Union Party for the People
Union Party for the People Partido de la Unión por la Gente | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Dilian Francisca Toro |
| Leader | Juan Manuel Santos |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Split from | Colombian Liberal Party |
| Headquarters | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right[6][A] |
| National affiliation | Team for Colombia (2021–2022) |
| International affiliation | Liberal International (observer) |
| Colours | Orange |
| Chamber of Representatives | 15 / 188 |
| Senate | 10 / 108 |
| Governors | 4 / 32 |
| Mayors | 258 / 1,102 |
| Website | |
| www | |
^ A: It has been also positioned as centre-left[3] and centrist.[1] | |
| Part of a series on |
| Liberalism in Colombia |
|---|
 |
The Union Party for the People (Spanish: Partido de la Unión por la Gente), or Party of the U (Spanish: Partido de la U), is a liberal political party in Colombia. The Party is led by former president Juan Manuel Santos.
After supporting the presidencies of Álvaro Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos and Iván Duque, the party is currently part of the majority of left-wing president Gustavo Petro.[7]
History
[edit] | This section needs to be updated. (June 2019) |
The Party was formed in 2005, with the objective of uniting various congressional supporters of President Alvaro Uribe, also known as Uribistas, into one political party, and to provide a political platform for the 2006 Colombian presidential elections. Most of its members defected from the Colombian Liberal Party, yet it failed to unite all Uribistas: in particular the Radical Change (Cambio Radical) refused to join.[citation needed]
In 2006, the party took part in the parliamentary elections, in which it won 30 out of 166 deputies and 20 out of 100 senators. Three years later, more than half of the congressmen from the Radical Change Party changed their standing towards the Party of the U, which resulted in it becoming Colombia's largest political party.[citation needed]
For the 2010 presidential elections, Party of the U chose former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as a presidential candidate and Governor Angelino Garzon as a vice presidential candidate. Juan Manuel Santos was elected with 69% of the vote in the runoff. The Party also obtained 27 seats in the Senate in the 2010 congressional elections.
In 2012, the Uribistas and former President Alvaro Uribe along with Francisco Santos Calderon decided to form their own separate party, the Democratic Center. This was the result of constant intervention and criticism from former President Alvaro Uribe towards his presidential successor Juan Manuel Santos. The announcement of peace negotiations with the FARC and the Colombian Government was a partial factor that led to the fragmentation. Nevertheless, the party did not suffer high-level defections towards the Democratic Center. It came first in the Senate elections, followed in second place by the Democratic Center led by Alvaro Uribe who then became a Senator.[citation needed]
In 2014, President Juan Manuel Santos was re-elected for a second term, in a close race against former cabinet colleague and ex-Finance Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga of the Democratic Center.[8]
In 2021, political leaders from multiple parties formed a coalition called the Historic Pact for Colombia. After the election of President Gustavo Petro in 2022, Party of the U allied with the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.[9]
Ideological platform
[edit]The Programmatic Declaration (Declaración Programática) is the official ideological platform of the party.
- The Social Party of National Unity supports the development of the welfare state and recognises the family as the base of society.
- The Party supports the implementation of a market-based economy.
- It promotes globalisation, emphasising education, science, and technology as key pillars that can help Colombia succeed in a global market.
- The Party supports decentralisation and more autonomy of the regions. Currently, the Caribbean Region is the first to begin the process to obtain more autonomy.
- President Santos has also claimed that he supports Tony Blair's Third Way approach.[10]
Since 2012, the party has been an observer member of the Liberal International.[11]
Election results
[edit]Presidential elections
[edit]| Election Year | Candidate | First Round | Second Round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | |||
| 2006 | Supported Álvaro Uribe | 7,363,421 | 62.35 (#1) | Won | ||
| 2010 | Juan Manuel Santos | 6,802,043 | 46.68 (#1) | 9,028,943 | 69.13 (#1) | Won |
| 2014 | Juan Manuel Santos | 3,301,815 | 25.69 (#2) | 7,816,986 | 50.95 (#1) | Won |
| 2018 | Germán Vargas Lleras | 1,407,840 | 7.28 (#4) | Lost | ||
| 2022 | Federico Gutiérrez | 5,069,448 | 23.94 (#3) | Lost | ||
Legislative elections
[edit]| Election Year | House of Representatives | Senate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Seats | Votes | Percentage | Seats | |
| 2006 | 1,453,353 | 16.75 (#2) | 29 / 163 |
1,015,523 | 17.49 (#1) | 20 / 102 |
| 2010 | 2,469,489 | 26.11 (#1) | 48 / 162 |
2,804,123 | 25.84 (#1) | 28 / 102 |
| 2014 | 2,297,786 | 19.61 (#1) | 38 / 166 |
2,230,208 | 19.11 (#1) | 21 / 102 |
| 2018 | 1,840,481 | 12.74 (#4) | 25 / 166 |
1,853,054 | 12.80 (#5) | 14 / 102 |
| 2022 | 1,506,567 | 8.87 (#7) | 15 / 188 |
1,439,579 | 12.80 (#6) | 10 / 102 |
| 2026 | 1,043,537 | 5.55 (#5) | 11 / 161 |
1,554,812 | 7.98 (#6) | 9 / 103 |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Understanding Colombian Political Parties: Left, Right, Center, and Independent". colombiaone.com. May 31, 2026. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
The Party of the U, founded in 2005 by allies of former president Alvaro Uribe who later turned to Juan Manuel Santos, describes itself as a liberal and third-way party, meaning it tries to combine elements of left and right without fully committing to either.
- 1 2 "Colombia Political Players". PRS Group. November 20, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
Social National Unity Party: A conservative party that favors liberal economic policies, Partido de la U was the core of Uribe's legislative coalition during his second term and led the failed effort to clear the way for Uribe to pursue a third term in 2010.
- 1 2 Crowe, Darcy (June 21, 2010). "Colombia Elects Santos as President". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ↑ Crowe, Darcy (June 21, 2010). "Colombia Elects Santos as President". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ↑ Redacción Política (September 21, 2012). ""Colombia es un país de derechas"" (in Spanish). El Espectador. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ↑ [4][5]
- ↑ Osorio, Camila (July 20, 2022). "Gustavo Petro logra a última hora la mayoría en el Congreso". El País (in Spanish).
- ↑ "Santos re-elected in Colombian poll". BBC News. June 16, 2014.
- ↑ Zelik, Raul (August 31, 2023). "In Government, but not in Control - Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung". www.rosalux.de. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
- ↑ Crowe, Darcy (June 21, 2010). "Colombia Elects Santos as President". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ↑ Partido de la U – Colombia Archived December 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Liberal International: Observer members. Retrieved on March 2, 2013.
