Mexican Democratic Party
Encyclopedia
The Mexican Democratic Party (Partido Demócrata Mexicano PDM in Spanish
) was an ultra-Catholic social conservative
political party in Mexico
that existed between 1979 and 1997.
wing of the right-wing Catholic and the clerical fascist
National Synarchist Union
(UNS), who fought openly against Anti-Catholic articles of the Constitution of 1917
, particularly in the states of Jalisco
, Aguascalientes
, Querétaro
, Guanajuato
and Michoacán
, the states in which the Cristero War
was fought from 1926 to 1929.
Whilst the UNS faded after the 1940s it continued as a local group and was boosted, along with a number of other opposition groups, by a series of electoral reforms during the 1970s that introduced an element of proportional representation
into the electoral system. As a result of these the UNS, the activities of which were largely confined to Guanajuato
, reconstituted as a political party under the name Mexican Democratic Party. The party was formed against a backdrop of renewed importance for the Catholic Church in Mexican society, with a growth in the influence of groups such as Opus Dei
whilst the opposition National Action Party
(PAN) self-identified as Catholic. The two parties differed however in that the PDM drew support from peasants whilst the PAN was firmly the province of the urban middle classes.
saw the PDM gain 10 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. They increased their representation to 12 seats in the 1982 election
. It was in the old UNS heartlands that the PDM obtained its greatest electoral presence, prevailing in several important municipalities like Lagos de Moreno
in Jalisco or the city of Guanajuato
.
the party started to lose support. In the Presidential Elections of 1994
, during which the party supported the candidature of Pablo Emilio Madero
and was renamed National Opposition Union (UNO) after having joined with several small conservative organizations, the party lost its registry. It again recovered it in 1996, but in the 1997 elections, it lost its registry again.
Many of their militants conformed in 1999 the new Social Alliance Party
, that did not obtain political presence in the country either.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) was an ultra-Catholic social conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
political party in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
that existed between 1979 and 1997.
Origins
The PDM had their origin in the Manuel Torres BuenoManuel Torres Bueno
Manuel Torres Bueno was a Mexican politician and jefe of the National Synarchist Union. He was aged 30 in 1943.A lawyer by profession, Torres Bueno abandoned his practice in December 1941 to take over as leader of the Union from Salvador Abascal, who had left to start a sinarquista colony in Baja...
wing of the right-wing Catholic and the clerical fascist
Clerical fascism
Clerical fascism is an ideological construct that combines the political and economic doctrines of fascism with theology or religious tradition...
National Synarchist Union
National Synarchist Union
The National Synarchist Union is a Mexican political organization. It was historically a movement of the Roman Catholic extreme right, in some ways akin to clerical fascism and falangism, violently opposed to the leftist and secularist policies of the revolutionary governments that ruled Mexico...
(UNS), who fought openly against Anti-Catholic articles of the Constitution of 1917
Constitution of Mexico
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, by a constitutional convention, during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constitutional Congress on February 5, 1917...
, particularly in the states of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes....
, Querétaro
Querétaro
Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
, Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
and Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, the states in which the Cristero War
Cristero War
The Cristero War of 1926 to 1929 was an uprising and counter-revolution against the Mexican government in power at that time. The rebellion was set off by the strict enforcement of the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and the expansion of further anti-clerical laws...
was fought from 1926 to 1929.
Whilst the UNS faded after the 1940s it continued as a local group and was boosted, along with a number of other opposition groups, by a series of electoral reforms during the 1970s that introduced an element of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
into the electoral system. As a result of these the UNS, the activities of which were largely confined to Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
, reconstituted as a political party under the name Mexican Democratic Party. The party was formed against a backdrop of renewed importance for the Catholic Church in Mexican society, with a growth in the influence of groups such as Opus Dei
Opus Dei
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
whilst the opposition National Action Party
National Action Party (Mexico)
The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
(PAN) self-identified as Catholic. The two parties differed however in that the PDM drew support from peasants whilst the PAN was firmly the province of the urban middle classes.
Electoral performance
The 1979 legislative electionsMexican legislative election, 1979
Legislative elections were held in Mexico on 1 July 1979. The Institutional Revolutionary Party won 296 of the 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Voter turnout was 49%.-Results:...
saw the PDM gain 10 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. They increased their representation to 12 seats in the 1982 election
Mexican general election, 1982
General elections were held in Mexico on 4 July 1982. The presidential elections were won by Miguel de la Madrid, who received 74.3% of the vote. In the Chamber of Deputies election, the Institutional Revolutionary Party won 299 of the 372 seats, as well as winning 63 of the 64 seats in the Senate...
. It was in the old UNS heartlands that the PDM obtained its greatest electoral presence, prevailing in several important municipalities like Lagos de Moreno
Lagos de Moreno
Lagos de Moreno is a city and its surrounding municipal area of the same name, located in the extreme northeastern part of the state of Jalisco in Mexico...
in Jalisco or the city of Guanajuato
Guanajuato, Guanajuato
Guanajuato is a city and municipality in central Mexico and the capital of the state of the same name. It is located in a narrow valley, which makes the streets of the city narrow and winding. Most are alleys that cars cannot pass through, and some are long sets of stairs up the mountainsides....
.
Decline
In the Presidential Elections of 1988Mexican general election, 1988
General elections were held in Mexico on July 6, 1988. The presidential elections were won by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who received 50.7% of the vote, the lowest for a winning candidate since direct elections were introduced for the presidency in 1917...
the party started to lose support. In the Presidential Elections of 1994
Mexican general election, 1994
General elections were held in Mexico on 21 August 1994. The presidential elections resulted in a victory for Ernesto Zedillo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, whilst the PRI won 300 of the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 95 of the 128 seats in the Senate...
, during which the party supported the candidature of Pablo Emilio Madero
Pablo Emilio Madero
Pablo Emilio Madero Belden was a Mexican politician. He was the 13th president of the National Action Party and former presidential candidate who represented both the PAN and the extinct Mexican Democratic Party .Pablo Emilio Madero...
and was renamed National Opposition Union (UNO) after having joined with several small conservative organizations, the party lost its registry. It again recovered it in 1996, but in the 1997 elections, it lost its registry again.
Many of their militants conformed in 1999 the new Social Alliance Party
Social Alliance Party
The Social Alliance Party was a political party in Mexico.The PAS was defined to itself as a humanist party and rejected to be fit in in the traditional spectrum of right, center or left, nevertheless was considered of right al to be its main one of precurors and to originate almost all its...
, that did not obtain political presence in the country either.
PDM candidates
- 1982: Ignacio González Golláz
- 1988Mexican general election, 1988General elections were held in Mexico on July 6, 1988. The presidential elections were won by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who received 50.7% of the vote, the lowest for a winning candidate since direct elections were introduced for the presidency in 1917...
: Gumersindo MagañaGumersindo MagañaGumersindo Magaña Negrete is a Mexican politician, former member of the right-wing and now dissolved Mexican Democratic Party , who represented his party in the 1988 presidential election... - 1994Mexican general election, 1994General elections were held in Mexico on 21 August 1994. The presidential elections resulted in a victory for Ernesto Zedillo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, whilst the PRI won 300 of the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 95 of the 128 seats in the Senate...
: Pablo Emilio MaderoPablo Emilio MaderoPablo Emilio Madero Belden was a Mexican politician. He was the 13th president of the National Action Party and former presidential candidate who represented both the PAN and the extinct Mexican Democratic Party .Pablo Emilio Madero...