Chile Political Parties And Organizations Essays -

Chile Political Parties And Organizations Taking a look at Chiles government and institutions it gives the idea that the average person is represented. Chilean people have a history of strong political ties and many private associations and organizations. This has been helpful in taking care that many interests and needs are expressed within the government. Perhaps even more helpful is the development of many different political parties, whom, for the most part represent many of these organizations and associations in the government. In order to evaluate these institutions a closer look must be taken at each to understand fully the amount of organization that is in place. In the 1990s Chile had a strong, ideological based multiparty system with a clear division between the parties of the right, center, and left. Traditionally the parties have national in scope penetrating into other more remote regions. Party affiliation had been had served as the organizing concept in many leadership contests in universities and private associations, such as labor unions and professional associations. Political tendencies are passed from generation to generation and constitute an important part of an individuals identity. By the middle of the twentieth century, each of Chiles political tendencies represented one-third of the electorate. The left was dominated by the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) and the Communist Party of Chile (Partido Communista de Chile), the right by the Liberal Party (PartidoLiberal) and the Conservative Party (Partido Conservador), and the center by the anticlerical Radical Party (Partido Radical) which was replaced as Chiles dominant party by the Christian Democratic Party (Partido Democrata Cristiano) in the 1960s. The Communist Party of Chile (PPCh) is the oldest and largest communist party in Latin America and one of the most important in the West. Tracing its origins to 1912, the party was officially founded in1922 as the successor to the Socialist Workers Party. It achieved congressional representation shortly thereafter and played a leading role in the development of the Chilean labor movement. Concern over the partys success at building a strong electoral base, combined with the onset of the Cold War, led to its being outlawed in 1948, a status it had to endure for almost a decade. However by midcentury it had become a genuine political subculture with its own symbols and organizations and the support of prominent artists and intellectuals. The PPChs strong stand against registration of voters and participation in elections alienated many of its own supporters and long-time militants who understood that most of the citizens supported a peaceful return to democracy. The dramatic failure of the PCChs strategy seriously undermined its credibility and contributed to the growing withdrawal from its ranks. The party was also hurt by the vast structural changes in Chilean society, the decline of traditional manufacturing and extractive industries and the weakening of the labor movement in particular. The collapse of the Soviet Union and its East European allies represented the final blow. The Socialist Party (PS), formally organized in 1933, had its origins in the incipiant labor movement and working-class parties of the earlier twentieth century. The Socialist Party was far more mixed than the PCCh, drawing support from the blue-collar workers a well as intellectuals and members of the middle-class. Throughout most of its history, the Socialist Party suffered from a large number of factions. Resulting from rivalries and fundamental disagreements between leaders advocating revolution and those willing to work within the system. The Socialist Partys greatest moment was the election of Salvador Allende to the presidency in 1970. Allende represented the moderate wing of a party that had veered sharply to the left. The Socialist Partys radical orientation contributed to continuous political tension as the president and the PCCh argues for a more gradual approach to change and the Socialists sought to press for immediate conquests for the middle class. Prior to the 1988 election, the Socialists launched the Party for Democracy (Partido por la Democracia--PPD) in an effort to provide a broad base of opposition to Pinochet. Led by Lagos, an economist and former university administrator, the PPD was supposed to be an instrumental party that would disappear after the defeat of Pinochet. But the party's success in capturing the imagination of many Chileans led Socialist and PPD leaders