Nationalist Democratic Action
Encyclopedia
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Acción Democrática Nacionalista) is a right-wing political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
led by Jorge Quiroga
Jorge Quiroga
Jorge Fernando "Tuto" Quiroga Ramírez was President of Bolivia from August 7, 2001 to August 6, 2002. He is of Spanish descent.-Background and early life:...
. ADN was founded on March 23, 1979 by the military dictator Hugo Banzer
Hugo Banzer
Hugo Banzer Suárez was a politician, military general, dictator and President of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from August 22, 1971 to July 21, 1978, as a dictator; and then again from August 6, 1997 to August 7, 2001, as constitutional President.-Military and ideological...
after he stepped down from power. It later expanded to include the Revolutionary Left Party
Revolutionary Left Party (Bolivia)
The Revolutionary Left Party was a communist party in Bolivia. It was founded in May 1940 by Dr. José Antonio Arze and other Bolivian intellectuals.The PIR was sympathetic to the Communist International, but did not become an affiliate to the International...
(PIR) and a faction of the Bolivian Socialist Falange
Bolivian Socialist Falange
The Bolivian Socialist Falange was a Bolivian political party established in the year 1937. A right-wing party drawing inspiration from fascism, it was the country's second-largest party between approximately 1954 and 1974...
(FSB). As leader of the ADN, Banzer ran in the 1979, 1980, 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1997 presidential elections. He obtained third place in 1979 and 1980, and won a plurality of the 1985 vote, but, since he did not attain the 50% necessary for direct election, Congress (in accordance with the Bolivian Consititution) selected the chief executive. Its choice was the second-place finisher, Dr. Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro was a politician and president of Bolivia. He ran for president 8 times , winning in 1951, 1960, 1964, and 1985....
.
Banzer's party at that point opted for supporting the MNR
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement is a Bolivian political party, perhaps the most important in the country during the 20th century. At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won, in an alliance with the Free Bolivia Movement, 26.9% of the popular vote and 36 out of 130 seats in the...
in a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. Indeed, ADN would go on to claim authorship to some of the most important neoliberal economic reforms instituted by President Paz to curb galloping hyperinflation
Hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or out of control. While the real values of the specific economic items generally stay the same in terms of relatively stable foreign currencies, in hyperinflationary conditions the general price level within a specific economy increases...
, repress the ever-troublesome labor unions, and reduce the size of the government. Banzer finished second in the 1989 elections, but supported in Congress the third-place finisher, the left-leaning Jaime Paz Zamora
Jaime Paz Zamora
Jaime Paz Zamora was President of Bolivia from August 6, 1989 to August 6, 1993. He also served as Vice-President between 1982 and 1984.-Foundation of the MIR and alliance with Siles Zuazo:...
, who became President with ADN help. Again the party governed as the main support of a ruling coalition, this time under Paz Zamora. Banzer's ADN again finished second in 1993, this time to the MNR's Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada y Sánchez de Bustamante , familiarly known as "Goni", is a Bolivian politician, businessman, and former President of Bolivia. A lifelong member of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario , he is credited for using "shock therapy", the economic theory championed by then...
.
Finally, in 1997 Banzer Suárez achieved his dream of becoming constitutionally-elected President of Bolivia, at the age of 71. He was the first former dictator in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
's recent history to transition successfully to democratic politics and return to power by way of the ballot box. During his tenure, he launched, under the guidelines outlined by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a program to fight drug-trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
in Bolivia, which called for the eradication of coca
Coca eradication
Coca eradication is a controversial strategy strongly promoted by the United States government starting in 1961 as part of its "War on Drugs" to eliminate the cultivation of coca, a plant whose leaves are not only traditionally used by indigenous cultures but also, in modern society, in the...
, a controversial strategy. He also had some trouble with the unions, but nonetheless did his best to rule in a conciliatory and non-arbitrary manner. In 2001 he was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, and even though he had earned a five-year term (he had himself agitated to legally enlarge the presidential term) Banzer resigned on August 7, 2001. He was succeeded by his Vice-President, Jorge Quiroga
Jorge Quiroga
Jorge Fernando "Tuto" Quiroga Ramírez was President of Bolivia from August 7, 2001 to August 6, 2002. He is of Spanish descent.-Background and early life:...
. Banzer's health declined rapidly thereafter, and he died on May 5, 2002.
Quiroga then became leader and heir apparent of the ADN, but when he ran for President in the 2005 elections, he did so as the candidate for a new right-of-center coalition known as Social and Democratic Power (PODEMOS)
Social and Democratic Power
Podemos is the name of a right-of-center, pro-business Bolivian political party. It is a pseudo-acronym standing for 'Poder Democrático y Social' , but the word also means "We can."-Nationalist Democratic Action:...
, which included the bulk of Banzer's former ADN organization. His main opponent was the leftist Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
of the Movement Towards Socialism. Morales won the election and Quiroga finished a distant second place, receiving 28.6% of the vote. Currently, it appears that ADN has become a defunct former party, replaced by Quiroga's new PODEMOS organization, although its structures, ideology, and supporters remain basically the same.