Opposition is a term that expresses the rivalry, struggle or confrontation between two parties. If one person faces another in a sporting activity, both are opponents. The opposition is the opposing party and the members who oppose something express their disagreements with respect to the other. The discrepancies or differences can be sporting, intellectual or of any kind.
However, the idea of opposition is used mainly in the field of politics, especially in democracies. The opposition is the minority group or groups that disagree with the government that has the majority of popular support.
The opposition controls the government's action and periodically requests explanations about the measures that are adopted from the executive branch. Likewise, the opposition makes proposals through the citizen's chamber of representatives. In this sense, the opposition presents itself as an alternative to the elected government.
The idea of opposition in politics is also applicable to sectors or groups of civil society that express their opposite ideas to the representatives of the institutions. Through various activities and initiatives they express their disagreement and communicate their opposition to the rulers. In a similar vein, public opinion also expresses its ideas and thanks to freedom of expression it can oppose government action. Social networks also exert an opposing force and citizens use them to speak out in public debate.
There is only opposition if there is democracy, since in totalitarian systems an opposition does not really manifest itself and if it does it is from underground.
In countries with a democratic tradition, there are two majority parties that, alternatively, are succeeding each other in the power of the nation. Consequently, the government becomes opposition and vice versa. This is the general trend, although the traditional model of democracy based on bipartisanship is weakening, with social movements appearing without the classical structure of politics.
Outside of politics, the word opposition is used to refer to the public administration personnel selection process. The one who prepares to pass an exam and a selection process is an opponent, who has to compete with others, curiously his rivals, his opponents.
