Democratic Action (Venezuela): Difference between revisions

Democratic Action

Acción Democrática
Democratic Action Acción Democrática
President	Isabel Carmona de Serra [es] (de jure) ; Rubén Antonio Limas Telles (de facto)
General Secretary	Henry Ramos Allup (de jure); José Bernabé Gutiérrez (de facto)
Founder	Rómulo Betancourt
Founded	13 September 1941; 83 years ago
Headquarters	La Florida, Caracas, Venezuela
Ideology	Social democracy; Left-wing nationalism; Progressivism; Historical:; Socialism
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	Democratic Alliance; Unitary Platform
International affiliation	Socialist International
Regional affiliation	COPPPAL
Colors	White (official)
Seats in the National Assembly	11 / 277
Governors	1 / 23
State legislatures	17 / 237
Mayors	0 / 335
Website
	ademocratica.com
	Politics of Venezuela; Political parties; Elections;

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Democratic Action (Spanish: Acción Democrática, AD) is a Venezuelan social democratic and centre-left political party established in 1941. The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, leading the government during Venezuela's first democratic period (1945–1948). A decade of dictatorship under Marcos Pérez Jiménez followed, which saw AD excluded from power. With the advent of democracy in 1958, four Presidents of Venezuela came from Acción Democrática from the 1950s to the 1990s during the two-party period with COPEI.

Since 2000, the party's general secretary has been Henry Ramos Allup. In the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, AD backed the opposition electoral alliance Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) which managed to grasp a supermajority. AD won 26 constituency representatives out of 167 seats in the unicameral National Assembly, making it the second-largest party in opposition to Nicolás Maduro. In July 2018, AD left the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition.^[12]

History

Early years: 1931–1958

The party had a chaotic early history. The Agrupación Revolucionaria de Izquierda (ARDI) was founded in 1931 in Colombia by Rómulo Betancourt and other exile Venezuelans. In 1936 this became the Movimiento de Organización Venezolana (ORVE), which was then dissolved into the Partido Democrático Nacional (PDN). Finally, in 1941, after Isaías Medina Angarita legalized all political parties in Venezuela, Acción Democrática was founded by Betancourt and others. These included Rómulo Gallegos, Andrés Eloy Blanco, Luis Beltrán Prieto, Juan Oropeza, Luis Lander, Raúl Ramos Jiménez, Medardo Medina Febres, Enrique H. Marín, Rafael Padrón, Fernando Peñalver, Luis Augusto Dubuc, César Hernández, José V. Hernández and Ricardo Montilla. Gallegos was a highly prestigious writer, author of the iconic novel, Doña Bárbara (1929), while Eloy Blanco was a celebrated Venezuelan poet and witty humorist.

After the October 1945 revolution, Betancourt was President of Venezuela until Rómulo Gallegos won the 1947 election, generally believed to be the first free and fair elections in Venezuelan history. The party won a vast majority of seats in the municipal elections the following year. Gallegos governed until being overthrown in the 1948 Venezuelan coup d'état. The 1945–48 period is known as the trienio. Many of AD's founders and early members went into exile during the subsequent dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, and returned for the restoration of democracy in 1958.

Political dominance: 1958–1999

After the restoration of democracy, AD joined the 1958 Puntofijo Pact, initiating a forty-year period of two-party dominance by AD and COPEI. Betancourt won the 1958 election, and Raúl Leoni won the following 1963 elections. AD also won in 1973 (Carlos Andrés Pérez), 1983 (Jaime Lusinchi), and 1988 (Carlos Andrés Pérez again). From 1958 to 1999, AD's candidates only lost four out of nine presidential elections (two to COPEI, in 1968 and 1978, two to third-party candidates in 1993 and 1998), and one of those occurred during a major split in AD.

Splits

The 1968 presidential election was shaped by the internal split of Democratic Action, with a substantial leftist faction breaking away to form the Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo (MEP). The split was the result of Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa's victory in the 1967 AD primary election, only to see his nomination overturned by the party's reformist social democrat faction (led by Betancourt) in favor of Gonzalo Barrios, with the Betancourt faction considering Prieto too far left.^[13]

Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the Venezuelan Senate as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters.^[13] The result was that the 1968 election marked AD's first-ever electoral loss, when COPEI's Rafael Caldera won the Presidency with less than 30% of the vote, just ahead of AD's Barrios. Prieto Figueroa attained nearly 20%, attaining fourth place behind the Unión Republicana Democrática's Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas.^{[citation needed]}

An earlier split, in 1960, saw the Revolutionary Left Movement break away from AD. Its subsequent engagement in armed struggle against the government meant the split posed less of a partisan problem compared the later MEP split.^{[citation needed]}

Chávez/Maduro era: 1999–present

AD posters during a rally in support of RCTV in 2007

The Puntofijo Pact and AD-COPEI duopoly over Venezuelan politics collapsed in the early 1990s in the face of a severe economic and political crisis, culminating in the impeachment of AD member and President of Venezuela Carlos Andrés Pérez for corruption and the 1993 election of former COPEI leader Rafael Caldera on a National Convergence coalition platform. Caldera's failure to resolve the economic crisis created the political environment for the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez. In the 2000 elections for the new National Assembly of Venezuela, AD won 29 out of 165 seats; four additional seats were won by an AD-COPEI alliance. At the 2005 legislative elections Democratic Action staged an electoral boycott and consequently did not win any seats.^[14]

During the 2010 and 2015 elections, AD was part of the Democratic Unity Roundtable. In the 2015 elections where the Roundtable won the National Assembly in a 109-seat majority, AD won 25 seats. The Roundtable parties boycotted the 2017 elections to the Constituent Assembly and participated in an unofficial referendum against its formation.^[15] In July 2018, AD left the Democratic Unity Roundtable, citing "operative problems inside the organization" and difficulties in electing the new secretary general of the coalition.^[12]

Acción Democrática's Secretary General is Henry Ramos Allup. The trade union confederation CTV is closely linked to AD. AD is a member of the Socialist International,^[16] and a member of COPPPAL.^[17]

Venezuelan Presidents from AD

President	Dates in office	Form of entry	Occupation
Rómulo Betancourt	1945–1948	Coup d'état	Politician
Rómulo Gallegos	1948–1948	Direct elections	Writer / Novelist
Rómulo Betancourt	1959–1964	Direct elections	Politician
Raúl Leoni	1964–1969	Direct elections	Lawyer
Carlos Andrés Pérez	1974–1979	Direct elections	Politician
Jaime Lusinchi	1984–1989	Direct elections	Physician
Carlos Andrés Pérez	1989–1993	Direct elections	Politician
Ramón José Velásquez	1993–1994	Interim president	Historian

References

^ "Rubén Limas (AD-Gutiérrez): Una verdadera unidad nacional debe estar por encima de todo cálculo y de toda mezquindad…". El Informador Venezuela. 6 February 2021.
^ "AD de Ramos Allup no pactará con "usurpadores de su tarjeta"". El Universal. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
^ Nacional, El (16 June 2020). "TSJ suspendió directiva de AD y designó una mesa ad hoc presidida por Bernabé Gutiérrez". El Nacional.
^ "Is Social Democracy Possible in Latin America?". Retrieved 29 December 2021.
^ Lamb, Peter; Docherty, James C. (2006), Historical Dictionary or Socialism (Second ed.), Scarecrow Press, p. 100
^ "Partido Acción Democrática. Postulados doctrinarios | Nueva Sociedad". Nueva Sociedad | Democracia y política en América Latina. 1 January 1979. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
^ Rivas, Darlene (2002), Missionary Capitalist: Nelson Rockefeller in Venezuela, University of North Carolina Press, p. 108
^ Derham, Michael (2010), Politics in Venezuela: Explaining Hugo Chávez, Peter Lang, p. 155
^ "¿Qué es Acción Democrática? » Su Definición y Significado [2022]". Concepto de - Definición de (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2022.
^ "Venepress". Archived from the original on 30 March 2020.
^ Buckman, Robert T. (2012), The World Today Series, 2012: Latin America, Stryker-Post, p. 366
^ ^a ^b "Ramos Allup confirmó la salida de Acción Democrática de la MUD". El Nacional (in Spanish). 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b David L. Swanson, Paolo Mancini (1996), Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences, Greenwood Publishing Group. p244
^ "Opposition parties pull out of Venezuela elections". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
^ "Clashes as new body meets in Venezuela". BBC News. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
^ Socialist International MEMBER PARTIES of the SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL, accessed 10 June 2012
^ (in Spanish) COPPPAL, Partidos Miembros Archived 5 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 10 June 2012

External links

Official website

[1] "Rubén Limas (AD-Gutiérrez): Una verdadera unidad nacional debe estar por encima de todo cálculo y de toda mezquindad…". El Informador Venezuela. 6 February 2021.

[2] "AD de Ramos Allup no pactará con "usurpadores de su tarjeta"". El Universal. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.

[3] Nacional, El (16 June 2020). "TSJ suspendió directiva de AD y designó una mesa ad hoc presidida por Bernabé Gutiérrez". El Nacional.

[4] "Is Social Democracy Possible in Latin America?". Retrieved 29 December 2021.

[5] Lamb, Peter; Docherty, James C. (2006), Historical Dictionary or Socialism (Second ed.), Scarecrow Press, p. 100

[6] "Partido Acción Democrática. Postulados doctrinarios | Nueva Sociedad". Nueva Sociedad | Democracia y política en América Latina. 1 January 1979. Retrieved 29 December 2021.

[7] Rivas, Darlene (2002), Missionary Capitalist: Nelson Rockefeller in Venezuela, University of North Carolina Press, p. 108

[8] Derham, Michael (2010), Politics in Venezuela: Explaining Hugo Chávez, Peter Lang, p. 155

[9] "¿Qué es Acción Democrática? » Su Definición y Significado [2022]". Concepto de - Definición de (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2022.

[10] "Venepress". Archived from the original on 30 March 2020.

[11] Buckman, Robert T. (2012), The World Today Series, 2012: Latin America, Stryker-Post, p. 366

[:0-12] "Ramos Allup confirmó la salida de Acción Democrática de la MUD". El Nacional (in Spanish). 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.

[Swanson-13] David L. Swanson, Paolo Mancini (1996), Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences, Greenwood Publishing Group. p244

[14] "Opposition parties pull out of Venezuela elections". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

[15] "Clashes as new body meets in Venezuela". BBC News. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

[16] Socialist International MEMBER PARTIES of the SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL, accessed 10 June 2012

[17] (in Spanish) COPPPAL, Partidos Miembros Archived 5 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 10 June 2012

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|Political party in Venezuela}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
 {{Infobox political party
+| logo_size        = 200
-| colorcode = {{party color|Democratic Action}}
-| name = Democratic Action
+| colorcode        = {{party color|Democratic Action}}
+| name             = Democratic Action
-| native_name = Acción Democrática
-| logo = Acción Democrática.svg
+| native_name      = Acción Democrática
+| logo             = Acción Democrática.svg
-| president  = Rubén Antonio Limas Telles (de facto)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elinformadorvenezuela.com/lara/ruben-limas-ad-gutierrez-una-verdadera-unidad-nacional-debe-estar-por-encima-de-todo-calculo-y-de-toda-mezquindad/|title=Rubén Limas (AD-Gutiérrez): Una verdadera unidad nacional debe estar por encima de todo cálculo y de toda mezquindad…|date=6 February 2021|website=El Informador Venezuela}}</ref>
+| president        = {{ill|Isabel Carmona de Serra|es}} (de jure) <br> Rubén Antonio Limas Telles (de facto)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elinformadorvenezuela.com/lara/ruben-limas-ad-gutierrez-una-verdadera-unidad-nacional-debe-estar-por-encima-de-todo-calculo-y-de-toda-mezquindad/|title=Rubén Limas (AD-Gutiérrez): Una verdadera unidad nacional debe estar por encima de todo cálculo y de toda mezquindad…|date=6 February 2021|website=El Informador Venezuela}}</ref>
-| leader1_title =
-| leader1_name =
+| leader1_title    =
+| leader1_name     =
-| leader2_title = General Secretary
+| leader2_title    = General Secretary
-| leader2_name = [[Henry Ramos Allup]] (de jure)<ref>{{cite news |title=AD de Ramos Allup no pactará con "usurpadores de su tarjeta" |url=https://www.eluniversal.com/politica/106965/ad-de-ramos-allup-no-pactara-con-usurpadores-de-su-tarjeta |access-date=4 October 2021 |agency=El Universal |date=13 September 2021}}</ref><br>[[José Bernabé Gutiérrez]] (de facto)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/tsj-suspendio-directiva-de-ad-y-designo-una-mesa-ad-hoc-presidida-por-bernabe-gutierrez/|title=TSJ suspendió directiva de AD y designó una mesa ad hoc presidida por Bernabé Gutiérrez|first=El|last=Nacional|newspaper=El Nacional |date=16 June 2020}}</ref>
+| leader2_name     = [[Henry Ramos Allup]] (''de jure'')<ref>{{cite news |title=AD de Ramos Allup no pactará con "usurpadores de su tarjeta" |url=https://www.eluniversal.com/politica/106965/ad-de-ramos-allup-no-pactara-con-usurpadores-de-su-tarjeta |access-date=4 October 2021 |agency=El Universal |date=13 September 2021}}</ref><br>[[José Bernabé Gutiérrez]] (''de facto'')<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/tsj-suspendio-directiva-de-ad-y-designo-una-mesa-ad-hoc-presidida-por-bernabe-gutierrez/|title=TSJ suspendió directiva de AD y designó una mesa ad hoc presidida por Bernabé Gutiérrez|first=El|last=Nacional|newspaper=El Nacional |date=16 June 2020}}</ref>
-| founder = [[Rómulo Betancourt]]
+| founder          = [[Rómulo Betancourt]]
-| foundation = {{start date and age|df=y|1941|9|13}}
+| foundation       = {{start date and age|df=y|1941|9|13}}
-| headquarters = La Florida, [[Caracas]], [[Venezuela]]
+| headquarters     = La Florida, [[Caracas]], [[Venezuela]]
-| ideology = {{nowrap|[[Social democracy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238536276 |title=Is Social Democracy Possible in Latin America? |date= |accessdate=29 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first1=Peter |last1=Lamb |first2=James C. |last2=Docherty |title=Historical Dictionary or Socialism |edition=Second |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |page=100}}</ref><br />[[Left-wing nationalism]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=1979-01-01|title=Partido Acción Democrática. Postulados doctrinarios {{!}} Nueva Sociedad|url=https://nuso.org/articulo/partido-accion-democratica-postulados-doctrinarios/|access-date=2021-12-29|website=Nueva Sociedad {{!}} Democracia y política en América Latina}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Darlene |last=Rivas |title=Missionary Capitalist: Nelson Rockefeller in Venezuela |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2002 |page=108}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Michael |last=Derham |title=Politics in Venezuela: Explaining Hugo Chávez |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2010 |page=155}}</ref><br/>[[Progressivism]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=¿Qué es Acción Democrática? » Su Definición y Significado [2022] |url=https://conceptodefinicion.de/accion-democratica/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=Concepto de - Definición de |language=es}}</ref><br>'''Historical:'''<br/>[[Socialism]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://venepress.com/Pol%C3%ADtica/Cuatro-datos-sobre-la-historia-de-Accion-Democratica1536863499509 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330025807/https://venepress.com/Pol%25C3%25ADtica/Cuatro-datos-sobre-la-historia-de-Accion-Democratica1536863499509 |archive-date=30 March 2020 |title=Venepress}}</ref>}}
+| ideology         = {{nowrap|[[Social democracy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238536276 |title=Is Social Democracy Possible in Latin America? |date= |accessdate=29 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first1=Peter |last1=Lamb |first2=James C. |last2=Docherty |title=Historical Dictionary or Socialism |edition=Second |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |page=100}}</ref><br />[[Left-wing nationalism]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=1979-01-01|title=Partido Acción Democrática. Postulados doctrinarios {{!}} Nueva Sociedad|url=https://nuso.org/articulo/partido-accion-democratica-postulados-doctrinarios/|access-date=2021-12-29|website=Nueva Sociedad {{!}} Democracia y política en América Latina}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Darlene |last=Rivas |title=Missionary Capitalist: Nelson Rockefeller in Venezuela |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2002 |page=108}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Michael |last=Derham |title=Politics in Venezuela: Explaining Hugo Chávez |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2010 |page=155}}</ref><br/>[[Progressivism]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=¿Qué es Acción Democrática? » Su Definición y Significado [2022] |url=https://conceptodefinicion.de/accion-democratica/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=Concepto de - Definición de |language=es}}</ref><br>'''Historical:'''<br/>[[Socialism]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://venepress.com/Pol%C3%ADtica/Cuatro-datos-sobre-la-historia-de-Accion-Democratica1536863499509 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330025807/https://venepress.com/Pol%25C3%25ADtica/Cuatro-datos-sobre-la-historia-de-Accion-Democratica1536863499509 |archive-date=30 March 2020 |title=Venepress}}</ref>}}
-| position = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]]<ref>{{Citation |first=Robert T. |last=Buckman |title=The World Today Series, 2012: Latin America |publisher=Stryker-Post |year=2012 |page=366}}</ref>
+| position         = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]]<ref>{{Citation |first=Robert T. |last=Buckman |title=The World Today Series, 2012: Latin America |publisher=Stryker-Post |year=2012 |page=366}}</ref>
-| national = [[Democratic Alliance (Venezuela)|Democratic Alliance]]<br>[[Unitary Platform]]
+| national         = [[Democratic Alliance (Venezuela)|Democratic Alliance]]<br>[[Unitary Platform]]
-| international = [[Socialist International]]
+| international    = [[Socialist International]]
 | affiliation1_title = Regional affiliation
-| affiliation1 = [[COPPPAL]]
+| affiliation1     = [[COPPPAL]]
-| seats1_title = Seats in the [[National Assembly of Venezuela|National Assembly]]
+| seats1_title     = Seats in the [[National Assembly of Venezuela|National Assembly]]
-| seats1 = {{Composition bar|11|277|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
+| seats1           = {{Composition bar|11|277|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
-| seats2_title = [[List of Governors of States of Venezuela|Governors]]
+| seats2_title     = [[List of Governors of States of Venezuela|Governors]]
-| seats2 = {{Composition bar|1|23|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
+| seats2           = {{Composition bar|1|23|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
-| seats3_title = State legislatures
+| seats3_title     = State legislatures
-| seats3 = {{Composition bar|17|237|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
+| seats3           = {{Composition bar|17|237|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
-| seats4_title = Mayors
+| seats4_title     = Mayors
-| seats4 = {{Composition bar|0|335|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
+| seats4           = {{Composition bar|0|335|hex={{party color|Democratic Action}}}}
-| colors = {{Color box|#FFFFFF|border=darkgray}} [[White]] (official)
+| colors           = {{Color box|#FFFFFF|border=darkgray}} [[White]] (official)
-| website = {{URL|https://ademocratica.com/}}
+| website          = {{URL|https://ademocratica.com/}}
-| country = Venezuela
+| country          = Venezuela
 }}
-'''Democratic Action''' ({{lang-es|Acción Democrática}}, '''AD''') is a [[Venezuela]]n [[social democratic]] and [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] [[political party]] established in 1941.
+'''Democratic Action''' ({{langx|es|Acción Democrática}}, '''AD''') is a [[Venezuela]]n [[social democratic]] and [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] [[political party]] established in 1941. The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, leading the government during Venezuela's [[El Trienio Adeco|first democratic period]] (1945–1948). [[History of Venezuela (1948–1958)|A decade of dictatorship]] under [[Marcos Pérez Jiménez]] followed, which saw AD excluded from power. With the [[Republic of Venezuela|advent of democracy]] in 1958, four [[President of Venezuela|Presidents of Venezuela]] came from Acción Democrática from the 1950s to the 1990s during [[Puntofijo Pact|the two-party period]] with [[COPEI]].
+Since 2000, the party's general secretary has been [[Henry Ramos Allup]]. In the [[2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election]], AD backed the opposition electoral alliance [[Democratic Unity Roundtable]] (MUD) which managed to grasp a [[supermajority]]. AD won 26 constituency representatives out of 167 seats in the unicameral [[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]], making it the second-largest party in opposition to [[Nicolás Maduro]]. In July 2018, AD left the [[Democratic Unity Roundtable]] opposition coalition.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/politica/ramos-allup-confirmo-salida-accion-democratica-mud_242810|title=Ramos Allup confirmó la salida de Acción Democrática de la MUD|date=2018-07-05|work=[[El Nacional (Caracas)|El Nacional]]|access-date=2018-07-06|language=es}}</ref>
-The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, leading the government during Venezuela's [[El Trienio Adeco|first democratic period]] (1945–1948). [[History of Venezuela (1948–1958)|A decade of dictatorship]] under [[Marcos Pérez Jiménez]] followed, which saw AD excluded from power. With the [[Republic of Venezuela|advent of democracy]] in 1958, four [[President of Venezuela|Presidents of Venezuela]] came from Acción Democrática from the 1950s to the 1990s during [[Puntofijo Pact|the two-party period]] with [[COPEI]].
-In the 2015 [[2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election|legislative elections]] held on 6 December, AD backed the opposition electoral alliance [[Democratic Unity Roundtable]] (MUD) which managed to grasp a [[supermajority]]. AD won 26 constituency representatives out of 167 seats in the unicameral [[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]], making it the second-largest party in opposition to [[Nicolás Maduro]]. In July 2018, AD left the [[Democratic Unity Roundtable]] opposition coalition.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/politica/ramos-allup-confirmo-salida-accion-democratica-mud_242810|title=Ramos Allup confirmó la salida de Acción Democrática de la MUD|date=2018-07-05|work=[[El Nacional (Caracas)|El Nacional]]|access-date=2018-07-06|language=es}}</ref> The current General Secretary Of Democratic Action is [[Henry Ramos Allup]].
 == History ==
-===Early years: 1931—1958===
+=== Early years: 1931–1958 ===
 The party had a chaotic early history. The ''Agrupación Revolucionaria de Izquierda'' (ARDI) was founded in 1931 in Colombia by [[Rómulo Betancourt]] and other exile Venezuelans. In 1936 this became the ''Movimiento de Organización Venezolana'' (ORVE), which was then dissolved into the ''Partido Democrático Nacional'' (PDN). Finally, in 1941, after [[Isaías Medina Angarita]] legalized all political parties in Venezuela, Acción Democrática was founded by Betancourt and others. These included [[Rómulo Gallegos]], [[Andrés Eloy Blanco]], [[Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa|Luis Beltrán Prieto]], [[Juan Oropeza]], Luis Lander, Raúl Ramos Jiménez, Medardo Medina Febres, Enrique H. Marín, Rafael Padrón, [[Fernando Peñalver]], Luis Augusto Dubuc, César Hernández, José V. Hernández and Ricardo Montilla. Gallegos was a highly prestigious writer, author of the iconic novel, ''[[Doña Bárbara]]'' (1929), while Eloy Blanco was a celebrated Venezuelan poet and witty [[humorist]].
-After the [[1945 Venezuelan coup d'état|October 1945 revolution]], Betancourt was [[President of Venezuela]] until [[Rómulo Gallegos]] won the [[1947 Venezuelan presidential election|1947 election]] (generally believed to be the first free and fair elections in Venezuelan history). Gallegos governed until being overthrown in the [[1948 Venezuelan coup d'état]]. The 1945–48 period is known as the ''[[El Trienio Adeco|trienio]]''. Many of AD's founders and early members went into exile during the subsequent dictatorship of [[Marcos Pérez Jiménez]], and returned for the restoration of democracy in 1958.
+After the [[1945 Venezuelan coup d'état|October 1945 revolution]], Betancourt was [[President of Venezuela]] until [[Rómulo Gallegos]] won the [[1947 Venezuelan presidential election|1947 election]], generally believed to be the first free and fair elections in Venezuelan history. The party won a vast majority of seats in the [[1948 Venezuelan municipal elections|municipal elections]] the following year. Gallegos governed until being overthrown in the [[1948 Venezuelan coup d'état]]. The 1945–48 period is known as the ''[[El Trienio Adeco|trienio]]''. Many of AD's founders and early members went into exile during the subsequent dictatorship of [[Marcos Pérez Jiménez]], and returned for the restoration of democracy in 1958.
-===Political dominance: 1958—1999===
+=== Political dominance: 1958–1999 ===
 After the [[Republic of Venezuela|restoration of democracy]], AD joined the 1958 [[Puntofijo Pact]], initiating a forty-year period of [[Two-party system|two-party dominance]] by AD and [[COPEI]]. Betancourt won the [[1958 Venezuelan presidential election|1958 election]], and [[Raúl Leoni]] won the following [[1963 Venezuelan presidential election|1963 elections]]. AD also won [[1973 Venezuelan presidential election|in 1973]] ([[Carlos Andrés Pérez]]), [[1983 Venezuelan presidential election|1983]] ([[Jaime Lusinchi]]), and [[1988 Venezuelan presidential election|1988]] (Carlos Andrés Pérez again). From 1958 to 1999, AD's candidates only lost four out of nine presidential elections (two to COPEI, [[1968 Venezuelan presidential election|in 1968]] and [[1978 Venezuelan presidential election|1978]], two to third-party candidates in [[1993 Venezuelan presidential election|1993]] and [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|1998]]), and one of those occurred during a major split in AD.
 ====Splits====
-The [[1968 Venezuelan presidential election|1968 presidential election]] was shaped by the internal split of Democratic Action, with a substantial leftist faction breaking away to form the [[Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo]] (MEP). The split was the result of [[Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa]]'s victory in the 1967&nbsp;AD [[primary election]], only to see his nomination overturned by the party's [[reformist]] [[social democrat]] faction (led by Betancourt) in favor of [[Gonzalo Barrios (politician)|Gonzalo Barrios]], with the Betancourt faction considering Prieto too far left.<ref name="Swanson">David L. Swanson, Paolo Mancini (1996), ''Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences'', Greenwood Publishing Group. p244</ref> Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the [[Venezuelan Senate]] as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters.<ref name="Swanson" /> The result was that the 1968 election marked AD's first-ever electoral loss, when [[COPEI]]'s [[Rafael Caldera]] won the Presidency with less than 30% of the vote, just ahead of AD's Barrios. Prieto Figueroa attained nearly 20%, attaining fourth place behind the [[Unión Republicana Democrática]]'s [[Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas]].{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}
+The [[1968 Venezuelan presidential election|1968 presidential election]] was shaped by the internal split of Democratic Action, with a substantial leftist faction breaking away to form the [[Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo]] (MEP). The split was the result of [[Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa]]'s victory in the 1967&nbsp;AD [[Partisan primary|primary election]], only to see his nomination overturned by the party's [[reformist]] [[social democrat]] faction (led by Betancourt) in favor of [[Gonzalo Barrios (politician)|Gonzalo Barrios]], with the Betancourt faction considering Prieto too far left.<ref name="Swanson">David L. Swanson, Paolo Mancini (1996), ''Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences'', Greenwood Publishing Group. p244</ref>
+Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the [[Venezuelan Senate]] as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters.<ref name="Swanson" /> The result was that the 1968 election marked AD's first-ever electoral loss, when [[COPEI]]'s [[Rafael Caldera]] won the Presidency with less than 30% of the vote, just ahead of AD's Barrios. Prieto Figueroa attained nearly 20%, attaining fourth place behind the [[Unión Republicana Democrática]]'s [[Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas]].{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}
 An earlier split, in 1960, saw the [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Venezuela)|Revolutionary Left Movement]] break away from AD. Its subsequent engagement in armed struggle against the government meant the split posed less of a partisan problem compared the later MEP split.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}
-===Chávez/Maduro era: 1999—present===
+=== Chávez/Maduro era: 1999–present ===
-The Puntofijo Pact and AD-[[COPEI]] duopoly over Venezuelan politics collapsed in the early 1990s in the face of a severe economic and political crisis, culminating in the impeachment of AD member and [[President of Venezuela]] [[Carlos Andrés Pérez]] for corruption and the [[1993 Venezuelan presidential election|1993 election]] of former COPEI leader [[Rafael Caldera]] on a [[National Convergence]] coalition platform. Caldera's failure to resolve the economic crisis created the political environment for the [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|1998 election]] of [[Hugo Chávez]].
 [[File:ProtestosRCTV.jpg|thumb|200px|AD posters during a rally in support of [[RCTV]] in 2007]]
-In the [[2000 Venezuelan parliamentary election|2000 elections]] for the new [[National Assembly of Venezuela]], AD won 29 out of 165 seats; four additional seats were won by an AD-COPEI alliance. At the [[2005 Venezuelan parliamentary election|2005 legislative elections]] Democratic Action staged an electoral [[boycott]] and consequently did not win any seats.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/opposition-parties-pull-out-of-venezuela-elections-1.1171943|title=Opposition parties pull out of Venezuela elections|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en-US}}</ref>
+The Puntofijo Pact and AD-[[COPEI]] duopoly over Venezuelan politics collapsed in the early 1990s in the face of a severe economic and political crisis, culminating in the impeachment of AD member and [[President of Venezuela]] [[Carlos Andrés Pérez]] for corruption and the [[1993 Venezuelan presidential election|1993 election]] of former COPEI leader [[Rafael Caldera]] on a [[National Convergence]] coalition platform. Caldera's failure to resolve the economic crisis created the political environment for the [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|1998 election]] of [[Hugo Chávez]]. In the [[2000 Venezuelan parliamentary election|2000 elections]] for the new [[National Assembly of Venezuela]], AD won 29 out of 165 seats; four additional seats were won by an AD-COPEI alliance. At the [[2005 Venezuelan parliamentary election|2005 legislative elections]] Democratic Action staged an electoral [[boycott]] and consequently did not win any seats.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/opposition-parties-pull-out-of-venezuela-elections-1.1171943|title=Opposition parties pull out of Venezuela elections|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en-US}}</ref>
 During the 2010 and 2015 elections, AD was part of the [[Democratic Unity Roundtable]]. In the [[2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election|2015 elections]] where the Roundtable won the National Assembly in a 109-seat majority, AD won 25 seats. The Roundtable parties boycotted the [[2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election|2017 elections]] to the [[2017 Constituent National Assembly|Constituent Assembly]] and participated in an unofficial referendum against its formation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40829229|title=Clashes as new body meets in Venezuela|date=2017-08-05|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en-GB}}</ref> In July 2018, AD left the Democratic Unity Roundtable, citing "operative problems inside the organization" and difficulties in electing the new secretary general of the coalition.<ref name=":0" />
-The [[trade union]] confederation [[Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela|CTV]] is closely linked to AD. AD is a member of the [[Socialist International]],<ref>[[Socialist International]] [http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticlePageID=931 MEMBER PARTIES of the SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL], accessed 10 June 2012</ref> and a member of [[COPPPAL]].<ref>{{in lang|es}} [[COPPPAL]], [http://www.copppal.org.ar/institucional/partidos-miembros Partidos Miembros] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605101110/http://www.copppal.org.ar/institucional/partidos-miembros|date=5 June 2014}}, accessed 10 June 2012</ref>
+Acción Democrática's [[Secretary General]] is Henry Ramos Allup. The [[trade union]] confederation [[Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela|CTV]] is closely linked to AD. AD is a member of the [[Socialist International]],<ref>[[Socialist International]] [http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticlePageID=931 MEMBER PARTIES of the SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL], accessed 10 June 2012</ref> and a member of [[COPPPAL]].<ref>{{in lang|es}} [[COPPPAL]], [http://www.copppal.org.ar/institucional/partidos-miembros Partidos Miembros] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605101110/http://www.copppal.org.ar/institucional/partidos-miembros|date=5 June 2014}}, accessed 10 June 2012</ref>
-Acción Democrática's current [[Secretary General]] is Henry Ramos Allup.
 ==Venezuelan Presidents from AD==
@@ Line 73: / Line 70: @@
 |[[File:Rómulo Betancourt, 1946.JPG|50px]]||'''[[Rómulo Betancourt]]'''||1945–1948||Coup d'état||Politician
 |-
-|||'''[[Rómulo Gallegos]]'''||1948-1948||Direct elections||Writer / Novelist
+|||'''[[Rómulo Gallegos]]'''||1948–1948||Direct elections||Writer / Novelist
 |-
 |[[File:RB 1975.jpg|50px]]||'''[[Rómulo Betancourt]]'''||1959–1964||Direct elections||Politician
@@ Line 87: / Line 84: @@
 |[[File:Ramón J. Velásquez, 2009.jpg|50px]]||'''[[Ramón José Velásquez]]'''||1993–1994||Interim president||Historian
 |}
+==See also==
+* [[List of political parties in Venezuela]]
+* [[Interventions of political parties in Venezuela]]
 ==References==
@@ Line 104: / Line 105: @@
 [[Category:Political parties in Venezuela]]
 [[Category:Social democratic parties in Venezuela]]
+[[Category:Intervened political parties in Venezuela]]

v t e Political parties in Venezuela
National Assembly (277 seats)	Great Patriotic Pole (253) United Socialist Party of Venezuela 219 Fatherland for All 8 Tupamaro 7 We Are Venezuela Movement 5 PODEMOS 4 Alliance for Change 3 People's Electoral Movement 3 Authentic Renewal Organization 2 Venezuelan Popular Unity 2 Democratic Alliance (18) Democratic Action 11 Progressive Advance 3 Hope for Change 3 Copei 1 United Venezuela Alliance (2) Venezuela First 2 Popular Revolutionary Alternative (1) Communist Party of Venezuela 1
Extra-parliamentary	Agreement for Change Movement for Socialism Democratic Republican Union Marxist–Leninist Communist Party of Venezuela Red Flag Party Ecological Movement of Venezuela National Council of Venezuelan Indians National Convergence Citizen Force (es) Cambiemos Movimiento Ciudadano Justice First A New Era Popular Will Radical Cause Progressive Movement of Venezuela (es) Clear Accounts (es) Project Venezuela Come Venezuela Fearless People's Alliance Emergent People Republican Bicentennial Vanguard Humanist Popular Front
Portal:Politics List of political parties Politics of Venezuela

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