Democratic Center (Colombia)

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Democratic Centre Centro Democrático
Leader	Álvaro Uribe
President	Nubia Stella Martínez
Founded	20 January 2013 (20 January 2013) (as a political movement) 15 July 2014 (15 July 2014) (as a political party)[1]
Split from	Colombian Liberal Party Social Party of National Unity
Headquarters	Calle 66 No. 7 – 59, Quinta Camacho, Bogotá
Youth wing	Juventudes Centro Democrático
Ideology	Social conservatism[2] Economic liberalism[3][4] Right-wing populism[5]
Political position	Centre-right[6][7] to right-wing[8][9]
Regional affiliation	Union of Latin American Parties[10]
European affiliation	European Conservatives and Reformists Party (regional partners)
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International[11]
Colors	Blue
Slogan	Mano firme, corazón grande (Strong hand, big heart)
Chamber of Representatives	32 / 172
Senate	19 / 108
Governors	4 / 32
Mayors	154 / 1,102
Website
www.centrodemocratico.com
Politics of Colombia Political parties Elections

Democratic Centre (identified electorally as Democratic Centre – Strong Hand, Big Heart; Spanish: Centro Democrático – Mano firme, corazón grande) is a conservative^[12] political party in Colombia founded in 2013 by Álvaro Uribe, former President of Colombia, former Vice President Francisco Santos Calderón and former Minister of Finance and Public Credit Óscar Iván Zuluaga.^[13] It is a self-described party of the centre, although in opinion groups it is often considered centre-right to right-wing.^[7] Iván Duque, the current President of Colombia, is a member of the party.

History[]

The party was founded in 2014. A key factor in this were the Government negotiations with FARC, the major extreme-left anti-government guerilla force in the Colombian armed conflict.^[14]

Although created as a decidedly right-wing party, its members now come from a wide range of political backgrounds, including former politicians of the right-wing Conservative Party, the center-right Social Party of National Unity, and from the left-wing Alternative Democratic Pole, such as Senator Everth Bustamante.^[15]

During the 2020 United States elections, Democratic Centre promoted Republican Party candidates in the United States, especially in Florida, sharing supported for President of the United States Donald Trump.^[16] The party's involvement with promoting political candidates in a foreign election drew controversy among some observers.^[16]

Electoral history[]

In the 2014 congressional elections, the Democratic Centre won 20 seats in the Senate and 19 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.

In the 2014 presidential election, the Democratic Centre chose former Senator and Finance Minister during the Uribe Administration Óscar Iván Zuluaga as its presidential nominee. Zuluaga won the first round, but subsequently lost the second round to incumbent President Santos.^[17]

Despite the second round loss, the electoral performance in both congressional and presidential elections provided the Democratic Centre with a platform to establish itself as the major opposition party in Colombia. The party has since taken steps to improve its political infrastructure given that it lagged in funding and party organisation compared to more traditional political parties.

Presidential elections[]

Legislative elections[]

References[]