Conservatism in North America
Encyclopedia
Conservatism in North America is a political philosophy that varies in form, depending on the country and the region, but that has similar themes and goals. Academic study into the differences and similarities between conservatism in North American countries has been undertaken on numerous occasions. For three days in May 2002, a conference was held at the University of Augsburg
which was dedicated to this very topic. There were two main concepts discussed at the conference. The first concept was the connection between the brand of conservatism arising in the 1980s and the 1990s and social democracy
. The second concept was simply an exploration of the differences and similarities between conservatism in Canada and the United States. Some feminist
scholars have suggested that the prevalence of conservatism throughout North America has resulted in the continent's general post-feminist stance. Reginald Bibby
has asserted that the primary reason that conservatism has been so strong and enduring throughout North America is because of the propagation of religious values from generation to generation. This connection is strongest in mainstream Protestantism
in the United States and both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism in Canada
.
According to Louis Hartz
, nations that developed from settler colonies were European "fragments" that froze the class structure and underlying ideology prevalent in the mother country at the time of their foundation. He considered Latin America and French Canada to be fragments of feudal Europe, and the United States and English Canada as liberal fragments. However Gad Horowitz
, writing that Hartz had acknowledged a Tory influence in English Canada, claimed a conservative tradition had developed there as well. American conservatism is generally considered to be a variety of liberalism, rather than true conservatism, although Canada also developed an American style conservatism that competed with the older Tory conservatism
. A right-wing conservatism, or "Latin conservatism
", developed in Latin America and Quebec. Today, conservative and conservative liberal parties in North America cooperate through the International Democrat Union
.
In Canada
, political conservatism is generally considered to be primarily represented by the Conservative Party of Canada
at the federal level, and by various right-leaning parties at the provincial level. The first party calling itself "Conservative" in what would become Canada was elected in the Province of Canada election of 1854.
Canadian conservatism has always been rooted in a preference for the traditional and established ways of doing things, even as it has shifted in economic, foreign and social policy. Like Edmund Burke
, they rejected the sense of both ideology
and revolution
, preferring pragmatism
and evolution
. It is for that reason that unlike in the conservatives in the United States, Canadian conservatives are generally not republicans
, preferring the monarchy
and Westminster system
of government. (Note: The United States of America is a federal
republic
, while Canada is a constitutional monarchy
, a distinction resulting from the American Revolution
and its aftermath.)
Conservatism is a major political ideology
in the United States. In contemporary American politics, it is often associated with the Republican Party
. Core conservative principles include a belief in God
and country
, and many U.S. conservatives support a fiscal policy
rooted in small government
, laissez faire capitalism
, and supply-side economics
. In foreign policy
, American conservatives usually advocate some moderate aspects of "American exceptionalism
", a belief that the U.S. is unique among nations and that its standing and actions do and should guide the course of world history.
Although there has always been a conservative tradition in America, the modern American conservative movement was popularized by Russell Kirk
who, in 1953, published The Conservative Mind. Two years later, in 1955, William F. Buckley, Jr.
founded National Review
, a conservative magazine that included traditionalists, such as Kirk, along with libertarians
and anti-communist
s. This bringing together of separate ideologies under a conservative umbrella was known as "fusionism". Politically, the conservative movement in the U.S. has often been a coalition of various groups, which has sometimes contributed to its electoral success and other times been a source of internal conflict.
Modern conservatism saw its first national political success with the 1964 nomination of Barry Goldwater
, a U.S. Senator from Arizona and author of The Conscience of a Conservative
(1960), as the Republican candidate for president. In 1980, the conservative movement was able to attract disaffected Southern Democrats, Cold War liberal Democrats, and evangelical Christians, to nominate and elect the Republican candidate Ronald Reagan
, a self-identified American conservative, as president. Subsequent electoral victories included gaining a Republican congressional majority in 1994 and the election of George W. Bush
in 2000 and 2004.
The conservative movement has been advanced by influential think tank
s such as the Heritage Foundation
, Hoover Institution
, Hudson Institute
and Manhattan Institute
. Major media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal
, Fox News, The Washington Times
, and Townhall.com
, are often described as conservative.
The two major American political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, have become increasingly polarized, with the Democrats described as "liberal" and "left wing" and the Republicans as "conservative" and "right wing".
, political conservatism originally arose in reaction to the Mexican War of Independence
. Because of his prominence in the Mexican Conservative Party, Lucas Alamán
has been called "the most organized intelligence behind Conservatism in Mexico." Throughout the presidency
of Miguel Alemán Valdés
between 1946 and 1983, the politics of the country experienced a significant shift towards conservatism. Gastón García Cantú has performed the most extensive study of Mexican conservatism to date.
n countries generally had dichotomous politics
divided along conservative-liberal lines
, but the effects of the Great Depression in the area
caused most of these opposing parties to merge in order to maintain authority. Traditionally, political conservatism in the area has been ideologically linked with Protestantism, but this connection has been questioned in recent years. One of the most prominent historical representatives of conservatism in Central America was Rafael Carrera
, the first President of Guatemala
. Not only did he effectively suppress liberal reforms in his own country, but he contributed greatly to the unity and influence of conservatism in each of the countries throughout Central America.
s which make abortion
and male homosexuality
illegal. The primary conservative party in Belize since the country's first parliamentary election as an independent state in 1984 has been the United Democratic Party
. Nonetheless, the other major political party, the People's United Party
, has a very similar political ideology. Historically
, both parties have tended to be more conservative while in power than when in opposition
.
clergy
. Between the declaration of Guatemala's independence
in 1821 and the Liberal Revolution of 1871, the country's politics were dominated by conservatism. In the mid-twentieth century, Francisco Javier Arana
served as a unifying force for conservatives in Guatemala after his own presidency
.
in 1903, the newly independent country of Panama
was initially controlled by a military junta
led by José Agustín Arango
and Manuel Amador Guerrero
. Although the junta included a few token
liberal members, the administration was heavily conservative. Politics in the country were strongly divided along conservative-liberal lines in the following years. As early as 1905, the liberals accused the conservatives of electoral fraud
. Conservatives maintained power through fraudulent elections until a military coup in 1968.
is the Caribbean Democrat Union
(CDU) which was formed in 1986 by Anglo-Caribbean leaders to unify conservative political parties in the region. The CDP is a suborganization of the International Democrat Union
(IDU). In Beyond a Boundary
, C. L. R. James
argues that the influence of cricket
and English literature
have been instrumental in strengthening conservativism in the Caribbean.
. In 1913, Mario García Menocal
became the third President of Cuba
and the first Cuban president representing the Conservative Party of Cuba when the Liberal Party of Cuba split between supporters of Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso and supporters of José Miguel Gómez
. Still, the conservative-liberal distinction fails to address many of the major political issues in Cuban governmental history
.
University of Augsburg
The University of Augsburg is a university located in the Universitätsviertel section of Augsburg, Germany. It was founded in 1970 and is organized in 7 Faculties....
which was dedicated to this very topic. There were two main concepts discussed at the conference. The first concept was the connection between the brand of conservatism arising in the 1980s and the 1990s and social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
. The second concept was simply an exploration of the differences and similarities between conservatism in Canada and the United States. Some feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
scholars have suggested that the prevalence of conservatism throughout North America has resulted in the continent's general post-feminist stance. Reginald Bibby
Reginald Bibby
Reginald Wayne Bibby, OC is a Canadian sociologist. He holds the Board of Governors Research Chair in the Department of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge....
has asserted that the primary reason that conservatism has been so strong and enduring throughout North America is because of the propagation of religious values from generation to generation. This connection is strongest in mainstream Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
in the United States and both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism in Canada
Roman Catholicism in Canada
The Catholic Church in Canada is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the Canadian Bishops Conference. It has the largest number of followers of a religion in Canada with 46% of Canadians baptized as Catholics...
.
According to Louis Hartz
Louis Hartz
Louis Hartz was an American political scientist and influential liberal proponent of the idea of American exceptionalism....
, nations that developed from settler colonies were European "fragments" that froze the class structure and underlying ideology prevalent in the mother country at the time of their foundation. He considered Latin America and French Canada to be fragments of feudal Europe, and the United States and English Canada as liberal fragments. However Gad Horowitz
Gad Horowitz
Gad Horowitz is a noted Canadian political scientist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto.-Biography:Horowitz was born in Jerusalem and immigrated to Canada with his parents at the age of 2. He grew up in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Montreal.Horowitz earned his BA from the University of...
, writing that Hartz had acknowledged a Tory influence in English Canada, claimed a conservative tradition had developed there as well. American conservatism is generally considered to be a variety of liberalism, rather than true conservatism, although Canada also developed an American style conservatism that competed with the older Tory conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...
. A right-wing conservatism, or "Latin conservatism
Latin Conservatism
Latin Conservatism is a political ideology in southern Europe expressed by noted Savoyard thinker Joseph de Maistre and which reached its peak in Spain under Francisco Franco, though many elements of Latin Conservatism were already advocated in the 17th century by Padre Antonio Vieira and some...
", developed in Latin America and Quebec. Today, conservative and conservative liberal parties in North America cooperate through the International Democrat Union
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union, abbreviated to IDU, is a centre-right international alliance of conservative and liberal-conservative political parties. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, the IDU comprises 45 full or associate members...
.
Canada
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, political conservatism is generally considered to be primarily represented by the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
at the federal level, and by various right-leaning parties at the provincial level. The first party calling itself "Conservative" in what would become Canada was elected in the Province of Canada election of 1854.
Canadian conservatism has always been rooted in a preference for the traditional and established ways of doing things, even as it has shifted in economic, foreign and social policy. Like Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
, they rejected the sense of both ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
and revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
, preferring pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
and evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. It is for that reason that unlike in the conservatives in the United States, Canadian conservatives are generally not republicans
Republicanism in Canada
Canadian republicanism is the appreciation amongst Canadians for the replacement of the Canadian system of constitutional monarchy with a republican form of government in the sense of the state headed by a president. These beliefs are expressed either individually generally in academic circles or...
, preferring the monarchy
Monarchism in Canada
Canadian monarchism is the appreciation amongst Canadians for, and thus also advocacy for the retention of, their distinct system of constitutional monarchy, countering anti-monarchical reform as being generally revisionist, idealistic, and ultimately impracticable...
and Westminster system
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
of government. (Note: The United States of America is a federal
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, while Canada is a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, a distinction resulting from the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and its aftermath.)
United States
Conservatism is a major political ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
in the United States. In contemporary American politics, it is often associated with the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Core conservative principles include a belief in God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and country
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
, and many U.S. conservatives support a fiscal policy
Fiscal policy
In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and revenue collection to influence the economy....
rooted in small government
Small government
A Small government is one which minimizes its own activities. It is a concept important to classical liberalism and libertarianism.-In Hong Kong:...
, laissez faire capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, and supply-side economics
Supply-side economics
Supply-side economics is a school of macroeconomic thought that argues that economic growth can be most effectively created by lowering barriers for people to produce goods and services, such as lowering income tax and capital gains tax rates, and by allowing greater flexibility by reducing...
. In foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
, American conservatives usually advocate some moderate aspects of "American exceptionalism
American exceptionalism
American exceptionalism refers to the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other countries. In this view, America's exceptionalism stems from its emergence from a revolution, becoming "the first new nation," and developing a uniquely American ideology, based on liberty,...
", a belief that the U.S. is unique among nations and that its standing and actions do and should guide the course of world history.
Although there has always been a conservative tradition in America, the modern American conservative movement was popularized by Russell Kirk
Russell Kirk
Russell Kirk was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and fiction author known for his influence on 20th century American conservatism. His 1953 book, The Conservative Mind, gave shape to the amorphous post–World War II conservative movement...
who, in 1953, published The Conservative Mind. Two years later, in 1955, William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
founded National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, a conservative magazine that included traditionalists, such as Kirk, along with libertarians
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
s. This bringing together of separate ideologies under a conservative umbrella was known as "fusionism". Politically, the conservative movement in the U.S. has often been a coalition of various groups, which has sometimes contributed to its electoral success and other times been a source of internal conflict.
Modern conservatism saw its first national political success with the 1964 nomination of Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, a U.S. Senator from Arizona and author of The Conscience of a Conservative
The Conscience of a Conservative
The Conscience of a Conservative is a book published under the name of Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1960. The book reignited the American conservative movement and made Barry Goldwater a political star...
(1960), as the Republican candidate for president. In 1980, the conservative movement was able to attract disaffected Southern Democrats, Cold War liberal Democrats, and evangelical Christians, to nominate and elect the Republican candidate Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, a self-identified American conservative, as president. Subsequent electoral victories included gaining a Republican congressional majority in 1994 and the election of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in 2000 and 2004.
The conservative movement has been advanced by influential think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
s such as the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
, Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
and Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
. Major media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Fox News, The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, and Townhall.com
Townhall.com
Townhall.com is a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative United States politics. It was previously operated by the Heritage Foundation, but is now owned and operated by Salem Communications...
, are often described as conservative.
The two major American political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, have become increasingly polarized, with the Democrats described as "liberal" and "left wing" and the Republicans as "conservative" and "right wing".
Mexico
In MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, political conservatism originally arose in reaction to the Mexican War of Independence
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...
. Because of his prominence in the Mexican Conservative Party, Lucas Alamán
Lucas Alamán
Lucas Ignacio Alamán y Escalada was a Mexican scientist, politician, historian and writer. He studied at the Real Colegio de Minas de la Nueva España. He frequently traveled on his credentials as a scientist and diplomat, becoming one of the most educated men in Mexico...
has been called "the most organized intelligence behind Conservatism in Mexico." Throughout the presidency
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
of Miguel Alemán Valdés
Miguel Alemán Valdés
Miguel Alemán Valdés served as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952.-Life:Alemán was born in Sayula in the state of Veracruz as the son of General Miguel Alemán González and Tomasa Valdés Ledezma...
between 1946 and 1983, the politics of the country experienced a significant shift towards conservatism. Gastón García Cantú has performed the most extensive study of Mexican conservatism to date.
Central America
Before the 1930s, Central AmericaCentral America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n countries generally had dichotomous politics
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
divided along conservative-liberal lines
Liberalism and conservatism in Latin America
Liberalism and conservatism in Latin America have unique historical roots. Latin American independence began to occur in 1808 after the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars that eventually engulfed all of Europe. French revolutionaries in the 1790s began an intellectual awakening...
, but the effects of the Great Depression in the area
Great Depression in Latin America
The Great Depression which followed the US stock market crash of 1929 badly affected the countries of Latin America. Before the global Great Depression of the 1930s, links between the United States economy and Latin American economies had been established through US investment in Latin America and...
caused most of these opposing parties to merge in order to maintain authority. Traditionally, political conservatism in the area has been ideologically linked with Protestantism, but this connection has been questioned in recent years. One of the most prominent historical representatives of conservatism in Central America was Rafael Carrera
Rafael Carrera
José Rafael Carrera Turcios was the ruler of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865. During his military career and presidency, the new nations in Central America faced numerous problems...
, the first President of Guatemala
President of Guatemala
The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839, when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz...
. Not only did he effectively suppress liberal reforms in his own country, but he contributed greatly to the unity and influence of conservatism in each of the countries throughout Central America.
Belize
Belize is generally a conservative country as demonstrated by their lawLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
s which make abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and male homosexuality
LGBT rights in Belize
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Belize face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT citizens. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Belize, with a penalty of 10 years imprisonment...
illegal. The primary conservative party in Belize since the country's first parliamentary election as an independent state in 1984 has been the United Democratic Party
United Democratic Party (Belize)
The United Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in Belize, and currently the ruling party, having won the 2008 general elections. A centre-right conservative party, it is currently led by Dean Barrow.-Founding:...
. Nonetheless, the other major political party, the People's United Party
People's United Party
The People's United Party is one of two major political parties in Belize, and currently the main opposition party. It is a Christian Democratic party; the current Party Leader is Francis Fonseca....
, has a very similar political ideology. Historically
Political history
Political history is the narrative and analysis of political events, ideas, movements, and leaders. It is distinct from, but related to, other fields of history such as Diplomatic history, social history, economic history, and military history, as well as constitutional history and public...
, both parties have tended to be more conservative while in power than when in opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
.
Guatemala
Conservatism in Guatemala has always been closely linked with the country's Roman CatholicRoman Catholicism in Guatemala
The Roman Catholic Church in Guatemala is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.There are approximately 5 million Catholics in Guatemala, which is about 60% of the total population....
clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
. Between the declaration of Guatemala's independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
in 1821 and the Liberal Revolution of 1871, the country's politics were dominated by conservatism. In the mid-twentieth century, Francisco Javier Arana
Francisco Javier Arana
Francisco Javier Arana was one of the three leaders of the revolutionary junta that ruled Guatemala from 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945....
served as a unifying force for conservatives in Guatemala after his own presidency
President of Guatemala
The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839, when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz...
.
Panama
When Panama was separated from ColombiaSeparation of Panama from Colombia
The Separation of Panama from Colombia was formalized on 3 November 1903 with the establishment of the Republic of Panama from the Republic of Colombia's Department of Panama.-Prelude:...
in 1903, the newly independent country of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
was initially controlled by a military junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
led by José Agustín Arango
José Agustín Arango
José Agustín Arango was a Panamanian politician who was, together with Tomás Arias and Federico Boyd, a member of the provisional junta that governed Panama after its independence in 1903. He was the Chairman of the Provisional Government Junta from 4 November 1903 until 20 February 1904.-...
and Manuel Amador Guerrero
Manuel Amador Guerrero
Manuel Amador Guerrero , was the first president of Panama from 20 February 1904 to 1 October 1908. He was a member of the Conservative Party....
. Although the junta included a few token
Tokenism
In the arts, employment, and politics, tokenism is a policy or practice of limited inclusion or artistic and/or political representation of members of a traditionally marginalized group, usually creating a false appearance of inclusive practices rather than discrimination, intentional or not...
liberal members, the administration was heavily conservative. Politics in the country were strongly divided along conservative-liberal lines in the following years. As early as 1905, the liberals accused the conservatives of electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
. Conservatives maintained power through fraudulent elections until a military coup in 1968.
Caribbean
The main conservative political body in the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
is the Caribbean Democrat Union
Caribbean Democrat Union
The Caribbean Democrat Union is an alliance of centre-right political parties in the Caribbean. It is affiliated to the global International Democrat Union....
(CDU) which was formed in 1986 by Anglo-Caribbean leaders to unify conservative political parties in the region. The CDP is a suborganization of the International Democrat Union
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union, abbreviated to IDU, is a centre-right international alliance of conservative and liberal-conservative political parties. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, the IDU comprises 45 full or associate members...
(IDU). In Beyond a Boundary
Beyond a Boundary
Beyond a Boundary is a memoir on cricket written by the Trinidadian Marxist intellectual C. L. R. James. It mixes social commentary, particularly on the place of cricket in the West Indies and England, with commentary on the game, arguing that what happened inside the "Boundary Line" in cricket...
, C. L. R. James
C. L. R. James
Cyril Lionel Robert James , who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J.R. Johnson, was an Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts...
argues that the influence of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
have been instrumental in strengthening conservativism in the Caribbean.
Cuba
In the early 20th century, the concept of conservatism was not well-defined in Cuban politicsPolitics of Cuba
Cuba is constitutionally defined as a "socialist state guided by the principles of José Martí, and the political ideas of Marx, the father of communist states, Engels and Lenin." The present Constitution also ascribes the role of the Communist Party of Cuba to be the "leading force of society and...
. In 1913, Mario García Menocal
Mario García Menocal
Aurelio Mario García Menocal y Deop was President of Cuba, from 1913 to 1921...
became the third President of Cuba
President of Cuba
--209.174.31.28 18:43, 22 November 2011 The President of Cuba is the Head of state of Cuba. According to the Cuban Constitution of 1976, the President is the chief executive of the Council of State of Cuba...
and the first Cuban president representing the Conservative Party of Cuba when the Liberal Party of Cuba split between supporters of Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso and supporters of José Miguel Gómez
José Miguel Gómez
José Miguel Gómez y Gómez was a Cuban General in the Cuban War of Independence who went on to become President of Cuba.-Early career:...
. Still, the conservative-liberal distinction fails to address many of the major political issues in Cuban governmental history
History of Cuba
The known history of Cuba, the largest of the Caribbean islands, predates Christopher Columbus' sighting of the island during his first voyage of discovery on 27 October 1492...
.