The
Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national
political partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
of
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. It is the largest member organization of the coalition
Izquierda UnidaThe United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 as several political organisations opposed Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
(IU, United Left) and has influence in the largest union of Spain,
Workers' CommissionsThe 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.).
The youth organization of PCE is Unión de Juventudes Comunistas de España (Young Communist League of Spain). PCE publishes
Mundo ObreroMundo 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.
Initial establishment
The first communist party in Spain, Partido Comunista Español (Spanish Communist Party) had been formed out of the Federación de Juventudes Socialistas (Federation of Socialist Youth, youth wing of the PSOE). P.C. Español was established on April 15, 1920. It started to publish
El Comunista.
Partido Comunista Obrero EspañolPartido Comunista Obrero Español was the name of 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...
(Spanish Communist Workers' Party) was founded on April 13, 1921 by the
terceristas, who had been trying to persuade the PSOE to join the
Third InternationalThe Comintern was an international Communist organization founded in Moscow in March 1919...
. When the PSOE congress decided to join the Vienna International instead of the
Third InternationalThe Comintern was an international Communist organization founded in Moscow in March 1919...
, the
terceristas broke away and formed PCOE.
The Partido Comunista de España was founded on November 14, 1921 through an act of merger of Partido Comunista Español and Partido Comunista Obrero Español. The unified PCE became a member of the
Third InternationalThe Comintern was an international Communist organization founded in Moscow in March 1919...
. The first congress of PCE is held in Sevilla in March 1922. In its early days, PCE suffered severely from the repression of the dictatorship of general
Miguel Primo de RiveraMiguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella 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 parties.- Early years :Miguel Primo de Rivera was born...
(1923–1930).
After some inner party fighting,
pro-MoscowStalinism was the political system and ideology of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1928–1953...
direction emerged as victorious and began to determine the party line. The Catalan-Balearic Communist Federation (FCCB) broke away from the party in 1930. FCCB came associated with the International Right Opposition, and would later provide the backbone for the Workers and Peasants Bloc (BOC).
Thus, the PCE was in a very debilitated state when the
Second Spanish RepublicThe Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14, 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas and April 1, 1939, when the last of the Republican ...
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 FrontThe 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 WarThe Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...
in July of that year. The PCE, directed by
José DíazJosé Díaz Ramos was a Spanish trade unionist and communist politician.-Trade unionism:Born in Sevilla and a baker by trade, he became known as the leader of a strike in 1917. After the start of Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, Díaz continued his labor activism in clandestinity, and then,...
and
Dolores IbárruriDolores Ibárruri Gómez , known more famously as "La Pasionaria" was a Spanish Republican leader of the Spanish Civil War and communist politician of Basque origin, perhaps best known for her defense of the Republic with the famous slogan ¡No Pasarán! , during the Battle of Madrid...
(known popularly as
La Pasionaria), worked consistently for the victory of the Republican forces and the Popular Front government, but was wary of left-adventurist trends which disrupted the Republican unity. The communists have also been seen as one of major factors behind the 1937 May events in Barcelona, when anarchists' and
POUMThe POUM or Partido Obrero Unificación Marxista was a Spanish communist political party formed during the Second Republic, and mainly active around the time of the Spanish Civil War...
were violently suppressed with many imprisoned.
The PCE thus helped the republican government to remove dissident elements, which could have discredited it with the massive anarchic atrocities (directed against the clericals and aristocrats). Being a well-knit and highly disciplined organization, 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
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
,
Partit Comunista de CatalunyaCommunist 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 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 FrancoFrancisco Franco Bahamonde, commonly known as Francisco Franco , or simply Franco, was a military general and dictator of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975...
(1939–1975), although maintained the best organization of the opposition 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 PactThe Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, colloquially 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 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and signed in...
to German assault on the USSR 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. This position was changed immediately after Germany invaded the USSR.
A large part of the party membership was forced into exile. Some PCE members went to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and fought as volunteers for the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
during the Second World War, such as General
Enrique ListerEnrique Líster Forján was a Spanish communist politician and military officer....
. There were still others, though, who fell victim to Stalin's permanent purges. A large section of PCE members were based in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, were a major party organization was set up. During the later half of the Franco years, PCE changed its strategy and started organizing Workers' Commissions (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 CarrilloSantiago Carrillo Solares , Spanish politician, was the 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
bourgeoisieHistorically, the bourgeoisie were a social class of people, characterized by their ownership of capital and the related culture. They were a part of the middle or merchant classes of European feudalism, where their power came from employment, education, and wealth, as distinguished from those...
, accepting the restoration of a
liberal democracyLiberal democracy is the dominant form of democracy in the 21st century. During the Cold War, liberal democracies were contrasted with the Communist People's Republics or "Popular Democracies", which claimed an alternative conception of democracy...
and constitutional monarchy. This was regarded by many as a treason, for these concessions were made to the exploitators. The party was legalized after the January 1977 Atocha Massacre, on April 9, 1977 as one of the last steps in the transition to
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
in Spain. 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 democratization of the party under his leadership provoked dissent amongst party ranks. Several party militants left the party.
Enrique ListerEnrique Líster Forján was a Spanish communist politician and military officer....
broke away in 1973 and formed 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 they got 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 the anti-
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
struggle, PCE and other leftist groups formed Izquierda Unida (IU). At the moment, the PCE has about 30,000 militants. From 1982 to 1988, the General Secretary was Gerardo Iglesias. Between 1988 and 1998, its General Secretary was
Julio AnguitaJulio Anguita González . Spanish politician and a former teacher. After serving as Mayor of Córdoba from 1979 until 1988, he was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain in 1988. Later he became leader of the leftist coalition Izquierda Unida...
and since 1998 the post is held by
Francisco FrutosFrancisco Frutos Gras is a Spanish politician and since 1998, has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain ....
, a member of the
CortesThe 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...
.
Currently, Communist Party of Spain holds ties with
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
,
Communist Party of CubaThe Communist Party of Cuba is currently the governing political party in Cuba. It is a Marxist-Leninist organization. The present Cuban constitution ascribes the role of the Party to be the "leading force of society and of the state"...
and
Workers' Party of KoreaThe Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea. It is also called the Korean Workers' Party...
.
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 viuPSUC 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 (EUiA) is the referent of PCE in
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
.
Federations of PCE
PCE consists of 15 federations:
- Partido Comunista de Andalucía
- Partido Comunista de Aragón
Communist Party of Aragon , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Aragon....
- Partido Comunista de 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 , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in the Canary Islands. The general secretary of PCC is Maria D. Puig Barrios....
- Partido Comunista de 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 León
- Partido Comunista de Euskadi - Euskadiko Partidu Komunista
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 , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Extremadura....
- Partido Comunista de Galicia
Communist Party of Galicia , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Galicia....
- Partido Comunista de 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 , is the federation of the Communist Party of Spain in Murcia....
- Partido Comunista de 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 viuPSUC 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.
External links