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National Party (White), Uruguay

Partido Nacional (Blanco)

image by Francisco Gregoric, 29 May 2004

Presentation
Flag
Variants of the flag

Internal groups of the National Party:
Lista71 fraction flag

Former internal groups of the National Party:
Corriente Popular Nacionalista (it quit the party in 1986)
Juventud por el Resurgir Nacionalista flag (separated from the party in 2005)

See also:

Other sites:

Official party webpage, showing its coat-of-arms
reported by Rodolfo Tizzi, 10 Jul 2002

Presentation

There was no mention of party flags on the party’s charter, but they had, of course, a note on their colour.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000

The Blanco (White) Party is the traditional conservative party. Since the 30s, these identifications have gotten complex, and some parts of the Blancos are to the left of many parts of the Colorados.
Norm Martin, 07 Sep 2000

Blancos and Colorados made an alliance against the left wing Frente Amplio, so as to defeat their candidate. They won eventually.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000

The National Party has its origins in the times of the second constitutional president of Uruguay Manuel Oribe. In times of Oribe's Presidency (1835-1838) there was a decree that made compulsory for military leaders, soldiers , policemen, government officers and citizens the use of a white ribbon called "Divisa Defensor de las Leyes" (Defender of the Laws Motto) because of its inscription. It was also called "Divisa Blanca" (White Motto). These ribbons could be used in hats or other parts of the male cloth, and there were several variants of them. That is why de group of Oribe's followers were called "blancos" (whites).

"Defender of the Laws Motto" used during Manuel Oribe's Presidency (there are several variants).

image by Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

image by Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

There was a civil war between the blancos and the colorados since the 1830s to the 1850s, with several foreign nations (like Argentina, Brazil, France and the UK) intervening in the Uruguayan civil war helping Oribe or Rivera. In the 1850s the colorados won, and since then they have ruled in Uruguay most of the time. There were just a few presidents from the Partido Nacional or "Blanco" in Uruguayan History.

In 1872 the "whites" took their present party's name: "Partido Nacional".

The National Party traditionally has had a lot of support in rural areas, while the colorados have had support in big cities. The colorados were a more "liberal" party, and the blancos defined themselves as a very nationalist party.

During the 20 Century, both traditional parties developed and several internal trends appeared in both political groups. Both parties have had their right and left wings.

Some internal groups of blancos have quit their party since the 1960s. Most of them are now part of the coalition Encuentro Progresista-Frente Amplio.
Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Flag

(In the 1830s & the 1840s) the White Party, had sympathies to Argentina. It wanted to form a federation with that country under the federalists. Rosas, a federalist in Argentina, ironically identified (himself) with the red colour. So the (National Party) colours are white and light blue (like in the Argentine flag), two stripes

Later, near 1880 the White Party was nationalist, against the Red Party with sympathies with Brazil. So the colours most commonly used around 1900 where blue and white, like the national flag. You can see in the 71 faction sign, the use of these colours. All National Party uses the colours white and blue. The leaders wear blue suits, and white shirts, always with a blue tie. It is a tradition.
Martin Abal Barz, 28 Apr 2003

The flag of the Partido Nacional (Blanco) has two horizontal stripes: above white, and below sky blue. We can see it everyday at the party house (Juan Carlos Gómez 1384, Montevideo).
Alvaro Richino, 07 Sep 2003

Variants of the flag

The official flag of the party is the plain horizontal bicolor (white and light blue). However sometimes it is common to add something to the flag to create a kind of "non-official" flags, like the portrait of an historical leader or politician of the party, the name of a candidate, or a text.
Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Flag with the portrait of Aparicio Saravia

image by Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Aparicio Saravia was a very important leader of the National Party during the last years of the 19 Century and the first years of the 20 Century. He led countryside people's revolutions against the government of the Colorados. Aparicio Saravia was killed in 1904. During the commemoration of the century of his death in 2004, this flag of the National Party with his portrait, was risen by a member of the party in a meeting made in Masoller, the place where Saravia died. In the meeting a lot of national, departmental and political flags were present. Some of them were just white flags with Saravia portraits.
Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Other sites:

Pictures of the 2004 meeting made in Masoller (it takes time to load) at the official webpage of "Herrerismo",
reported by Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Flag with inscription

image by Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

This flag with the inscription "SOBRERO" for the National Party politician Nelson Sobrero, appeared in a meeting with former president of Uruguay Luis Alberto Lacalle. The picture could be seen some time ago in the Webpage of the internal National Party group Aguila Blanca (White Eagle) of which Nelson Sobrero is member.
Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Other sites:

Agrupación Aguila Blanca official webpage,
reported by Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

There are more variants of the flag of the National Party. In the official party's website appears a drawing of a shallow-tailed National Party flag. However this is a kind of decoration similar to the small shallow-tailed flags used by cavalry troops in their spears. Probably this is kind of homage to the countryside people, where historically the National Party has had a lot of support.
Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Other sites:

Drawing of a shallow tailed flag at the official party webpage,
reported by António Martins, 09 Aug 2004

Lista 71 fraction flag

image by Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Flag of the Lista71 fraction of the National Party for the 1999 general election.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000

Apart from the obvious "71" motive, the background seems to suggest the stripes of the national flag.
António Martins, 30 May 2002

The Uruguayan political system is divided in political parties, which are subdivided in party sectors (large groupings), which in turn are subdivided in smaller groups. Usually sectors have their own profile (incl. a presidential candidate) and drag along the grouping affiliated to them. Each of these party sectors and groups have their own name and list number.

All this is due to the fact that representatives (senators and members of legislative body) are elected by the same ballot that elects the President and Vice-President, and allows to distinguish who got more votes, according to the votes on each list. The relationship between our list 717 and the list 71 is that we belong to the same party, though to different sectors.
Gustavo Calandra former president of JRN, 04 Aug 2003

Lista 71 represents a sector of Partido Nacional known as "Herrerismo" for Dr. Luis Alberto Herrera, an historical member of Partido Nacional that died in 1959. The current leader of the "Herrerismo" is the former president of Uruguay, Luis Alberto Lacalle.
Francisco Gregoric, 12 Dec 2004

Corriente Popular Nacionalista (it quit the party in 1986)

Corriente Popular Nacionalista (CPN) (Nationalist Popular Trend) was an internal group of the National Party that broke with the party in 1986 and became an independent political party. After that, there was a trial in Electoral Justice: the National Party against that group, and the word Nacionalista had to be removed from their name. That is how the political party Corriente Popular (Popular Trend) was born.
Francisco Gregoric, 15 Dec 2004

Juventud por el Resurgir Nacionalista - Lista 717 (separated from the party in 2005)

[Juventud por el Resurgir Nacionalista Flag]

image by Gustavo Calandra, 19 Oct 2002

I attach an image of the flag of our movement, so you can add it to your directory. Our movement is called Juventud por el Resurgir Nacionalista (JRN)
Gustavo Calandra former president of JRN, 19 Oct 2002

Other sites:

Official JRN webpage: www.jrn.com.uy [Dead link],
reported by its former president Gustavo Calandra, 19 Oct 2002

Juventud por el Resurgir Nacionalista (JRN) is a youth movement inside Partido Nacional. Its name means "Youth for the Nationalist Revive". The symbol in the flag is taken from the Partido Nacional emblem or coat of arms, where the JRN belongs.
Francisco Gregoric, 30 May 2004

According to information and sources published in the Uruguayan newspapers El País, El Observador and La República, the group JRN or Juventud por el Resurgir Nacionalista (Youth for the Nationalist Revive) was separated from the Partido Nacional (National or White Party) last 11 April 2005 by unanimous vote of the Directory of the National Party, and it is not an internal sub-group of that party anymore.

According these sources, the decision was taken after some neo-nazi publications were found in property of some members of the group and some neo-nazis were detained with publications of the group. Senator Julio Lara of the National Party was one of the promoters of the expulsion of the JRN from the party. The group had been denounced before of being anti-Semitic by Nahum Bergstein a deputy (representative) of the Colorado Party. Ex-members of the JRN denied these accusations. The group then asked the Partido Nacional to quit from it, and the Directory of the party unanimously voted that separation.
Francisco Gregoric, 16 Jun 2005