Communist Party of Spain
Encyclopedia
The Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Spain. It is the largest member organization of the United Left
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...

 electoral coalition and has influence in the largest trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 in Spain, Workers' Commissions
Workers' Commissions
The Workers' Commissions since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the socialist Unión General de Trabajadores , with the syndicalist Confederación General del Trabajo ...

 (CCOO).

The youth organisation of PCE is the Communist Youth Union of Spain
Communist Youth Union of Spain
The Communist Youth Union of Spain is the Youth Organization of the Communist Party of Spain, defined by its by-laws as "Independent in organizational issues, autonomous in political issues and under the strategical line of the Party." UJCE defines itself as Marxist-Leninist and is based on the...

. PCE publishes Mundo Obrero
Mundo Obrero
Mundo Obrero is the periodical of the Communist Party of Spain . It is edited monthly and contains articles related to the Spanish and international political situations, the opinions of the different bodies of the party as well as relevant party members, and on the activities of the Party and the...

(Workers World) monthly.

Establishment and pre-republican era

The PCE was the result of a merger between two organisations: the original Spanish Communist Party (Partido Comunista Español or PCE) and the Spanish Communist Workers' Party (Partido Comunista Obrero Español
Spanish Communist Workers' Party (1921)
The Spanish Communist Workers' Party was a communist party founded on April 13, 1921 by the terceristas, who had been trying to persuade the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party to join the Comintern...

or PCOE). The former was created in April 1920 from portions of the Socialists
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...

' youth organisation (Federación de Juventudes Socialistas or FJS) while the latter had been formed from a union of dissident Socialists (terceristas) and members of the General Union of Workers (Unión General de Trabajadores
Unión General de Trabajadores
The Unión General de Trabajadores is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party .-History:...

or UGT) who regarded the original PCE as not properly representative of the working class.

The two parties joined in the new Partido Comunista de España on November 14, 1921. The unified PCE became a member of the Third International
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...

 and held its first congress in Sevilla in March 1922. In May, Jules Humbert-Droz
Jules Humbert-Droz
Jules Humbert-Droz was a Swiss Communist and a founding member of the Communist Party of Switzerland. He held high Comintern office through the 1920s and also acted as Comintern emissary to several west European countries. Prior to his becoming a Communist, Humbert-Droz was a pastor...

, the top Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...

 official in Western Europe, arrived in Spain to supervise the still fractious party and would continue to do so until the establishment of the republic.

By the end of 1922 the party had approximately 5,000 members. The PCE's left-wing engaged in political violence, especially in Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...

, largely directed against other leftists. A party leader's bodyguard shot and killed a Socialist in November 1922 and organized party militants attempted a general strike in August 1923 that ended in a shootout at the barricaded party headquarters, resulting in twenty communists dead or injured and another seventy arrested.

With the advent of the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...

 in September 1923, political parties, including the PCE, were repressed and rendered largely powerless though not dissolved. The party continued to publish its weekly newspaper La Antorcha until 1927. In November 1925, PCE leaders joined with Comintern officials and leaders of the Catalonian-separatist Estat Català
Estat Català
Estat Català is a historical pro-independence political party in Catalonia, Spain.Despite its role in the 20th and 21st centuries both in Catalan and Spanish politics, ever since Spain returned to democracy in the 1970s, the party has not managed to get any of its candidates elected, having...

 in endorsing a revolutionary program calling for:
  • Abolition of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship and the monarchy,
  • Creation of a república federativa popular (federal popular republic),
  • Recognition of independence for Catalonia
    Catalonia
    Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

    , the Basque Country, and Morocco
    Morocco
    Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

    ,
  • Total freedom of association,
  • Expropriation of large estates and distribution of land to peasants,
  • Organisation of workers' councils in industry,
  • Formation of a central committee for revolution consisting of respresentatives from several parties as well as a military committee, and
  • A planned insurrection in Madrid.


However, Moscow urged a cautious approach and the CNT
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions affiliated with the International Workers Association . When working with the latter group it is also known as CNT-AIT...

 and Basque nationalists were reluctant to cooperate with communists, so the plans were never carried out. The PCE continued to suffer from repression and dissension. The party's second secretary general, José Bullejos, purged the party of politically suspect members, and was himself arrested in 1928. In 1930 the arguments over doctrine led the Catalan-Balearic Communist Federation (FCCB) to break from the party and associate with the International Right Opposition. Amid this infighting, Comintern official Dmitry Manuilsky
Dmitry Manuilsky
Dmitriy Manuilsky, or Dmytro Zakharovych Manuilsky was an important Bolshevik. He was the son of an Orthodox priest from a Ukrainian village. After secondary school he enrolled in the University of St...

 reportedly stated that, while Spain had "an excellent proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...

", it had only "a few little groups, but not a communist party."

Thus, the PCE was in a very debilitated state when the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

 was proclaimed in 1931. On December 3, 1933 the first PCE parliamentarian, Cayetano Bolívar Escribano, was elected. Bolívar was jailed at the time of elections and left imprisonment to occupy his post in the parliament.

Popular Front and Civil War

PCE was a small party during the initial years of the Republic, until it began to grow due to the victory of the Popular Front
Popular Front (Spain)
The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election....

 (of which the Communists had been a constituent part) in February 1936 and the beginning of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

 in July of that year. The PCE, directed by José Díaz and Dolores Ibárruri
Dolores Ibárruri
Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez , known more famously as "La Pasionaria" was a Spanish Republican leader of the Spanish Civil War and communist politician of Basque origin...

 (known popularly as La Pasionaria), worked consistently for the victory of the Republican forces and the Popular Front government, but was wary of the popular social revolution
Spanish Revolution
The Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly libertarian socialist organizational principles throughout various portions of the country for two to...

 that was being waged by Spanish workers. The communists have also been seen as one of major factors behind the 1937 Barcelona May Days
Barcelona May Days
Barcelona May Days were a period of civil violence in Catalonia, between May 3 and May 8, 1937, when factions on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged each other in street battles in the city of Barcelona.Clashes began when units of the Assault Guard – under the...

, when anarchists and Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification was a Spanish communist political party formed during the Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War...

 (POUM) were violently suppressed, with many imprisoned.

The PCE thus helped the republican government to violently suppress the Spanish Revolution
Spanish Revolution
The Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly libertarian socialist organizational principles throughout various portions of the country for two to...

, as the Soviet Union did not want to antagonise France and Britain while facing the growing Nazi threat. Being a well-knit and highly disciplined organisation, the PCE could in spite of its numerical weakness play an important part in the war. In the first five months of the war, PCE grew from 30,000 members to 100,000. It also founded a Spanish branch of the International Red Aid, which assisted the Republican cause considerably.

In 1936, due to the special political situation in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

, Partit Comunista de Catalunya
Communist Party of Catalonia
Communist Party of Catalonia was the branch of the Communist Party of Spain in Catalonia. PCC was formed in 1932, substituting the Catalan-Balearic Communist Federation . In 1936 PCC merged with other groups to form the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia. At that time PCC had around 2000...

 (the Catalan branch of PCE) was separated from the party to fuse with other socialists to form Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya. Since then the PCE does not have an organization in Catalonia, but relies on a regional referent party. This set-up has been imitated by many of the communist splinter groups in Spain.

Resistance and reorientation

After the Republican defeat in April 1939, the PCE was persecuted by the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

 (1939–1975), although maintained the best organization among the opposition parties inside Spain. During the initial years of the Franco regime, PCE organized guerrilla struggles in some parts of the country.

From the signing of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...

 to the German assault
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

 on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Spanish communists pursued neutralist policies with regards to Germany's aggression against Poland and France, regarding the war as imperialist and unjust. Much like the identical positions of other Moscow-directed Stalinist parties, this position was changed immediately after Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

A large part of the party membership was forced into exile. Some PCE members went to the Soviet Union and fought as volunteers for the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 during the Second World War, such as General Enrique Líster
Enrique Líster
Enrique Líster Forján was a Spanish communist politician and military officer.-Early life:...

. A large section of PCE members were based in France, were a major party organisation was set up. During the later half of the Franco years, PCE changed its strategy and started organizing Workers' Commissions
Workers' Commissions
The Workers' Commissions since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the socialist Unión General de Trabajadores , with the syndicalist Confederación General del Trabajo ...

 (CC.OO.) within the official trade union apparatus. CC.OO. and PCE gained strength and became the backbone of the opposition forces in the country.

Dolores Ibárruri, "La Pasionaria", a dedicated follower of consequent Comintern policies, replaced Jose Diaz as General Secretary in 1942, and held the position until 1960. Santiago Carrillo
Santiago Carrillo
Santiago Carrillo Solares is a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain from 1960 to 1982.- Childhood and early youth :...

 was General Secretary from 1960 to 1982. Carrillo put the party on a eurocommunist course, distancing it from its Leninist origins. Carrillo accepted concessions to the 'bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...

', accepting the restoration of a liberal democracy
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...

 and constitutional monarchy. This was regarded by many Party members as a treason, for these concessions were made to classes the Party's doctrine called 'exploiters'. The Party was legalized after the January 1977 Atocha Massacre, on April 9, 1977 as one of the last steps in the Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...

. Only weeks after the legalization, PCE had over 200,000 card-holding members.

Transition to democracy

But the concessions made by Carrillo (labelled 'revisionist' by his orthodox communist opponents) and the social democratisation of the party under his leadership provoked dissent amongst party ranks. Several party members left the party. Enrique Líster
Enrique Líster
Enrique Líster Forján was a Spanish communist politician and military officer.-Early life:...

 broke away in 1973 and formed the Partido Comunista Obrero Español. Other more radical left-wing groups that broke away were Partido Comunista de los Trabajadores (formed by the Left Opposition of PCE in 1977) and PCE (VIII-IX Congresos) (formed in 1971).

In the first elections after the transition in 1977, PCE obtained 10% of the votes and received a similar result in 1979. In 1982, PCE suffered an electoral defeat. The electoral defeat and broad dissent amongst the party membership against Carrillo's social democratic path led to the removal of Carrillo from the party leadership. In 1985 Carrillo was expelled from the party.

In 1986, during anti-NATO protests, the PCE and other left wing groups formed Izquierda Unida (IU). At the moment, the PCE has about 30,000 members. From 1982 to 1988, the General Secretary was Gerardo Iglesias. Between 1988 and 1998, its General Secretary was Julio Anguita
Julio Anguita
Julio Anguita González is a Spanish communist politician. He was Mayor of Córdoba, Spain from 1979 to 1986 and coordinator of United Left between 1989 and 1999 and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain from 1988 to 1998.-Biography:A member of a military family, he broke with familiar...

 and since 1998 the post is held by Francisco Frutos
Francisco Frutos
Francisco Frutos Gras is a Spanish politician who was since 1998 until 2009, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain ....

, a member of the Cortes
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...

.

Notably PSUC, the Catalan referent of PCE, did not reverse its eurocommunist course as PCE had done in 1982. Gradually PSUC and PCE grew apart. Finally PSUC decided to dissolve itself into Iniciativa per Catalunya, and cease to function as a communist party. This provoked a 45% minority to break-away and form PSUC viu
PSUC viu
PSUC viu is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. PSUC viu emerged out of factional fighting within the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia in the mid-1990s. Since 1936 PSUC had been the Catalan referent of the Communist Party of Spain...

 (Living PSUC). Since 1998 PSUC viu (United and Alternative Left
United and Alternative Left
United and Alternative Left is a political party from Catalonia, Spain. EUiA has 4000 members and it is the Catalan correspondent of the Spain-wide United Left ....

) is the referent of PCE in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

.

Federations of PCE

PCE consists of 15 federations:
  • Partido Comunista de Andalucía
  • Partido Comunista de Aragón
    Communist Party of Aragon
    Communist Party of Aragon , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Aragon....

  • Partido Comunista de Asturias
    Communist Party of Asturias
    Communist Party of Asturias , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Asturias....

  • Partido Comunista de las Illes Balears
  • Partido Comunista de Canarias
    Communist Party of the Canaries
    Communist Party of the Canaries , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in the Canary Islands. The general secretary of PCC is Maria D. Puig Barrios. Its headquarters are in Santa Cruz de Tenerife....

  • Partido Comunista de Cantabria
    Communist Party of Cantabria
    Communist Party of Cantabria , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Cantabria....

  • Partido Comunista de Castilla La Mancha
  • Partido Comunista de Castilla y León
  • Partido Comunista de Euskadi - Euskadiko Partidu Komunista
    Communist Party of Euskadi
    Communist Party of Euskadi , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Basque Country and Navarre....

  • Partido Comunista de Extremadura
    Communist Party of Extremadura
    Communist Party of Extremadura , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Extremadura....

  • Partido Comunista de Galicia
    Communist Party of Galicia
    The Communist Party of Galicia , is the affiliate of the Communist Party of Spain in Galicia....

  • Partido Comunista de Madrid
    Communist Party of Madrid
    Communist Party of Madrid , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in the Community of Madrid....

  • Partido Comunista de la Región de Murcia
    Communist Party of the Region of Murcia
    Communist Party of the Region of Murcia , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Murcia....

  • Partido Comunista de La Rioja
    Communist Party of La Rioja
    Communist Party of La Rioja , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in La Rioja. The party was registered with the Spanish Ministry of Interior on November 13, 1986....

  • Partido Comunista del País Valencià


PSUC viu
PSUC viu
PSUC viu is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. PSUC viu emerged out of factional fighting within the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia in the mid-1990s. Since 1936 PSUC had been the Catalan referent of the Communist Party of Spain...

 participates in PCE congresses, etc. as a PCE federation.

See also

  • José Díaz
  • Dolores Ibárruri
    Dolores Ibárruri
    Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez , known more famously as "La Pasionaria" was a Spanish Republican leader of the Spanish Civil War and communist politician of Basque origin...

  • Valentín González
    Valentín González
    Valentín González González was a Republican military commander during the Spanish Civil War. Known as El Campesino , González was one of many competent officers to have served in the Ejército Popular of the Second Spanish Republic.Born in Malcocinado, Badajoz, Spain, Gonzalez worked as a miner...

  • Juan Modesto
    Juan Modesto
    Juan Modesto Guilloto León was a Republican army officer during the Spanish Civil War.-Early life:He originally worked at a sawmill before joining the Spanish Army...

  • Enrique Líster
    Enrique Líster
    Enrique Líster Forján was a Spanish communist politician and military officer.-Early life:...

  • Santiago Carrillo
    Santiago Carrillo
    Santiago Carrillo Solares is a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain from 1960 to 1982.- Childhood and early youth :...

  • Jorge Semprún
    Jorge Semprún
    Jorge Semprún Maura was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the era of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived clandestinely in Spain working as an organizer for the exiled Communist Party of Spain, but was expelled...

  • Marcelino Camacho
    Marcelino Camacho
    Marcelino Camacho Abad , was a Spanish trade unionist and politician. He was a founding member of Comisiones Obreras and its first Secretary-General, holding this position between 1976 and 1987, and a communist deputy for Madrid Province between 1977 and 1981.Born the son of a unionized signalman...

  • Julio Anguita
    Julio Anguita
    Julio Anguita González is a Spanish communist politician. He was Mayor of Córdoba, Spain from 1979 to 1986 and coordinator of United Left between 1989 and 1999 and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain from 1988 to 1998.-Biography:A member of a military family, he broke with familiar...

  • Francisco Frutos
    Francisco Frutos
    Francisco Frutos Gras is a Spanish politician who was since 1998 until 2009, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain ....

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