National Democratic Party (El Salvador) Explained

National Democratic Party
Native Name:	Partido Nacional Democrático
Native Name Lang:	es
Abbreviation:	PND
Founded:	1913
Banned:	December 1931
Headquarters:	San Salvador
Seats1 Title:	Legislative Assembly (1928)
Seats1:
Country:	El Salvador

The National Democratic Party (Spanish; Castilian: Partido Nacional Democrático) was a Salvadoran political party that existed from 1913 to 1931. The party held power from 1913 to 1931 in a time period of El Salvador known as the Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty. El Salvador was called a "coffee republic" during the reign of the PND due to the country's heavy reliance on coffee exports.^[1] The party ruled as the country's sole political party.^[2]

The party did not participate in the 1931 general election since President Pío Romero Bosque did not designate a successor like his predecessors had done.^[3] The party was dissolved following the 1931 coup d'état when all political parties were banned. Its paramilitary wing from 1918 to 1923 was the Red League.^[4]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election	Candidate	Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1915	Carlos Meléndez Ramirez		100%	Elected
1919	Jorge Meléndez	185,492	100%	Elected	^[5]
1923	Alfonso Quiñónez Molina		100%	Elected
1927	Pío Romero Bosque	192,860	100%	Elected	^[6]

Legislative Assembly elections

PND Presidents of El Salvador

	Portrait	Name	Elected	Term of Office			Vice President
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
–		Carlos Meléndez Ramirez	—	9 February 1913	29 August 1914	1 year, 201 days	—
–		Alfonso Quiñónez Molina	—	29 August 1914	1 March 1915	184 days	—
1		Carlos Meléndez Ramirez	1915	1 March 1915	21 December 1918	3 years, 295 days	Alfonso Quiñónez Molina
–		Alfonso Quiñónez Molina	—	21 December 1918	1 March 1919	184 days	—
2		Jorge Meléndez	1919	1 March 1919	1 March 1923	4 years	Alfonso Quiñónez Molina
3		Alfonso Quiñónez Molina	1923	1 March 1923	1 March 1927	4 years	Pío Romero Bosque
4		Pío Romero Bosque	1927	1 March 1927	1 March 1931	4 years	Gustavo Vides

Timeline

See also

• Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty
• Fourteen Families
• Coffee production in El Salvador

Notes and References

1. Paige. Jeffery M.. 1993. Coffee and Power in El Salvador. Latin American Research Review. English. The Latin American Studies Association. 28. 3. 7–40. 10.1017/S0023879100016940 . 2503609. 252914247 . free.
2. Garcia, Miguel Angel (1928) Diccionario Histórico Enciclopédico de la República de El Salvador. Vol. II San Salvador pp 118-119
3. Grieb, Kenneth J (1971) "The United States and the rise of General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez" Journal of Latin American Studies 3, 2 p152
4. Web site: Elections and Events 1900–1934. 4 February 2023. en. University of California, San Diego. 23 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210323211317/https://library.ucsd.edu/research-and-collections/collections/notable-collections/latin-american-elections-statistics/El%20Salvador/elections-and-events-1900-1934.html. dead.
5. Bulletin of the Pan American Union, Vol. 52, 1921.
6. La Vanguardia, 12 January 1927