National Phalanx

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National Phalanx

The National Phalanx (Falange Nacional), a Chilean political party, was the precursor of the Christian Democratic Party. Influenced by Christian Socialism, the Falange broke from the Conservative Party in 1938. It advocated domestic social and economic reforms, espousing a neutralist foreign policy which included supporting the refusal of Juan Antonio Ríos to declare war on the Axis powers and opposing Chile's alignment with the United States during the cold war. The Falange continued to function during the 1940s, reaching its political high point in 1957, when it elected fourteen deputies and a senator. Consistent with its centrist tendencies, its members served as ministers in the government of Juan Antonio Ríos, Alfredo Duhalde, and Gabriel González Videla. In 1957 the Falange merged with the Social Christian Conservative Party to form the Christian Democratic Party.

See alsoGonzález Videla, Gabriel; Ríos Morales, Juan Antonio.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Federico G. Gil, The Political System of Chile (1966), pp. 67, 71, 266.

César Caviedes L., The Politics of Chile: A Sociogeographical Assessment (1979), pp. 57-59.

Additional Bibliography

Díaz Nieva, José. Chile: De la Falange Nacional a la Democracia Cristiana. Madrid: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, 2000.

                                        William F. Sater

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