Chile's' Liberal Party (Partido Liberal), Conservative Party…

Chile's' Liberal Party (Partido Liberal), Conservative Party (Partido Conservador), and National Party (Partido Nacional) had been formed in 1857.

Once the Liberal Party replaced the Conservative Party as the dominant party, the Liberal Party was in turn challenged from the left by the more fervent reformists of the Radical Party (Partido Radical).

A spin-off from the Liberal Party, the Radical Party had been founded in 1861.

Reformists of the Democratic Party (Partido Democratico), which in turn splinters from the Radical Party in 1887, also challenge the Liberal Party.

The National Party also vies with the Conservatives and Liberals to represent upper-class interests.

Derived from the Montt presidency, the National Party, which represents the elite and the landed aristocracy, takes a less proclerical, more centrist position than that of the Conservatives.

Party competition escalates after the electoral reform of 1874 extends the franchise to all literate adult males, effectively removing property qualifications.