Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)

{{Other uses|Union of the Democratic Centre (disambiguation){{!}}Union of the Democratic Centre}}

{{Infobox political party

| logo = UCEDE Logo.png

| colorcode = {{party color|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1982|8}}

| ideology = {{Nowrap|Conservatism{{Cite news|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/a-los-91-anos-murio-alvaro-alsogaray-nid692635/|title=A los 91 años murió Alvaro Alsogaray - LA NACION|newspaper=La Nación}}
Economic liberalism{{Cite news|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/a-los-91-anos-murio-alvaro-alsogaray-nid692635/|title=A los 91 años murió Alvaro Alsogaray - LA NACION|newspaper=La Nación}}}}

| headquarters = Buenos Aires

| regional =

| international =

| website = {{URL|https://ucede.ar/}}

| country = Argentina

| native_name = Unión del Centro Democrático

| abbreviation = UCD, UCeDé

| president = Andrés Passamonti

| secretary_general = Luis Cendra

| leader2_title = Founder

| leader2_name = Álvaro Alsogaray

| youth_wing = Juventud UCeDé

| membership = {{decrease}} 18,390{{cite web|url=https://www.electoral.gob.ar/nuevo/paginas/datos/afiliacionesdatos.php|title=AFILIACIONES A LOS PARTIDOS POLITICOS|website=electoral.gob.ar|language=es|access-date=14 May 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.electoral.gov.ar/pdf/afiliados_1er_semestre_2016.pdf|website=electoral.gob.ar|language=es|title=Estadística de Afiliados|date=2016|access-date=14 May 2020}}

| membership_year = 2017

| position = Centre-right{{Citation |first=Kent |last=Eaton |title=Politicians and Economic Reform in New Democracies |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |year=2002 |page=134}} to right-wing{{Cite book|title=La nueva matriz política argentina|author=Carlos H. Acuña|publisher=Nueva Visión|pages=383|date=1 January 1995}}{{Citation |first1=William |last1=Ratliff |first2=Roger |last2=Fontaine |title=Changing Course: The Capitalist Revolution in Argentina |publisher=Hoover Press |year=1990 |page=23}}

| seats1_title = Chamber of Deputies

| seats1 = {{Composition bar|0|257|hex={{party color|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}}}

| seats2_title = Senate

| seats2 = {{Composition bar|0|72|hex={{party color|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}}}

| seats3_title = Buenos Aires Legislature

| seats3 = {{Composition bar|0|60|hex={{party color|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}}}

| colours = {{Color box|{{party color|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}|border=darkgray}}{{Color box|#FFFFFF|border=darkgray}} Blue, white

}}

The Union of the Democratic Centre ({{langx|es|Unión del Centro Democrático}}, UCD or UCeDé) is a centre-right to right-wing conservative and economically liberal political party in Argentina. It was founded in 1982 by Álvaro Alsogaray who unsuccessfully run in the 1983 and 1989 presidential elections, and represented the conservative elite, technocrats,{{Citation |first=David |last=Pion-Berlin |title=Through Corridors of Power: Institutions and Civil-military Relations in Argentina |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |year=1997 |page=66}} and classical liberals.{{Citation |first1=William |last1=Ratliff |first2=Roger |last2=Fontaine |title=Changing Course: The Capitalist Revolution in Argentina |publisher=Hoover Press |year=1990 |page=23}}

As of October 2020 the party doesn't count with legal recognition nationwide.{{cite web|url=https://www.electoral.gob.ar/nuevo/paginas/datos/partidosdatos.php|work=Cámara Nacional Electoral|title=Partidos vigentes|date=31 October 2020|access-date=21 November 2020|language=es}}

History

The leader of the party, Álvaro Alsogaray, was a national deputy for the City of Buenos Aires for sixteen consecutive years, between 1983 and 1999. In 1983 and 1989 he was a candidate for the presidency, and then appointed ad hoc presidential advisor to Carlos Menem.

By 1989, the UceDé had emerged as the third political force nationwide, after the traditional major parties: the Justicialist Party (PJ) and the Radical Civic Union (UCR). Carlos Menem, an exponent of the growing pro-market wing within the formerly Peronist PJ, won the election of 1989. UCeDé concluded an alliance with the Justicialist-led administration which had only a narrow majority in the Chamber of Deputies and gave important support to its policies of privatization and liberal economic reforms. Alsogaray, who had been an opponent of traditional Peronism, became the administration's chief policy advisor{{Citation |first1=William |last1=Ratliff |first2=Roger |last2=Fontaine |title=Changing Course: The Capitalist Revolution in Argentina |publisher=Hoover Press |year=1990 |page=35}} and his daughter María Julia secretary of natural resources and the main responsible for the privatization of the public telecommunications company ENTel. In the subsequent presidential election, the UCeDé endorsed Carlos Menem.

In 2007, UCeDe participated in the Union PRO centre-right alliance to dispute the governorship of the province of Buenos Aires, supporting the opposition formula Francisco de Narváez-Jorge Macri. Union PRO finished in third place, with 14.96% of the votes. The coalition would also last for the 2009 legislative elections, where the party also supported the candidacy of Francisco de Narváez as national deputy. Narvaez was 34% winner, beating former President Nestor Kirchner.

In 2011, he participated in the Federal Commitment Alliance supporting the presidential formula Alberto Rodríguez Saá-José María Vernet.

In March 2015, the UCeDé of the City of Buenos Aires established an electoral alliance with the Republican Proposal (PRO) and supported Horacio Rodríguez Larreta for Head of Government in the election of that same year. Later, the UCeDé of the Province of Buenos Aires decided to join the Cambiemos alliance and supported María Eugenia Vidal for Governor of Buenos Aires in the election of that same year. For many years, UCeDé supported the center-right Peronist, José Manuel de la Sota in the Province of Córdoba, but in 2015 he joined Juntos by Córdoba and won second place led by the radical Oscar Aguad.

For the 2019 presidential elections, he managed to reshape 5 districts necessary to obtain national status and decided to join the Frente Despertar, led by economist José Luis Espert, who finished in the last position with 1.5% of the votes.

Electoral performance

=President=

class=wikitable
rowspan=2\|Election year ! rowspan=2 colspan=2\|Candidate ! rowspan=2\|Coalition ! colspan=2\|1st round ! colspan=2\|2nd round ! rowspan=2\|Result
# of overall votes ! % of overall vote ! # of overall votes ! % of overall vote
1983 \| rowspan="2" \| Álvaro Alsogaray \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| National Centre Confederation \| 60,271 (7th) \| 0.40 \| colspan="2" {{N/A}} \| rowspan="2" \| {{N}} Defeated
1989 \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| Centre Alliance \| 1,093,398 (3rd) \| 23.04 \| colspan="2" {{N/A}}
1995 \| Carlos Menem \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| {{N/A}} \| 456,594{{efn\|Number reflects votes cast for the UCeDé list, not the overall votes cast for Carlos Menem.}} \| 2.62 \| colspan="2" {{N/A}} \| {{Y}} 1-R Elected
1999 \| Eduardo Duhalde \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| Justicialist Concertation for Change \| 562,674{{efn\|Number reflects votes cast for the UCeDé list, not the overall votes cast for Eduardo Duhalde.}} \| 2.97 \| colspan="2" {{N/A}} \| rowspan="4" \| {{N}} 1-R Defeated
2003 \| Carlos Menem \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| Front for Loyalty \| 4,741,202 (1st) \| 24.45 \| colspan="2" \| Withdrew candidacy
2007 \| rowspan="2" \| Alberto Rodríguez Saá \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| Justice, Unity and Liberty \| 1,459,174 (4th) \| 7.64 \| colspan="2" {{N/A}}
2011 \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| Federal Commitment \| 1,749,971 (4th) \| 7.80 \| colspan="2" {{N/A}}
2015 \| Mauricio Macri \| bgcolor={{party color\|Republican Proposal}}\| \| Cambiemos \| 8,601,063 (2nd) \| 34.15 \| 12,997,937 \| 51.34 \| {{Y}} 2-R Elected
2019 \| José Luis Espert \| bgcolor={{party color\|Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina)}}\| \| Frente Despertar \| 394,206 (6th) \| 1.47 \| colspan="2" {{N/A}} \| {{N}} 1-R Defeated

class=wikitable

rowspan=2|Election year

! rowspan=2 colspan=2|Candidate

! rowspan=2|Coalition

! colspan=2|1st round

! colspan=2|2nd round

! rowspan=2|Result

# of overall votes

! % of overall vote

! # of overall votes

! % of overall vote

1983