People's Electoral Movement (Venezuela)
People's Electoral Movement Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Dissolved | 2007 |
| Split from | Democratic Action |
| Merged into | PSUV |
| Political position | Left-wing |
The People's Electoral Movement (Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo, MEP) was a left-wing political party in Venezuela, founded in 1967 by Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa. It merged into PSUV in 2007.
The MEP was founded after Prieto Figueroa won the 1967 Acción Democrática (AD) primary election, only to see his nomination overturned by the Romulo Betancourt faction, in favour of Gonzalo Barrios, considering Prieto too far left.[1] Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the Venezuelan Senate as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters.[1] Prieto Figueroa achieved 19% of the vote in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1968, coming fourth in a close election (Rafael Caldera won with 29%). However Prieto's subsequent electoral run, in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1978 (the party endorsed Jesús Ángel Paz Galarraga in 1973), achieved only just over 1% of votes.
Prieto Figueroa led the party until his death in April 1993. At the December 1993 election it was part of the National Convergence coalition which successfully backed Rafael Caldera. The party supported Hugo Chávez from 1998 onwards, and in the legislative elections, 4 December 2005, the party won 11 out of 165 seats in the National Assembly. It merged into PSUV on 20 October 2007.
Presidential candidates supported
- 1968 election: Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa (19.34%)
- 1973 election: Jesús Ángel Paz Galarraga (5.07%)
- 1978 election: Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa (1.12%)
- 1983 election: José Vicente Rangel (3.34%)
- 1988 election: Edmundo Chirinos
- 1993 election: Rafael Caldera
- 1998 election: Hugo Chávez
- 2000 election: Hugo Chávez
- 2006 election: Hugo Chávez