Pere Ardiaca
Encyclopedia
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...
communist politician. In 1982, he, Marià Pere, Josep Serradell and dozens of other communist leaders founded the Party of the Communists of Catalonia
Party of the Communists of Catalonia
Party of the Communists of Catalonia is a political party in Catalonia. PCC was formed in April 1982 by the pro-Soviet fraction of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia . The formation of PCC was the peak of a long and intense struggle within PSUC between the pro-Soviet and Eurocommunist...
(PCC). He was its president until his death.
Biography
In 1926 he moved to BarcelonaBarcelona
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 worked as a painter decorator until 1929 where he was forced to emigrate to France, because he refused military service. There he joined the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
(PCF) in the locality of Besiers. Later he was a selected to represent a local committee in Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
.
On the proclamation of 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....
, he returned to Spain and his native Balaguer, where he became affiliated with the Bloc Obrer i Camperol. In 1933 he left this group and joined the Communist Party of Catalonia
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...
, where in just a year later he became Political Secretary. This was short-lived after the events on October 6 of 1934 and he merged into the International Red Aid
International Red Aid
International Red Aid was an international social service organization established by the Communist International...
party.
In 1936 on the outbreak 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...
he was part of an Executive Committee for the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia
Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia
The Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia , was formed on July 23, 1936 through the unification of four left-wing groups; the Catalan Federation of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party , the Partit Comunista de Catalunya , the Unió Socialista de Catalunya and the...
(PSUC) and appointed director of the magazine Treball is appointed. In 1937 he was in charge of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
for the eastern army commission. When the Spanish civil war was over he fled the country in exile and began a pilgrimage, first in France and then through the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean including Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
In 1948 he returned and joined the PSUC, and in 1960 was an elected member of the Central Committee. He moved to Barcelona around 1960 where he being active in the Treball magazine that he had previously worked on at least 20 years earlier. In 1962 however, his actions were stopped and he was condemned to 21 years in prison, but was released in 1971 after being imprisoned in the 1960s.
After the death of Franco, he was a candidate for the first elections to the Parliament of Catalonia
Parliament of Catalonia
The Parliament of Catalonia is the unicameral legislature of Catalonia. It is formed by 135 members , who are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of Catalonia, by universal suffrage in proportional lists with four...
, and chosen deputy to congress for Lérida. In January 1981 he celebrated the 5th Congress of the PSUC where he became President, but was expelled in December of that same year together with other outstanding leaders to form the Partit dels Comunistes de Catalonia in 1982 and was president until his death.
In his later years he spent time in Russia where he died in Moscow, USSR, on November 5, 1986.