Independent Democratic Union

Not to be confused with international alliance of centre-right political parties, the International Democracy Union (IDU).
Independent Democratic Union
Unión Demócrata Independiente
LeaderJavier Macaya
Secretary-GeneralMaría José Hoffmann
Chief of DeputiesGonzalo Ramírez
Chief of SenatorsGustavo Sanhueza
FounderJaime Guzmán
FoundedSeptember 24, 1983
HeadquartersSuecia 286, Providencia, Santiago de Chile
Youth wingNuevas Generaciones UDI
Membership (2023)34,121 [1]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[A][5][6][7]
National affiliationChile Vamos
International affiliationInternational Democracy Union[8]
Regional affiliationUnion of Latin American Parties[9]
ColoursBlue, 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]

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.

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]

  1. ^ "Total de afiliados a partidos políticos – Servicio Electoral de Chile".
  2. ^ a b Middlebrook, Kevin J. (2000), Conservative parties, the right, and democracy in Latin America, JHU Press, p. 34, ISBN 9780801863868, retrieved 11 January 2012
  3. ^ a b c Kirby, Peadar (2003), Introduction to Latin America: Twenty-first century challenges, SAGE, p. 157, ISBN 9780761973737, retrieved 11 January 2012
  4. ^ Middlebrook, Kevin J. (2000), "Conservative parties, the right, and democracy in Latin America", JHU Press, p. 34, ISBN 9780801863868, retrieved January 11, 2012
  5. ^ a b Middlebrook, Kevin J. (2000), Conservative parties, the right, and democracy in Latin America, JHU Press, p. 54, ISBN 9780801863868, retrieved 11 January 2012
  6. ^ Nilsson, Martin (2009), "The Left in Government", Latin American Democracy: Emerging Reality or Endangered Species?, Taylor & Francis, p. 274, ISBN 9780203884188, retrieved 11 January 2012
  7. ^ "Chile prosecutor seeks to investigate claims of police torture of protesters". Reuters. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2020. Vandals also attacked the offices of the right-wing Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party several blocks from the Costanera center.
  8. ^ "Members | International Democracy Union". 1 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Partidos Miembros". Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  10. ^ Alvántara Sáez, Manuel; Freidenberg, Flavia (January 2001), Partidos políticos de América Latina. Cono Sur, Universidad de Salamanca, ISBN 978-84-7800-836-0
  11. ^ "As Protests Rock Chile, the People Consider Rewriting Pinochet's Constitution". The New Yorker. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020. The amendment passed, and, nine days later, after teaching a class on constitutional law at the Catholic University, Guzmán was driving to the offices of the far-right Independent Democratic Union, a party he founded after drafting the constitution, when two men reportedly belonging to a left-wing guerrilla group approached his car and shot him in the chest.
  12. ^ "Chilean TV channel 13 news UDI against abortion". 18 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Jovino Novoa: La influyente trayectoria del hombre que tomó las riendas de la UDI tras el asesinato de Guzmán". Ex-Ante (in Spanish). 1 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Ex jefa de prensa denunció "machismo, clasismo y racismo" en la UDI" (in Spanish). Radio Cooperativa. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  15. ^ a b Ganora, Emmanuel (1 June 2021). "Cinco episodios en la ruta de Jovino Novoa: el ocaso de un histórico de la UDI". The Clinic (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2021.