got an absolute majority. The PPC was divided between those who wanted to be part of the elections and those who did not want to. Amongst those who did not want to participate where Natale Amprimo
Natale Amprimo
Natale Juan Amprimo Pla is a Peruvian politician. He is a Member of Congress for the period 2001-2006.He left Somos Perú, former Mayor of Lima Alberto Andrade's party, in 2004. He was Alianza para el Progreso's presidential candidate for the 2006 national election. He received 0.4% of the vote,...
, Alberto Borea
Alberto Borea
Alberto Borea Odría is a Peruvian lawyer and politician. He was Fuerza Democrática's presidential candidate for the 2006 national election.He was Deputy from 1985 to 1990 and Senator from 1990 to 1992, when Alberto Fujimori dissolved the parliament. Later that year he participated in a failed coup...
and Alberto Andrade
Alberto Andrade
Alberto Manuel Andrade Carmona was a Peruvian politician, born in Lima and mayor of that city from 1996 to 2002....
, arguing that the PPC should not be part of a non-democratic process. In the other hand, Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes
Luis Bedoya Reyes was a Peruvian Christian Democrat and Christian People's Party politician in the late 1960s. He was the mayor of Lima from 1964 to 1969. He is also a former Minister of Justice, member of the Peruvian Congress and ran for Peruvian president two times...
, Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano is a Peruvian politician and lawyer. She currently leads the Unidad Nacional ' alliance and the Partido Popular Cristiano ' in Peru, which is the most well-known right-of-center party of the country.-Biography:Lourdes Flores was born in Lima on 7 October 1959...
and Xavier Barrón contended that the PPC should present itself to guarantee democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
in the Constituent Congress. The decision of being part of the elections led to the resignations of Amprimo, Borea and Andrade. The PPC was the second most-voted party, but it was far behind of Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoría.
General Elections of 1995 and 2000
In the General Elections of 1995, the PPC nominated Lourdes FloresLourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano is a Peruvian politician and lawyer. She currently leads the Unidad Nacional ' alliance and the Partido Popular Cristiano ' in Peru, which is the most well-known right-of-center party of the country.-Biography:Lourdes Flores was born in Lima on 7 October 1959...
as its candidate for President, but in the end she resigned to support Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar y de la Guerra is a Peruvian diplomat who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1991. He studied in Colegio San Agustín of Lima, and then at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. In 1995, he ran unsuccessfully...
's candidacy. Fujimori won without a run-off and the PPC only got the seventh place in the elections for Congressmen .
When Alberto Fujimori wanted to run for a third period in the General Elections of 2000, he was strongly opposed by the PPC. Congressmen Xavier Barrón, Antero Flores Aráoz
Antero Flores Aráoz
Ántero Flores Aráoz Esparza is a Peruvian lawyer and politician. He is a leader of the Christian People's Party and a member of National Unity....
and Lourdes Flores proposed a law project that gave way to a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
, where the people could decide whether Fujimori could participate in the elections. The Congress, controlled by Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoría did not let the Law pass. After the proposal of the law, the National Jury of Elections withdrew the PPC's inscription as a party, so it could not present candidates for the Congress. Because of that, Alejandro Toledo
Alejandro Toledo
Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique is a politician who was President of Peru from 2001 to 2006. He was elected in April 2001, defeating former President Alan García...
's Perú Posible party decides to support the PPC, including Xavier Barrón and Antero Flores Aráoz as guests in its list for the Congress. Both them got elected as Congressmen.
General Elections of 2001 and 2006
In 2001, during the interim government of Acción PopularAcción Popular
Acción Popular may refer to:* Popular Action , a political party in El Salvador* Popular Action , a centrist and social liberal party* Popular Action , Spanish Roman Catholic political party from 1931 to 1937...
's Valentín Paniagua
Valentín Paniagua
Valentín Paniagua Corazao was a Peruvian politician and former Interim President of Peru. Paniagua was elected by the Peruvian Congress to serve as interim president of the country after Alberto Fujimori was ousted from office by Congress in November 2000.As Interim President, his main task was to...
, the PPC recouped its inscription. It became part of a political coalition with Renovación Nacional
National Renewal (Peru)
National Renewal , is a Christian democratic and right-leaning political party in Peru that was founded in 1992 in Lima by conservative politician Rafael Rey....
and Cambio Radical, named Unidad Nacional (National Unity). The alliance's candidate for President was Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano is a Peruvian politician and lawyer. She currently leads the Unidad Nacional ' alliance and the Partido Popular Cristiano ' in Peru, which is the most well-known right-of-center party of the country.-Biography:Lourdes Flores was born in Lima on 7 October 1959...
, who achieved the third place by a narrow margin.
In 2006 the Unidad Nacional coalition continued, maintaining Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Flores
Lourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano is a Peruvian politician and lawyer. She currently leads the Unidad Nacional ' alliance and the Partido Popular Cristiano ' in Peru, which is the most well-known right-of-center party of the country.-Biography:Lourdes Flores was born in Lima on 7 October 1959...
as its candidate. She did not pass to the round-off, again for a narrow margin, and again trailing behind Alan García, who would become Peru's President for a second time.