View source for Alternative Democratic Pole

{{Short description|Colombian political party}}
{{Expand Spanish|topic=gov|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox political party
| country          = Colombia
| name             = Alternative Democratic Pole
| native_name      = Polo Democrático Alternativo
| colorcode        = yellow
| logo             = PDA Logo.svg
| logo_size        = 200px
| youth_wing       = ''Polo Jóven''
| president        = [[Alexander López Maya]]
| leader1_title    = Senate leader
| leader1_name     = [[Iván Cepeda|Iván Cepeda Castro]]
| foundation       = {{Start date and age|2005|12}}
| merger           = [[Independent Democratic Pole]]<br />Democratic Alternative
| ideology         = {{Nowrap|[[Social democracy]]<ref>{{Citation |first=Jennifer |last=Schirmer |title=A Norwegian-Supported Peace Building Project: Conversations among Security Forces, Former Guerillas, and Civil Society |work=Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War |agency=United States Institute of Peace |year=2009 |page=407}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=James F. |last=Rochlin |title=Social Forces and the Revolution in Military Affairs: The Cases of Colombia and Mexico |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2007 |page=90}}</ref><br />[[Democratic socialism]]<br>[[Progressivism]]<br />[[Protectionism]]}}<br>
[[Camilism]]
| position         = [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]<ref name="iwgia">{{Citation |first=Juan |last=Houghton |title=Colombia |work=The Indigenous World 2008 |publisher=International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) |year=2008 |page=136}}</ref><ref name="TayBotCri">{{Citation |first1=Steven L. |last1=Taylor |first2=Felipe |last2=Botero Jaramillo |first3=Brian F. |last3=Crisp |title=Precandidates, Candidates, and Presidents: Paths to the Colombian Presidency |work=Pathways to Power |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |year=2008 |page=291}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Mary |last=Roldán |title=End of Discussion: Violence, Participatory Democracy, and the Limits of Dissent in Colombia |work=Violent Democracies in Latin America |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2010 |page=64}}</ref><ref name="Hristov"/>
| colours          = {{color box|#FFFF00|border=darkgray}} [[Yellow]]
| headquarters     = [[Bogotá]], [[Colombia]]
| members          = 
| regional         = [[São Paulo Forum]]
| national         = [[Historic Pact for Colombia]] (since 2021)
| seats1_title     = [[Chamber of Representatives of Colombia|Chamber of Representatives]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|9|188|yellow}}
| seats2_title     = [[Senate of Colombia|Senate]]
| seats2           = {{Composition bar|6|108|yellow}}
| website          = [http://www.polodemocratico.net www.polodemocratico.net]
}}

The '''Alternative Democratic Pole''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Polo Democrático Alternativo'' or '''PDA''') is a [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]], [[Democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] and [[Camilism|camilist]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2016-03-01 |title=Camilo Torres, el héroe que perdimos |url=https://www.polodemocratico.net/camilo-torres-el-heroe-que-perdimos/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |language=es-CO}}</ref> [[list of political parties in Colombia|political party in Colombia]],<ref name="Rochlin">{{Citation |first=James F. |last=Rochlin |title=Social Forces and the Revolution in Military Affairs: The Cases of Colombia and Mexico |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2007 |pages=83}}</ref> active from 2005 to the present. In 2022 it was successful at the polls and formed the Government of Colombia.

It was founded as a political alliance of the [[Independent Democratic Pole]] (PDI) and the Democratic Alternative (AD) in December 2005. Both parties opposed the neoliberal economic program, securitization and militarization of Colombia under then-President [[Álvaro Uribe]].<ref name="Hristov">{{Citation |first=Jasmin |last=Hristov |title=Blood & Capital: The Paramilitarization of Colombia |publisher=Ohio University Press |year=2009 |page=144}}</ref> Subsequently, it was the only parliamentary party to declare opposition to the government of [[Juan Manuel Santos]], and then joined the opposition against the government of [[Ivan Duque]].

As of 2009, a considerable number of PDA politicians were still former guerrilla fighters who gave up armed struggle and demobilized during the late 1980s and early 1990s.<ref>{{Citation |first=Jennifer |last=Schirmer |title=A Norwegian-Supported Peace Building Project: Conversations among Security Forces, Former Guerillas, and Civil Society |work=Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War |agency=United States Institute of Peace |year=2009 |page=406}}</ref> And by 2012, a considerable part of PDA politicians including the former guerrilla fighters were more aligned with the [[Green Party (Colombia)|Green Party]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Diario|first1=El Espectador|title=El M19 está apoderándose del Partido Verde|url=http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/el-m19-esta-apoderandose-del-partido-verde-articulo-451103}}</ref> the [[Progressive Movement (Colombia)|Movimiento Progresistas]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Diario|first1=El Universal|title=Gustavo Petro renuncia a filas del Polo Democrático|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/2010/11/30/int_art_gustavo-petro-renunc_2122817}}</ref> or  [[Marcha Patriótica]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Revista|first1=Semana|title=Partido Comunista "sí está fuera del Polo": Comité Ejecutivo Nacional|url=http://www.semana.com/politica/articulo/partido-comunista-si-esta-fuera-del-polo-comite-ejecutivo-nacional/262995-3}}</ref> than the PDA.

==Political development==
The PDI and AD initially had their own pre-candidates for the 2006 presidential race. PDI had nominated [[Antonio Navarro Wolff|Antonio Navarro]] (former leader of [[19th of April Movement|M-19]]) and AD had nominated [[Carlos Gaviria]].

In a primary election held on March 12, 2006, Gaviria won the presidential nomination of the PDA.

In the simultaneous [[2006 Colombian parliamentary election|legislative elections of 2006]], the party won 9 out of 166 Deputies and 11 out of 100 senators.

At the [[2006 Colombian presidential election|presidential elections]] of 28 May 2006, [[Carlos Gaviria]] came second with 22.04% of the vote, 2,613,157 votes.<ref>National Registry of Civil State, results of the 2006 presidential election. http://www.registraduria.gov.co/resprelec2006/0528/index.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718023257/http://www.registraduria.gov.co/resprelec2006/0528/index.htm |date=2011-07-18 }}</ref> This was the highest ever result for a left-wing candidate in Colombia's history.<ref name="Rochlin"/> Thus, the party replaced the long-standing Liberal Party as the country's second force and main opposition party.<ref name="TayBotCri"/>

After the election, the PDA was successful in gaining the support of groups representing the indigenous movement affiliated with the coalition.<ref name="iwgia"/> The guerrilla group [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|National Liberation Army]] (ELN) (at its fourth national congress) commented favorably on the PDA's electoral performance and declared that political action should take precedence over armed struggle.<ref>{{Citation |first=León |last=Valencia |title=The ELN's Halting Moves toward Peace |work=Colombia: Building Peace in a Time of War |agency=United States Institute of Peace |year=2009 |page=99}}</ref> PDA's own founding doctrine repudiates armed guerilla politics: "We oppose war and the exercise of violence as means of political action".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Partido|first1=Polo Democrático Alternativo|title=Ideario de Unidad|url=http://www.polodemocratico.net/index.php/nuestro-partido/ideario-de-unidad|access-date=2015-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415161924/http://www.polodemocratico.net/index.php/nuestro-partido/ideario-de-unidad|archive-date=2015-04-15|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Later the PDA further consolidated its organization and gained support on a local level.<ref>{{Citation |first=Rex A. |last=Hudson |title=Colombia: A country study |edition=Fifth |publisher=Library of Congress Federal Research Division |year=2010 |page=xli}}</ref> In October 2007, the PDA's candidate, [[Samuel Moreno Rojas]] won the mayoral election in Colombia's capital [[Bogotá]].<ref name="xxvi">{{Citation |first=Rex A. |last=Hudson |title=Colombia: A country study |edition=Fifth |publisher=Library of Congress Federal Research Division |year=2010 |page=xxvi}}</ref>

In the [[2010 Colombian parliamentary election|2010 congressional election]], PDA's support declined. It won 7.8% of votes and 8 of 100 seats in the Senate, and 5.9% of the vote and 4 of 164 seats in the House of Representatives, demoting it to the sixth rank among parliamentary parties. Before the election, a faction of the PDA had split off and joined the [[Green Party (Colombia)|Green Party]].<ref>{{Citation |first=Harvey F. |last=Kline |title=Historical Dictionary of Colombia |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2012 |page=404}}</ref>

[[Clara López Obregón|Clara Lopez]] was the party's candidate for the [[2014 Colombian presidential election|2014 presidential election]];<ref>{{cite news |title=Clara López es la candidata a la Presidencia por el Polo Democrático |newspaper=El Tiempo |location=Bogotá, Colombia |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-12368988 |date=November 9, 2012 |access-date=March 1, 2014|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Clara López, candidata del Polo para presidenciales de 2014 |newspaper=El Espectador |location=Bogotá, Colombia |url=http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/clara-lopez-candidata-del-polo-presidenciales-de-2014-articulo-386158 |date=November 9, 2012 |access-date=March 1, 2014|language=es}}</ref> she placed fourth in the first round of the election, receiving 1,958,414 votes, representing 15.23%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Resolución No. 10368: Por la cual se establece el calendario Electoral para las elecciones de Presidente y Vicepresidente de la República (primera vuelta) para el período Constitucional 2014–2018 |url=http://www.registraduria.gov.co/IMG/pdf/res_10368.pdf |publisher=Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil |date=October 10, 2013 |access-date=March 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208161853/http://www.registraduria.gov.co/IMG/pdf/res_10368.pdf |archive-date=December 8, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

For the [[2022 Colombian presidential election|2022 presidential]] and [[2022 Colombian parliamentary election|parliamentary election]], the party joined forces with other left-wing and centre-left parties to form the [[Historic Pact for Colombia]] (Spanish PHxC) alliance, whose candidates [[Gustavo Petro]] and PDA member [[Francia Márquez]], were victorious in the second round of the presidential election, making them the first leftists to assume the Presidency and Vice-Presidency in Colombian history. In the parliamentary elections, PHxC candidates, including PDA members, won the most votes in both the Chamber of Representatives and Senatorial elections; in both chambers seats are awarded by [[Elections in Colombia|proportional representation]].

==Electoral history==

===Presidential elections===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Election year
! Candidate
! # votes
! % vote
! Result
! Note
|-
! [[2006 Colombian presidential election|2006]]
| [[Carlos Gaviria Díaz]]
| 2,609,412
| 22.04% (2nd)
| {{N}} Defeated
| 
|-
! [[2010 Colombian presidential election|2010]]
| [[Gustavo Petro]]
| 1,331,267
| 9.14% (4th) 
| {{N}} Defeated
| 
|-
! [[2014 Colombian presidential election|2014]]
| [[Clara López Obregón]]
| 1,958,414
| 15.23% (4th)
| {{N}} Defeated
|  
|-
! [[2018 Colombian presidential election|2018]]
| [[Sergio Fajardo]]
| 4,602,916
| 23.78% (3rd)
| {{N}} Defeated
|
|-
! [[2022 Colombian presidential election|2022]]
| [[Gustavo Petro]]
| 11,291,986
| 50.44% (1st)
| {{Y}} Winner
| coalition with [[Historic Pact for Colombia]]
|}

===Legislative elections===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Election Year
! colspan="3" |House of Representatives
! colspan="3" |Senate
|-
!Votes
!Percentage
!Seats
!Votes
!Percentage
!Seats
|-
|[[2006 Colombian parliamentary election|2006]]
|677,964
|7,66 (#5)
|{{Composition bar|7|166|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|563,060
|9,71 (#5)
|{{Composition bar|10|102|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|-
|[[2010 Colombian parliamentary election|2010]]
|563,555
|5,86 (#6)
|{{Composition bar|5|166|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|	824,948
|7,82 (#6)
|{{Composition bar|8|102|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|-
|[[2014 Colombian parliamentary election|2014]]
|414,346
|3,8 (#10)
|{{Composition bar|3|166|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|	541,145
|3,78 (#7)
|{{Composition bar|5|102|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|-
|[[2018 Colombian parliamentary election|2018]]
|416,766
|3,0 (#7)
|{{Composition bar|2|166|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|	736,367
|4,80 (#7)
|{{Composition bar|5|102|{{party color|Alternative Democratic Pole}}}}
|-
|[[2022 Colombian parliamentary election|2022]]
|colspan="3"|With [[Historic Pact for Colombia]]
|colspan="3"|With [[Historic Pact for Colombia]]
|}

==See also==
* [[Politics of Colombia]]
* [[List of political parties in Colombia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.polodemocratico.net Polo Democrático Alternativo] (Homepage, Spanish)
*[http://tribunaroja.moir.org.co/POLO-DEMOCRATICO-ALTERNATIVO.html Ideario de Unidad del Polo Democrático Alternativo]{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Party's political program, Spanish)
*[http://www.portalcol.com/colombianadas/elecciones2006 Democracia a distancia: Elecciones 2006 (Portalcol.com)] (Information about the Pole's list of candidates to the Colombian Senate, Spanish).
{{ColParties}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2005 establishments in Colombia]]
[[Category:Former member parties of the Socialist International]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 2005]]
[[Category:São Paulo Forum]]
[[Category:Social democratic parties in Colombia]]