Democratic and Social Movement (Algeria)

The Democratic and Social Movement (Arabic: الحركة الديمقراطية والاجتماعية‎; French: Mouvement Démocratique et Social, MDS) is a political party in Algeria that was founded in 1966.

Democratic and Social Movement

الحركة الديمقراطية والاجتماعية
French nameMouvement Démocratique et Social
AbbreviationMDS
LeaderHamid Ferhi
FounderBachir Hadj Ali
Founded1966 (1966)
Preceded byAlgerian Communist Party (unofficial)
HeadquartersAlgiers, Algeria
IdeologySocialism
Secularism
Political positionLeft-wing
National affiliationForces of the Democratic Alternative
People's National Assembly
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Website
mdsalgerie.wordpress.com
Algeria
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Algeria

Member State of the African Union Member State of the Arab League

History

The party was founded in 1966 as the Socialist Vanguard Party (French: Parti de l'Avant-Garde Socialiste, PAGS) by Bachir Hadj Ali.[1] Although not legally recognized, it persisted as a political opposition party throughout the single-party period in Algeria. As an outgrowth of the Algerian Communist Party (Parti Communiste Algérien), which disappeared soon after Algerian independence, the PAGS has consistently opposed the government, offering sharp criticism of all political leaders and most of their programs. Its members, referred to as "Pagsistes", had infiltrated almost every legally recognized mass association despite their unofficial status. The Pagsistes were especially prominent in such organizations as the UNJA and General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) encouraging leftist tendencies.

The PAGS coalition relationship with the regime ended when Chadli Bendjedid came to power, who sought to purge pagistes from positions of power within the state-party apparatus, and moved toward economic liberalization.

The party was legalized in 1989.

In 1993, PAGS was reconstructed as Ettehadi by El Hachemi Chérif. A group who wanted to retain the communist legacy of the party broke away and formed the Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism. During the Algerian Civil War, Ettehadi strongly opposed the Islamists and supported the banning of Islamic Salvation Front, (FIS).

In 1999, Ettehadi was reconstructed as the Democratic and Social Movement (Mouvement Démocratique et Social). In the 17 May 2007 People's National Assembly elections, the MDS won 0.89% of the vote and 1 out of 389 seats.[2]

Regional strength

In the Algerian legislative election, 2007, support for the MDS was higher than its national average (0.89%) in the following provinces:

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References
  1. "Leftist Parties of Algeria". Broad Left. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  2. Algerian Interior Ministry Archived 2007-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
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