Social and Democratic Power

Poder Democrático y Social
Leader	Jorge Quiroga
Founded	1979 (ADN) 2005 (PODEMOS)
Headquarters	La Paz, Bolivia
Ideology	Conservatism, Liberal conservatism, Bolivian nationalism, Departmental autonomy
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
Regional affiliation	Union of Latin American Parties

Podemos is the name of a right-of-center, pro-business Bolivian political party. It is a pseudo-acronym standing for 'Poder Democrático y Social' (in English, Social and Democratic Power), but the word also means "We can."

History

Nationalist Democratic Action

Nationalist Democratic Action (Spanish: Acción Democrática Nacionalista) was a right-wing party in Bolivia led by Jorge Quiroga. ADN was founded on March 23, 1979 by the military dictator Hugo Banzer after he stepped down from power. It later expanded to include the Revolutionary Left Party (PIR) and a faction of the Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB). As leader of the ADN, Banzer ran in the 1979, 1980, 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1997 presidential elections. He obtained third place in 1979 and 1980, and won a plurality of the 1985 vote, but, since he did not attain the 50% necessary for direct election, Congress (in accordance with the Bolivian Consititution) selected the chief executive. Its choice was the second-place finisher, Dr. Víctor Paz Estenssoro.

Banzer's party at that point opted for supporting the MNR in a coalition government. Indeed, ADN would go on to claim authorship to some of the most important neoliberal economic reforms instituted by President Paz to curb galloping hyperinflation, repress the ever-troublesome labor unions, and reduce the size of the government. Banzer finished second in the 1989 elections, but supported in Congress the third-place finisher, the left-leaning Jaime Paz Zamora, who became President with ADN help. Again the party governed as the main support of a ruling coalition, this time under Paz Zamora. Banzer's ADN again finished second in 1993, this time to the MNR's Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada.

Finally, in 1997 Banzer Suárez achieved his dream of becoming constitutionally-elected President of Bolivia, at the age of 71. He was the first former dictator in Latin America's recent history to transition successfully to democratic politics and return to power by way of the ballot box. During his tenure, he launched, under the guidelines outlined by the United States, a program to fight drug-trafficking in Bolivia, which called for the eradication of coca, a controversial strategy. He also had some trouble with the unions, but nonetheless did his best to rule in a conciliatory and non-arbitrary manner. In 2001 he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and even though he had earned a five-year term (he had himself agitated to legally enlarge the presidential term) Banzer resigned on August 7, 2001. He was succeeded by his Vice-President, Jorge Quiroga. Banzer's health declined rapidly thereafter, and he died on May 5, 2002.

Quiroga then became leader and heir apparent of the ADN, but when he ran for President in the 2005 elections, he did so as the candidate for a new right-of-center coalition known as Social and Democratic Power (PODEMOS), comprising the bulk of Banzer's former ADN organization.

Change of name, from ADN to PODEMOS

Podemos is in fact the continuation of the Acción Democrática Nacionalista (ADN) of former president Hugo Banzer. Upon Banzer's death in 2002, former president Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) became leader of the ADN, but apparently concluded that the name of the party was too associated with the life and thought of the ex-dictator. Thus, he changed the name of the organization to Podemos and ran as its presidential candidate in the 2005 elections. He finished a distant second to current president Evo Morales of MAS (Movement Toward Socialism). Even though Podemos is on the surface a new party, its structures, ideology, and supporters remain basically the same as those of the old ADN.

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