União Democrática Nacional
|
National Democratic Union
União Democrática Nacional |
|
|---|---|
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| President | See list below |
| Secretary-General | See list below |
| Founded | April 7, 1945 |
| Dissolved | October 27, 1965 |
| Succeeded by | National Renewal Alliance (ARENA) |
| Ideology |
Conservatism, Classical liberalism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Colours | Blue, White, & Red |
The National Democratic Union (Portuguese: União Democrática Nacional, UDN) was a political party that existed in Brazil between 1945 and 1965. It was ideologically aligned with conservatism. During most of its existence, it was the country's second-strongest party. Its symbol was an Olympic torch and its motto was "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance", a quote falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson.
At the end of Getúlio Vargas' Estado Novo regime in 1945, political parties were allowed to reorganize themselves and to run in the general elections of that year. UDN grouped the main leaders of the opposition against the populism of the outgoing president. This constant opposition to Vargas was the party's main characteristic. Therefore, its main opponents were the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Brazilian Labour Party (PTB), formed to give support to Vargas among the elite and the working class, respectively.
UDN was defeated in the presidential elections of 1945, 1950 and 1955, but remained the second largest party in the National Congress, second only to PSD, from 1945 until 1962, when it was surpassed by PTB. The main political figure of UDN was Carlos Lacerda, a staunch enemy of Vargas, whose second presidency (1951–1954) was bitterly opposed by UDN. An assassination attempt against Lacerda led to Vargas' suicide. On 1960, UDN preferred not to launch a presidential candidate, supporting the victorious Jânio Quadros instead. Although Quadros was not a UDN member himself, most of the ministers in the Quadros Cabinet were members of UDN. The party was soon dissatisfied with Quadros, who resigned in a clumsy political maneuver. Without UDN's support, Quadros lost the majority of seats in the Congress, and soon found out it was impossible to govern without the backing of the Parliament. On August 21, 1961, just eight months after his inauguration, he resigned, hoping to return to power via popular acclaim.
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