El Partido Por La Democracia

Abstract

A new center-left political party has emerged in Chile during the country's recent return to democratic government: the Party For Democracy (el Partido Por la Democracia - PPD). This report examines the PPD from the perspective of (1) changing voter demands and (2) the maneuverings and necessities of party elites. It concludes that the PPD's emergence resulted from increasing interest among Chileans for new types of leftist discourse - Ronald Inglehart's postmaterialist issues - and consensus-orientated leftist politics. Equally important, however, the PPD is the product of an elite rejection of Chile's traditional party cultures, which impeded individual leaders' freedom, access to power, and rapid adaptation to new electoral realities.