View source for Popular Action (Peru)

{{short description|Political party in Peru}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2012}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| colorcode        = {{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}
| name             = Popular Action
| native_name      = Acción Popular
| logo             = Acción Popular.svg
| logo_size        = 
| predecessor      = [[Democratic Youth Front]]
| abbreviation     = AP
| leader1_title    = President
| leader1_name     = [[Julio Chávez Chiong]]
| leader2_title    = General Secretary
| leader2_name     = [[Edmundo del Águila]]
| founder          = [[Fernando Belaúnde]]
| foundation       = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1956|7|7}}
| headquarters     = [[Lima]]
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap|
 |[[Social liberalism]]
 |[[Reformism]]
}}
| position         = {{nowrap|[[Centrism|Centre]]<ref>{{Citation |first1=Steven |last1=Levitsky |first2=Maxwell A. |last2=Cameron |title=Democracy Without Parties? Political Parties and Regime Changes in Fujimori's Peru |work=Latin American Democratic Transformations: Institutions, Actors, Processes |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2009 |page=342}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Jason |last=Seawright |title=Party-System Collapse: The Roots of Crisis in Peru and Venezuela |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2012 |page=166}}</ref> to [[centre-right]]<ref>{{Citation |first=Julio F. |last=Carrión |title=The Persistent Attraction of Populism in the Andes |work=Latin American Democracy: Emerging Reality or Endangered Species? |publisher=Routledge |year=2009 |page=238}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Kevin J. |last=Middlebrook |title=Introduction: Conservative Parties, Elite Representation and Democracy in Latin America |work=Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2000 |page=29}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Pedro |last=Patrón Galindo |title=Political marketing in a weak democracy? The Peruvian case |work=Global Political Marketing |publisher=Routledge |year=2010 |page=202}}</ref>}}
| international    = 
| membership       = 250,472
| membership_year  = 2023
| seats1_title     = [[Congress of the Republic of Peru|Congress]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|9|130|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
| seats2_title     = [[Regional Governments of Peru|Governorships]]
| seats2           = {{Composition bar|0|25|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
| seats3_title     = [[Regional Governments of Peru|Regional Councillors]]
| seats3           = {{Composition bar|6|342|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
| seats4_title     = [[Provinces of Peru|Province Mayorships]]
| seats4           = {{Composition bar|3|196|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
| seats5_title     = [[Provinces of Peru|District Mayorships]]
| seats5           = {{Composition bar|61|1874|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
| anthem           = "Popular Action March"<ref>{{cite web|title=Marcha del Partido AP|url=http://accionpopular.com.pe/marcha-del-partido-ap/|website=accionpopular.com.pe|access-date=13 February 2019|language=es}}</ref>
| website          = {{URL|https://accionpopular.com.pe}}
| country          = Peru
}}

[[File:Accion Popular Banner.jpg|thumb|Acción Popular banner in Lima, Peru]]

The '''Popular Action''' ({{langx|es|Acción Popular}}, AP) is a [[Liberalism|liberal]] and [[Reformism|reformist]] [[political party]] in [[Peru]], founded by former Peruvian president [[Fernando Belaúnde]].

==History==

=== Early history ===
[[Fernando Belaúnde]] founded Popular Action (''Acción Popular'') in 1956 as a reformist alternative to the status quo conservative forces and the populist [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance]] party.

Although Belaúnde's message was not{{source?|date=January 2025}} all that different from APRA's, his tactics were more inclusive and less confrontational. He was able to appeal to some of the same political base as APRA, primarily the middle class, but also to a wider base of professionals and white-collar workers. It also advocated scientific advancement and [[technocracy]], a policy set that it took from the [[Progressive Social Movement]], a splinter party which it eventually absorbed.<ref>Hugo Neira, "Peru" in JP Bernard et al., Guide to the Political Parties of South America, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973, p. 443</ref> The AP had significant electoral success, attaining the presidency in 1963 and 1980, but the party was more of an electoral machine for the persona of Belaúnde than an institutionalized organization. The AP was initially reckoned as a center-left party.  However, by the 1980s, Peru's political spectrum had shifted sharply leftward, and the AP found itself on the center-right.

=== Later years ===
After AP's second administration, in 1985, the party was defeated by the [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|APRA]] party, gaining only 6.4 percent of the vote. In 1990, AP participated in the elections as a part of the [[Democratic Front (Peru)|Democratic Front]], a center-right coalition headed by [[Mario Vargas Llosa]].

In 2000, [[Víctor Andrés García Belaúnde]] was selected as the presidential nominee, being the worst general election for AP, gaining only 0.42% of the popular vote. Only three AP congressman were elected. As many assume the election was a fraud, Fujimori resigned after the corruption of his government was revealed by the opposition.

AP member [[Valentín Paniagua]] would become [[President of the Congress of the Republic of Peru|President of the Congress]] in November 2000 for a few days and, after the fall of the [[Alberto Fujimori|Fujimori]] administration, became the interim President of the Republic, holding office from November 2000 to July 2001.

In the 8 April 2001 election, the party won 4.2% of the popular vote and three out of 120 seats in [[Congress of the Republic of Peru|Congress]].

Likewise, in 2002, regional elections were held for the first time, which aimed to elect Regional Presidents for the 25 departments of Peru. In that sense, party participation was quite high (15 political groups). In these elections, AP ranked sixth by number of votes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elecciones Regionales|url=http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/blog/fernandotuesta/datapolitica/elecciones-regionales/|access-date=2021-05-13|language=es-ES}}</ref>

For the [[2006 Peruvian general election|2006 national election]], the party joined forces with [[We Are Peru]] and [[All for Peru|National Coordinator of Independents]] to form the [[Centre Front]] coalition. Paniagua was the presidential candidate, while the vice-presidential candidates belonged to AP's allies. The Center Front ended in the fifth place in the national election, with 5.6% of the popular vote.

For the [[2011 Peruvian general election|2011 national election]], the party joined forces with [[We Are Peru]] and [[Possible Peru]] to form the [[Possible Peru Electoral Alliance]]. The presidential candidate was former Peru's president and leader of [[Possible Peru]], [[Alejandro Toledo]]. The alliance ended in the fourth place in the national election, with 15.6% of the popular vote.

For the [[2016 Peruvian general election|2016 national election]], the party ran alone for the first time since 2000, when Congressman Víctor Andrés García Belaúnde ran against the sitting president [[Alberto Fujimori]], and it was the first time since 2006 that Popular Action participated with a party member as a presidential candidate when former President Valentín Paniagua ran for office. The presidential candidate was [[Alfredo Barnechea]], journalist and political analyst, who won the party's primaries with 52% of the votes, defeating [[Mesías Guevara]] (40%), the party's president for the 2014–2018 term, the lawyer [[Beatríz Mejía]] (6%) and former Deputy '''Alejandro Montoya''' (2%). Popular Action ended in fourth place in the national election, with 6.97% of the popular vote. This was the best result for Popular Action since 1985. For the 2016–2021 term, AP had five congressmen out of 130 representing the party, until the [[2020 Peruvian parliamentary election|snap election in 2020]], when it increased its representation to 25 congressmen until the end of the 2016–2021 term. In the [[2021 Peruvian general election|2021 elections]], Lescano placed 5th in a fractured race of 18 candidates while the party gained 16 seats for the 2021–2026 congressional term. On 26 July 2021, an alliance led by Popular Action member [[Maricarmen Alva|María del Carmen Alva]] successfully negotiated an agreement to gain control of [[Congress of the Republic of Peru|Peru's Congress]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-opposition-lead-congress-setback-socialist-castillo-2021-07-26/|title=Peru opposition to lead Congress in setback for socialist Castillo|first=Marco|last=Aquino|publisher=Reuters|date=26 July 2021|accessdate=28 July 2021}}</ref>

== Doctrine ==
Popularactionism is the name that has been given to the party's ideological doctrine. It is pointed out that the main feature of his thinking is a situational [[humanism]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Popularactionism considers that the role of the State should be limited to regulating and encouraging private enterprise and sustainable development. Within the main feature of his theory, situational humanism, it considers in the Peruvian case that it is specifically inspired by what has been called '''"Peru as Doctrine"'''.

It affirms that the proclamation is of a "democratic, nationalist and revolutionary" court:

* Democratic, inasmuch as it respects, disseminates and defends the democratic system.
* Nationalist, in that it promotes local traditions and economic and cultural development.
* Revolutionary, inasmuch as it aspires to keeping up-to-date with the new modernity and rapid change that improves social and cultural structures.

The idea of "Peru as Doctrine" is based on the values and principles arising from the historical and cultural particularity in which Peru developed but which have universal significance. An important part of their doctrine is developed in what they call '''''Popular Cooperation'''''.

In Peruvian political history, it has happened that on occasions the right has called Popular Action a leftist party (first government) or that the left has called it a right-wing party (second government). Towards the end of the 1960s, a radicalized sector split from the party (the so-called "hotheads"), forming Acción Popular Socialista (Manuel Seoane, Gustavo Mohme, among other intellectuals).{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Likewise, a significant percentage of the so-called "young Turks" (or "chapulines"/grasshoppers, young popularactionists of the early 1980s), at the beginning of the 1990s migrated to liberal political positions (to the Liberty Movement and then to Fujimorism). These are the two biggest party losses suffered by this party. Consequently, from then on, Popular Action is generally identified with positions of the center, with factions of both the progressive left and the conservative right.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Towards the end of the 1990s, the former popularactionist [[Luis Castañeda]] founded the [[National Solidarity (Peru)|National Solidarity]], which with an alliance with the [[Christian People's Party (Peru)|Christian People's Party]] within the [[National Unity (Peru)|National Unity]] coalition won the municipal elections in the capital, Lima, in 2002.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

==Presidents of Peru from Popular Action==

[[Image:Ap1980-belaunde.jpg|thumb|Belaúnde election poster 1980]]

*[[Fernando Belaúnde]] (1963–1968; 1980–1985)
*[[Valentín Paniagua]] (2000–2001)
*[[Manuel Merino]] (10–15 Nov. 2020)

== Electoral history ==

=== Presidential ===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
|-
! rowspan="2" | Election
! rowspan="2" | Candidate
! colspan="2" scope="col" | First round
! colspan="2" | Second round
! rowspan="2" | Result
|-
! Votes
! %
! Votes
! %
|-
! [[1956 Peruvian general election|1956]]
| align=left| [[Fernando Belaúnde]]
| 457,966	
| 36.69
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[1962 Peruvian general election|1962]]
| align=left| [[Fernando Belaúnde]]
| 544,180	
| 32.21
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[1963 Peruvian general election|1963]]
| align=left| '''[[Fernando Belaúnde]]'''
| 708,662		
| 39.05
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{yes2|'''Won''' {{Y}}}}
|-
! [[1980 Peruvian general election|1980]]
| align=left| '''[[Fernando Belaúnde]]'''
| 1,793,190		
| 44.93
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{yes2|'''Won''' {{Y}}}}
|-
! [[1985 Peruvian general election|1985]]
| align=left| [[Javier Alva Orlandini]]
| 472,627
| 7.26
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[1990 Peruvian general election|1990]]
| align=left| [[Mario Vargas Llosa]]{{efn|In coalition under [[Democratic Front (Peru)|Democratic Front]]}}
| 2,163,323
| 32.57
| 2,708,291
| 37.62
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[1995 Peruvian general election|1995]]
| align=left| [[Raúl Diez Canseco]]
| 122,383	
| 1.64
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[2000 Peruvian general election|2000]]
| align=left| [[Víctor Andrés García Belaúnde]]
| 46,523	
| 0.42
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[2001 Peruvian general election|2001]]
| align=center colspan=5|''Did not contest''
| align=center|N/A
|-
! [[2006 Peruvian general election|2006]]
| align=left| [[Valentín Paniagua]]{{efn|In coalition under [[Centre Front]]}}
| 706,156
| 5.75
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[2011 Peruvian general election|2011]]
| align=left| [[Alejandro Toledo]]{{efn|In coalition under [[Possible Peru Electoral Alliance]]}}
| 2,289,561
| 15.63
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[2016 Peruvian general election|2016]]
| align=left| [[Alfredo Barnechea]]
| 1,069,360
| 6.97
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
! [[2021 Peruvian general election|2021]]
| align=left| [[Yonhy Lescano]]
| 1,306,288
| 9.07
|bgcolor=lightgrey colspan=2|
|{{no2|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}}}
|-
|}

{{notelist}}

===[[Congress of the Republic of Peru|Congress of the Republic]]===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
|-
!rowspan="2" | Election
! rowspan="2" |Leader
! colspan="4" |Senate
! colspan="4" |Chamber of Deputies
! rowspan="2" |Position
! rowspan="2" |Government
|-
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!+/–
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!+/–
|-
![[1956 Peruvian general election|1956]]
|align=left rowspan="7" |[[Fernando Belaúnde]]
|colspan="2" |
|{{composition bar|5|53|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|bgcolor=lightgrey|
|colspan="2" |
|{{composition bar|21|182|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|bgcolor=lightgrey|
|3rd
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[1962 Peruvian general election|1962]]
|colspan="2" |
|{{composition bar|16|55|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 11
|colspan="2" |
|{{composition bar|61|186|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 40
|{{increase}} 2nd
|{{partial2|Elections annulled}}
|-
![[1963 Peruvian general election|1963]]
|colspan="2" |
|{{composition bar|15|45|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|colspan="2" |
|{{composition bar|39|139|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 22
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{partial|Minority government}}
|-
![[1980 Peruvian general election|1980]]
|1,694,952
|40.92
|{{composition bar|26|60|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 11
|1,413,233
|38.92
|{{composition bar|98|180|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 59
|{{increase}} '''1st'''
|{{yes2|Majority}}
|-
![[1985 Peruvian general election|1985]]
|492,056
|8.14
|{{composition bar|5|61|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 21
|491,581
|8.43
|{{composition bar|10|180|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 88
|{{decrease}} 4th
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[1990 Peruvian general election|1990]]
|1,772,953
|32.06<br>{{small|([[Democratic Front (Peru)|FREDEMO]])}}
|{{composition bar|20|62|hex={{party color|Democratic Front (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 15
|1,561,291
|30.03<br>{{small|([[Democratic Front (Peru)|FREDEMO]])}}
|{{composition bar|62|180|hex={{party color|Democratic Front (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 52
|{{increase}} '''1st'''
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
|}

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
|-
! Election
! Leader
! Votes
! %
! Congress
! +/–
! Rank
! Government
|-
![[1992 Peruvian Democratic Constituent Congress election|1992]]
|align=left rowspan="4" |[[Fernando Belaúnde]]
| align=center colspan=2|''Boycotted''
|{{composition bar|0|80|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 62
|{{decrease}} 19th
|{{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
![[1995 Peruvian general election|1995]]
|146,018	
|3.34
|{{composition bar|4|120|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 4
|{{increase}} 6th
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[2000 Peruvian general election|2000]]
|245,115
|2.47
|{{composition bar|3|120|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 1
|{{decrease}} 9th
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[2001 Peruvian general election|2001]]
|393,433
|4.18
|{{composition bar|3|120|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|{{increase}} 7th
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[2006 Peruvian general election|2006]]
|align=left rowspan="1" |[[Víctor Andrés García Belaúnde]]
|760,261
|7.07<br>{{small|([[Centre Front|FC]])}}
|{{composition bar|5|120|hex=#989898}}
|{{increase}} 2
|{{increase}} 5th
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[2011 Peruvian general election|2011]]
|align=left rowspan="1" |[[Javier Alva Orlandini]]
|1,904,180
|14.83<br>{{small|([[Possible Peru Electoral Alliance|AEPP]])}}
||{{composition bar|5|130|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 1
|{{increase}} 3rd
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[2016 Peruvian general election|2016]]
|align=left rowspan="3" |[[Mesías Guevara]]
|877,734
|7.20
|{{composition bar|5|130|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{steady}} 0
|{{decrease}} 6th
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
![[2020 Peruvian parliamentary election|2020]]
|1,518,171
|10.26
|{{composition bar|25|130|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{increase}} 20
|{{increase}} '''1st'''
|{{yes2|Majority coalition}}
|-
![[2021 Peruvian general election|2021]]
|1,159,734	
|9.02
|{{composition bar|16|130|hex={{party color|Popular Action (Peru)}}}}
|{{decrease}} 9
|{{decrease}} 3rd
|{{no2|Minority}}
|-
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110903050606/http://www.accionpopular.pe/site/ Official site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071114213528/http://www.congresistas-ap.tk/ Congress - Popular Action]

{{Peru topics |collapsed}}
{{PeruParties}}

[[Category:Political parties established in 1956]]
[[Category:Political parties in Peru]]
[[Category:1956 establishments in Peru]]