Democratic Party (Portugal)

The Democratic Party (Portuguese: Partido Democrático) is a Portuguese centre-left political party. It is officially known as the Portuguese Republican Party (Portuguese: Partido Republicano Português).
The party was formed in 1912 after the split of the right-wing Unionist faction and the centre-right Evolutionist faction from the original Portuguese Republican Party that had led the 1910 revolution. The remaining centre-left faction around Afonso Costa was labelled the Democratic Party by their opponents as a way of disputing their claim to legacy of the original party.
The Democratic Party quickly became the dominant political party of the First Republic, but their early successes were cut short with the onset of the Great War. The Democratic Party and the Evolutionist Party formed the "Sacred Union" to put aside political conflicts for the sake of the war. However, in December 1917 the coalition government was deposed by Sidónio Pais, a conservative military officer who soon established a dictatorship. He was assassinated in December 1918, and the Democratic Party soon reasserted its dominance over Portuguese politics. However, this event marked the last period of stability for the First Republic.
The Great War led to economic devastation that came amidst the rise of the militant labour movement and the revival of the monarchist movement. In early 1919 monarchists attempted to overthrow the republic. Although unsuccessful, it marked the emergence of a so-called "authoritarian" solution to the problems of the republic that quickly became popular in military circles. The Democratic Party was ineffective at curbing these issues, and the country was plagued by constant strikes and coup attempts. The party also found itself wracked by internal conflicts, leading to the split of the Republican Party of the Democratic Left and the Reformist Party. In 1926, the government was overthrown by a well organized military coup. An uprising in February 1927 restored the liberal republican government but with the intentional absence of the Democratic Party. The party would never reemerge again despite the issues faced by the new governments. Some of its members have supported the newly formed leftist republic in its opposition to the monarchists, while others have opposed it. However, the authoritarian measures of the party were not forgotten, and its legacy has been actively denounced by the radical left. Category:Portuguese political parties
Category:Liberal political parties