Progressive Social Movement
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Progressive Social Movement (in Spanish: Movimiento Social Progresista) was a political party in Peru founded in 1956. Its leaders included Santiago Agurto Calvo (general secretary), Alberto Ruiz Eldredge and the Salazar Bondy brothers.[1]
Development
Peru went through political upheaval in 1956 when long-serving dictator Manuel A. Odría announced plans for democratic elections, resulting in a raft of political parties, some transient in nature, springing up.[2] Those behind the formation of the MSP had initially been part of one of these groups Popular Action, but split almost immediately to form their own party.[3] They sought support amongst urban professionals by professing an agenda that supported scientific advancement and technocracy as the cures for Peru's ills.[4]
The MSP contested the 1962 elections, presenting Alberto Ruiz Eldredge as their Presidential candidate, but struggled for support due to the similarity of their programme to that of Popular Action and their lack of a charismatic leader in the mould of
Torn between two wings, one sympathetic to the
Bibliography
- Hugo Neira, "Peru" in JP Bernard et al., Guide to the Political Parties of South America, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973