| Progressive Action Party | |
| Native Name: | Partido de Acción Progresista |
| Abbreviation: | PAP |
| Leader: | Fulgencio Batista |
| Split: | Liberal Party of Cuba |
| Headquarters: | Havana |
| Ideology: | Authoritarianism Conservatism Economic liberalism Anti-communism Right-wing populism |
| Position: | Right-wing |
| Country: | Cuba |
The Progressive Action Party (Spanish; Castilian: Partido de Acción Progresista, PAP) was a Cuban political party led by Fulgencio Batista. The party was founded on 1 April 1949, in the aftermath of the 1948 general elections, under the name of Unitary Action Party (Spanish; Castilian: Partido de Acción Unitaria, PAU). It presented its first manifesto a few months later, on 1 August. In 1952, certain to lose the election, Batista made a coup d'etat by seizing the Presidency.
The party also ran in the elections of 1954 and 1958, winning due to the early withdrawal of opponents, as well as electoral fraud.
The party was based on a combination of strong conservatism and economic liberalism on a large scale, to attract American capital in Cuba. This led to a high level of corruption and poverty plaguing the country. Other bulwark of the party was anti-communism, not only because of the alignment with the United States but also because most of the members of the anti-Batista left-wing nationalist 26th of July Movement could be branded as Communists, including Fidel Castro and Camilo Cienfuegos, along with genuine communists like Raúl Castro and Che Guevara. Batista's authoritarian rule and repression in response to Castro's movement led to the deaths of 20,000 Cubans through torture and extrajudicial killing.
The party was dissolved following the Cuban Revolution of 1959, which ousted Batista causing it to flee abroad and led to the establishment of the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro, which officially became a communist regime in 1961.
| Election | Party candidate | Votes | % | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Fulgencio Batista | 1,262,587 | Elected | ||
| 1958 | Andrés Rivero Agüero | 428,166 | 70.40% | Elected |
Andrés Rivero Agüero was unable to take office due to the Cuban Revolution
| Election | Party leader | Seats | +/– | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Fulgencio Batista | 4 | 4th | |
| 1954 | 56 | 1st | ||
| 1958 | 5 | 1st |