Manuel Buenacasa Tomeo
Encyclopedia
Manuel Buenacasa Tomeo was a Spanish
trade unionist and anarchist
and a militant of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
.
He was a carpenter and a journalist by profession. Between 1900 and 1905 joined a Franciscan convent from Andalusia
. Subsequently, he participated in the Federation of Trade Unions in Zaragoza
in 1911 and was exiled to France from where he traveled to London
, where he met Vladimir Lenin
and Enrico Malatesta. In 1914, he returned to Barcelona
, where he established contact with the anarcho syndicalist
leaders Anselmo Lorenzo
, Ángel Pestaña
and Salvador Seguí
. In 1915 was exiled back to Paris
, where he was a member of the Comité de Relaciones Anarquistas Internacionales (Committee on International Anarchist Relations) and met Mahatma Gandhi
. In 1916, he traveled to Lausanne
, Switzerland
where he again conferred with Lenin. Back in Spain, he was made a prisoner and after being jailed in the prisons of San Sebastián
, Gijón
, Zaragoza
, Madrid
and Barcelona
, regained freedom in 1918 and was elected General Secretary of the CNT. In January 1919, in the run-up to the La Canadiense strike
of 1919 was arrested and imprisoned in the ship Pelayo, together with other trade unionists. As part of the National Committee of the CNT, he attended the Confederal Congress, held in Madrid in December of that year, in which he served as president of the conference in the second session and was one of the twenty-four signatories of opinion on the declaration of the union
's ideology, which stated: "The purpose of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo of Spain is Libertarian Communism
".
In 1920, he helped to organize, a general strike in Zaragoza to protest the assassination of Francesc Layret
. He served as regional secretary of Aragon
of the CNT and as such attended the Extraordinary Conference which was held in the Aragonese capital between 11 and 14 June 1922. In 1923, he helped to organize an anarchist congress in Madrid, which agreed to the formation of a Federación Nacional de Grupos Anarquistas ("National Federation of Anarchist Groups"). In 1929, he was exiled in Toulouse
, where he established a carpentry shop where he worked until 1930 when he was expelled from France and returned to Barcelona. After the Spanish Civil War
, (1936–1939) he returned to France and supported the split in the CNT in 1945. In 1961 participated in the congress of the CNT in exile. He contributed to the publications, Tierra y Libertad and Solidaridad Obrera
, in Barcelona, with the pseudonym
of Manuel S. Ordo. He edited the magazine Cultura y Acción (in 1910 and 1921), the organ of the Aragonese regional body of the Anarcho-Syndicalists. He also edited the Gijón Solidaridad Obrera (1922) and El Productor, a publication based in Blanes
, Gerona in 1925. He published several books, among which are: El movimiento obrero español. 1886-1926 and Historia y Crítica, La CNT, los Treinta y la FAI, y Perspectivas del movimiento obrero español His writings form a major internal source of data on the CNT and FAI.
Though he remained a militant anarchist throughout his life, he opposed the terroristic tactics of some Anarchist groups.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
trade unionist and anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
and a militant of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
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...
.
He was a carpenter and a journalist by profession. Between 1900 and 1905 joined a Franciscan convent from Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
. Subsequently, he participated in the Federation of Trade Unions in Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
in 1911 and was exiled to France from where he traveled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he met Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and Enrico Malatesta. In 1914, he returned to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, where he established contact with the anarcho syndicalist
Anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. The word syndicalism comes from the French word syndicat which means trade union , from the Latin word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek word σύνδικος which means caretaker of an issue...
leaders Anselmo Lorenzo
Anselmo Lorenzo
Anselmo Lorenzo was a defining figure in the early Spanish Anarchist movement, earning the oft quoted sobriquet "the grandfather of Spanish anarchism," in the words of Murray Bookchin; "his contribution to the spread of Anarchist ideas in Barcelona and Andalusia over the decades was enormous"...
, Ángel Pestaña
Ángel Pestaña
Ángel Pestaña Nuñez was a Spanish Anarcho-syndicalist and later Syndicalist leader.-Early life:...
and Salvador Seguí
Salvador Seguí
Salvador Seguí , known as El noi del sucre for his habit of eating the sugar cubes served him with his coffee, was a Catalan anarcho-syndicalist in the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo , a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions active in Catalonia.Together with Ángel Pestaña,...
. In 1915 was exiled back to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he was a member of the Comité de Relaciones Anarquistas Internacionales (Committee on International Anarchist Relations) and met Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
. In 1916, he traveled to Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
where he again conferred with Lenin. Back in Spain, he was made a prisoner and after being jailed in the prisons of San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
, Gijón
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, regained freedom in 1918 and was elected General Secretary of the CNT. In January 1919, in the run-up to the La Canadiense strike
La Canadiense Strike
The La Canadiense Strike was an historic strike action in Barcelona, Spain, that began in February 1919 and evolved over forty-four days into a general strike paralyzing much of the industry of Catalonia...
of 1919 was arrested and imprisoned in the ship Pelayo, together with other trade unionists. As part of the National Committee of the CNT, he attended the Confederal Congress, held in Madrid in December of that year, in which he served as president of the conference in the second session and was one of the twenty-four signatories of opinion on the declaration of the 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...
's ideology, which stated: "The purpose of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo of Spain is Libertarian Communism
Libertarian communism
Libertarian communism is a theory of libertarianism which advocates the abolition of the state and private property, and capitalism in favor of common ownership of the means of production, a direct democracy and self-governance....
".
In 1920, he helped to organize, a general strike in Zaragoza to protest the assassination of Francesc Layret
Francesc Layret
Francesc Layret i Foix was a nationalist and republican Catalan politician and lawyer. He was assassinated in 1920 following the mass detention of several of his colleagues and other left-wing politicians and union leaders.Layret was a democrat, republican, Catalan nationalist and defender of...
. He served as regional secretary of Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
of the CNT and as such attended the Extraordinary Conference which was held in the Aragonese capital between 11 and 14 June 1922. In 1923, he helped to organize an anarchist congress in Madrid, which agreed to the formation of a Federación Nacional de Grupos Anarquistas ("National Federation of Anarchist Groups"). In 1929, he was exiled in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he established a carpentry shop where he worked until 1930 when he was expelled from France and returned to Barcelona. After 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...
, (1936–1939) he returned to France and supported the split in the CNT in 1945. In 1961 participated in the congress of the CNT in exile. He contributed to the publications, Tierra y Libertad and Solidaridad Obrera
Solidaridad Obrera (periodical)
Solidaridad Obrera is a newspaper, published by the Catalonian/Balearic regional section of the anarchist labor union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo , and mouthpiece of the CNT in Spain....
, in Barcelona, with the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Manuel S. Ordo. He edited the magazine Cultura y Acción (in 1910 and 1921), the organ of the Aragonese regional body of the Anarcho-Syndicalists. He also edited the Gijón Solidaridad Obrera (1922) and El Productor, a publication based in Blanes
Blanes
Blanes is a town on the Costa Brava in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The coast of Blanes has 4 km of different kinds of beaches, including the Blanes beach and S'Abanell beach.-Main sights:...
, Gerona in 1925. He published several books, among which are: El movimiento obrero español. 1886-1926 and Historia y Crítica, La CNT, los Treinta y la FAI, y Perspectivas del movimiento obrero español His writings form a major internal source of data on the CNT and FAI.
Though he remained a militant anarchist throughout his life, he opposed the terroristic tactics of some Anarchist groups.