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101-590: IU was founded as an electoral coalition of seven parties, but the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) is the only remaining integrated member of the IU at the national level. Despite that, IU brings together other regional parties, political organizations, and independents. It currently takes the form of a permanent federation of parties. IU took part in the Unidas Podemos coalition and the corresponding parliamentary group in

202-399: A "strong and disciplined state." General Sanjurjo would be the head of this new regime, due to being widely liked and respected within the military, though his position would be a largely symbolic due to his lack of political talent. The 1931 Constitution would be suspended, replaced by a new "constituent parliament" which would be chosen by a new politically purged electorate, who would vote on

303-565: A Nationalist assault in November 1936, and frustrated subsequent offensives against the capital at Jarama and Guadalajara in 1937. Soon, though, the rebels began to erode their territory, starving Madrid and making inroads into the east. The north, including the Basque country, fell in late 1937, and the Aragon front collapsed shortly afterward. The bombing of Guernica was probably the most infamous event of

404-529: A PCE federation. Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (Spanish: República Española ), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (Spanish: Segunda República Española ), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII . It was dissolved on 1 April 1939 after surrendering in

505-736: 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 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

606-486: A civil war. The involvement of forces of public order and a lack of action against the attackers hurt public opinion of the government. No effective action was taken; Payne points to a possible veto by socialists within the government who shielded the killers who had been drawn from their ranks. The murder of a parliamentary leader by state police was unprecedented, and the belief that the state had ceased to be neutral and effective in its duties encouraged important sectors of

707-565: A decrease from 70,000 in 2012. Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( Spanish : Partido Comunista de España ; PCE ) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar . Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of Labour and Social Economy) and Sira Rego (Minister of Youth and Children) . The PCE

808-504: A full-scale socialist revolution would needlessly divide the forces of the Republic. It would cause massive conflict behind republican lines, thus diverting military forces from the battle against Franco and driving many democratic republicans who were prepared to fight against the rebels into the arms of the rebels. Being a well-knit and highly disciplined organization, the PCE could in spite of its numerical weakness play an important part in

909-598: A general stoppage in Madrid , other strikes did not endure. This left Asturian strikers to fight alone. Miners in Asturias occupied the capital, Oviedo , killing officials and clergymen. Fifty eight religious buildings including churches, convents and part of the university at Oviedo were burned and destroyed. The miners proceeded to occupy several other towns, most notably the large industrial centre of La Felguera , and set up town assemblies, or "revolutionary committees", to govern

1010-628: A group of guerrillas who fought against the regime. Years later, the Maquis' power declined, and the PCE abandoned the military strategy. Instead, it chose to interfere in the only legal syndicate (which was part of the Francoist apparatus), the Vertical Syndicate . Franco died on 20 November 1975, and two days later, Juan Carlos I was crowned. Juan Carlos I would lead the Spanish transition to democracy ,

1111-460: A landslide victory for republicans. Two days later, the Second Republic was proclaimed, and King Alfonso XIII went into exile. The king's departure led to a provisional government of the young republic under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora . Catholic churches and establishments in cities like Madrid and Sevilla were set ablaze on 11 May. In June 1931 a Constituent Cortes was elected to draft

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1212-499: 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 1944, and held

1313-833: A member of the Third International and held its first congress in Sevilla in March 1922. In May, Jules Humbert-Droz , the top Comintern 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 , largely directed against other leftists. A party leader's bodyguard shot and killed

1414-729: A new constitution, which came into force in December. The new constitution established freedom of speech and freedom of association , extended suffrage to women in 1933, allowed divorce, and stripped the Spanish nobility of any special legal status. It also effectively disestablished the Roman Catholic Church , but the disestablishment was somewhat reversed by the Cortes that same year. Its controversial articles 26 and 27 imposed stringent controls on Church property and barred religious orders from

1515-457: A number of captured priests, businessmen and civil guards were summarily executed by the revolutionaries in Mieres and Sama . This rebellion lasted for two weeks until it was crushed by the army, led by General Eduardo López Ochoa . This operation earned López Ochoa the nickname "Butcher of Asturias". Another rebellion by the autonomous government of Catalonia, led by its president Lluís Companys ,

1616-413: A police truck. His body was dropped at the entrance of one of the city's cemeteries. According to all later investigations, the perpetrator of the murder was a socialist gunman, Luis Cuenca, who was known as the bodyguard of PSOE leader Indalecio Prieto . Calvo Sotelo was one of the most prominent Spanish monarchists who, describing the government's actions as Bolshevist and anarchist, had been exhorting

1717-642: A policy of non-interventionism, as exemplified by the actions of the Non-Intervention Committee . Imposed in the name of neutrality , the international isolation of the Spanish Republic ended up favouring the interests of the future Axis Powers . The Siege of the Alcázar at Toledo early in the war resulted in the rebels winning after a long siege. The Republicans managed to hold out in Madrid, despite

1818-607: A revolutionary strike action was seen in Málaga the same year. A Catholic church in Zaragoza was burnt down in 1933. In November 1932, Miguel de Unamuno , one of the most respected Spanish intellectuals, rector of the University of Salamanca, and himself a Republican, publicly raised his voice to protest. In a speech delivered on 27 November 1932, at the Madrid Ateneo, he protested: "Even

1919-431: A time when the PCE became also extremely relevant, due to Franco's anti-communist legacy. Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez legalized the PCE on 9 April 1977, a decision which was particularly controversial, but ended peacefully. The PCE largely contributed to the restoration of democracy in Spain during the lead of Secretary-General Santiago Carrillo . Since 1986, it is part of the United Left coalition. In its statutes ,

2020-561: Is actually disputed, as some have suggested that as many as a million people died. Over the years, historians kept lowering the death figures, and modern research concluded that 500,000 deaths were the correct figure. On 17 July 1936, General Franco led the Spanish Army of Africa from Morocco to attack the mainland, while another force from the north under General Emilio Mola moved south from Navarre. Military units were also mobilised elsewhere to take over government institutions. Before long

2121-424: Is often considered the catalyst for the further political polarisation that ensued. The Falange and other right-wing individuals, including Juan de la Cierva , had already been conspiring to launch a military coup d'état against the government, to be led by senior army officers. When the antifascist Castillo and the anti-socialist Calvo Sotelo were buried on the same day in the same Madrid cemetery, fighting between

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2222-617: The 1933 elections was won by the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA). In face of CEDA's electoral victory, president Alcalá-Zamora declined to invite its leader, Gil Robles, to form a government. Instead he invited the Radical Republican Party 's Alejandro Lerroux to do so. Despite receiving the most votes, CEDA was denied cabinet positions for nearly a year. After a year of intense pressure, CEDA,

2323-525: The Congreso de los Diputados between 2016 and 2023. Since January 2020, it participated for the first time in a national coalition government , with one minister. For the 2023 general election , IU took part in the Sumar platform. Following the electoral failure of the PCE in the 1982 general election (going from 10% to 4% of the votes), PCE leaders believed that the PCE alone could no longer effectively challenge

2424-821: The Italian military intervention in Spain and the German involvement in the Spanish Civil War ), and neighbouring Portugal gave the rebels was much greater and more effective than the assistance that the Republicans received from the USSR, Mexico, and volunteers of the International Brigades . While the Axis powers wholeheartedly assisted General Franco's military campaign, the governments of France, Britain, and other European powers pursued

2525-498: The People's Party (PP). After achieving poor results in the 1999 local and European elections , IU decided to adopt a more conciliatory attitude towards the PSOE, and agreed to sign an electoral pact with the PSOE for the upcoming general election in 2000 . They also adopted a universal policy in favor of cooperating with the PSOE at the local level. IU currently has around 18,000 members,

2626-505: The Police Assault Guard and fascist militias broke out in the surrounding streets, resulting in four more deaths. The killing of Calvo Sotelo with police involvement aroused suspicions and strong reactions among the government's opponents on the right. Although the nationalist generals were already planning an uprising, the event was a catalyst and a public justification for a coup. Stanley Payne claims that before these events,

2727-888: The Popular Front (of which the Communists had been a constituent part) in February 1936 and the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in July of that year. The PCE, directed by José Díaz and Dolores Ibárruri (known popularly as La Pasionaria ), worked consistently for the victory of the Republican forces and the Popular Front government, but was wary of the social revolution that was being waged by Spanish workers. The PCE leadership judged that while progressive laws could be passed, an attempt at

2828-557: The Socialists ' youth organization ( 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 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 14 November 1921. The unified PCE became

2929-555: The Spanish Civil War to the Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco . After the proclamation of the Republic, a provisional government was established until December 1931, at which time the 1931 Constitution was approved. During this time and the subsequent two years of constitutional government, known as the Reformist Biennium , Manuel Azaña 's executive initiated numerous reforms to what in their view would modernize

3030-519: The Spanish Communist Workers' Party ( Spanish : Partido Comunista Obrero Español ). The PCE was first legalized after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in April 1931. The republic was the first democratic regime in the history of Spain . The PCE gained much support in the months before the Spanish coup of July 1936 , which marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War , and it

3131-585: The University of Oviedo . In the occupied areas, the rebels officially declared a proletarian revolution and abolished regular money. The rebellion was crushed by the Spanish Navy and the Spanish Republican Army , the latter using mainly Moorish colonial troops from Spanish Morocco . In 1935, after a series of crises and corruption scandals, President Alcalá-Zamora , who had always been hostile to

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3232-484: The encyclical Dilectissima Nobis . The legislative branch was changed to a single chamber called the Congress of Deputies . The constitution established legal procedures for the nationalisation of public services and land, banks, and railways. The constitution provided generally accorded civil liberties and representation. The Republican Constitution also changed the country's national symbols. The Himno de Riego

3333-565: The laïcité variety. The youth organization of PCE is the Communist Youth Union of Spain . PCE publishes Mundo Obrero (Workers World) monthly. The PCE was the result of a merger between two organizations: the original Spanish Communist Party ( Partido Comunista Español or PCE) and the Spanish Communist Workers' Party ( Partido Comunista Obrero Español or PCOE). The former was created in April 1920 from portions of

3434-561: The " bourgeoisie ", accepting the restoration of a liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy. This was regarded by many Party members as treason, for these concessions were made to classes the Party's doctrine called "exploiters". Communists played a fundamental role in the 1962 miners' strike , the first large-scale social movement since the end of the civil war, by putting their informal networks at its service, but also by involving their exiled activists to organize international solidarity. At

3535-616: The "United Left" alliance Izquierda Unida (IU). This broad coalition initially encompassed parties ranging from the pro-Soviet PCPE to the socialist PASOC , the Progressive Federation , and the Carlist Party . Despite its role in the anti- NATO protests of 1986, IU fared weakly in the 1986 elections, and by 1988, the Communist Party elected Julio Anguita as new General Secretary, which he remained until 1998. Under Anguita,

3636-665: The 1936 elections were rigged. This view has been criticised by Eduardo Calleja and Francisco Pérez, who question the charges of electoral irregularity and argue that the Popular Front would still have won a slight electoral majority even if all of the charges were true. In the thirty-six hours following the election, sixteen people were killed (mostly by police officers attempting to maintain order or intervene in violent clashes) and thirty-nine were seriously injured, while fifty churches and seventy right wing political centres were attacked or set ablaze. The right had firmly believed, at all levels, that they would win. Almost immediately after

3737-622: The 1936 elections. On 7 January 1936, new elections were called. Despite significant rivalries and disagreements, the socialists, Communists, and the Catalan-and-Madrid-based left-wing Republicans decided to work together under the name Popular Front . The Popular Front won the election on 16 February with 263 MPs against 156 right-wing MPs, grouped within a coalition of the National Front with CEDA, Carlists , and Monarchists. The moderate centre parties virtually disappeared; between

3838-551: The Catalan-separatist Estat Català in endorsing a revolutionary program calling for the following: However, Moscow urged a cautious approach, and the CNT 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

3939-549: The February 1936 elections, a group of Guardia de Asalto and other leftist militiamen mortally shot the opposition leader José Calvo Sotelo on 12 July 1936. This assassination convinced many military officers to back the planned coup. Three days later (17 July), the revolt began with an army uprising in Spanish Morocco , followed by military takeovers in many cities in Spain. Military rebels intended to seize power immediately, but they were met with serious resistance as most of

4040-535: The Inquisition was limited by certain legal guarantees. But now we have something worse: a police force which is grounded only on a general sense of panic and on the invention of non-existent dangers to cover up this over-stepping of the law." In 1933, all remaining religious congregations were obliged to pay taxes and banned from industry, trade and educational activities. This ban was forced with strict police severity and widespread mob violence. The majority vote in

4141-473: The Left Opposition of PCE in 1977) and PCE (VIII-IX Congresos) (formed in 1971). In the first elections after the transition in 1977, the PCE obtained 9% of the votes, and in 1979 it increased its vote share to 11%. By this time, however, the party had become increasingly divided into three currents. Carrillo's supporters were squeezed between, on the one hand, pro-soviet communists who had remained within

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4242-411: The PCE again modified its course. Frutos led IU into the election of 2000, after signing an electoral pact with PSOE, only to see the IU vote halved to 4%. He was then himself defeated when running to become the new IU coordinator by Gaspar Llamazares, who pursued a course of further rapprochement with PSOE. Tensions within IU grew when Llamazares was re-elected as IU coordinator in 2004 with a plurality of

4343-547: The PCE defines its goals as "democratically participate in a revolutionary transformation of society and its political structures, overcoming the capitalist system and constructing socialism in the Spanish State, as a contribution to the transition to socialism worldwide, with our goals set in the realization of the emancipating ideal of communism ". It defines itself as revolutionary , internationalist , solidarity , republican , feminist , and secularist , specifically, of

4444-611: 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. The PCE clashed with anarchists in Barcelona during the May Days of 1937. After the Republican defeat in April 1939, the PCE was persecuted by the Nationales of caudillo Francisco Franco (1939–1975), although maintained

4545-404: The PCE was in a very debilitated state when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931. On 3 December 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. PCE was a small party during the initial years of the Republic, until it began to grow due to the victory of

4646-476: The Peoples of Spain , PASOC , Carlist Party , Humanist Party , Unitarian Candidacy of Workers , and Republican Left . In contrast to the PCE prior to the formation of IU, which pursued a more moderate political course, the new IU adopted a more radical strategy and ideology of confrontation against the PSOE. IU generally opposed cooperating with the PSOE, and identified it as a "right-wing party", no different from

4747-456: The advantage of liberty." In June 1936, Miguel de Unamuno , disenchanted with the unfolding of the events, told a reporter who published his statement in El Adelanto that President Manuel Azaña should commit suicide as a patriotic act. On 12 July 1936, Lieutenant José Castillo , an important member of the anti-fascist military organisation Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista (UMRA),

4848-513: The army to intervene, declaring that Spanish soldiers would save the country from communism if "there are no politicians capable of doing so". Prominent rightists blamed the government for Calvo Sotelo's assassination . They claimed that the authorities did not properly investigate it and promoted those involved in the murder whilst censoring those who cried out about it and shutting down the headquarters of right-wing parties and arresting right-wing party members, often on "flimsy charges". The event

4949-718: The best organization among the opposition parties inside Spain. During the initial years of the Francoist State, PCE organized guerrilla struggles in some parts of the country. 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 during the Second World War, such as General Enrique Líster . A large section of PCE members were based in France, where

5050-503: 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 members left the party. Enrique Líster 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

5151-452: The conflict assumed the dimension of a war of religion, and military authorities increasingly deferred to the Church and to the expression of Catholic sentiment. However, Mola's program was vague and only a rough sketch, and there were disagreements among coupists about their vision for Spain. Franco's move was intended to seize power immediately, but his army uprising met with serious resistance, and great swathes of Spain, including most of

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5252-424: The country. The revolt was remarkably devoid of any particular ideology. The major goal was to put an end to anarchical disorder. Mola's plan for the new regime was envisioned as a "republican dictatorship", modelled after Salazar's Portugal and as a semi-pluralist authoritarian regime rather than a totalitarian fascist dictatorship. The initial government would be an all-military "Directory", which would create

5353-418: The country. In 1932 religious orders were forbidden control of schools, while the government began a large-scale school-building project. A moderate agrarian reform was carried out. Home rule was granted to Catalonia , with a local parliament and a president of its own. Soon, Azaña lost parliamentary support and President Alcalá-Zamora forced his resignation in September 1933. The subsequent 1933 election

5454-416: The coup, though it seems Mola did not envision the mass atrocities and repression that would ultimately manifest during the civil war. Of particular importance to Mola was ensuring the revolt was at its core an Army affair, one that would not be subject to special interests and that the coup would make the armed forces the basis for the new state. However, the separation of church and state was forgotten once

5555-427: The elections, Lerroux's group fell from the 104 representatives it had in 1934 to just 9. American historian Stanley G. Payne thinks that there was major electoral fraud in the process, with widespread violation of the laws and the constitution. In line with Payne's point of view, in 2017, two Spanish Scholars, Manuel Álvarez Tardío and Roberto Villa García, published the result of a research where they concluded that

5656-444: The electoral hegemony of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) on the left. With this premise, the PCE began developing closer relations with other left-wing groups, with the vision of forming a broad left coalition. IU slowly improved its results, reaching 9% in 1989 (1,800,000 votes) and nearly 11% in 1996 (2,600,000 votes). The founding organizations were: Communist Party of Spain , Progressive Federation , Communist Party of

5757-492: The failure of the Asturias miners' uprising, led to a more radical turn by the parties of the left, especially in the PSOE (Socialist Party), where the moderate Indalecio Prieto lost ground to Francisco Largo Caballero , who advocated a socialist revolution. At the same time, the involvement of the Centrist government party in the Straperlo and Nombela scandals deeply weakened it, further polarising political differences between right and left. These differences became evident in

5858-403: The fulfillment of the Constitutional mission of the first legislature, the second one had been a simple bid to trigger early elections. The right reacted as if radical communists had taken control, despite the new cabinet's moderate composition; they were shocked by the revolutionary masses taking to the streets and the release of prisoners. Convinced that the left was no longer willing to follow

5959-406: The government before the outbreak of the Civil War. The Constitution guaranteed a wide range of civil liberties, but it opposed key beliefs of the right wing, which was very rooted in rural areas, and desires of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, which was stripped of schools and public subsidies. The 1931 Constitution was formally effective from 1931 until 1939. In the summer of 1936, after

6060-402: The government, called for new elections, instead of inviting CEDA, the party with most seats in the parliament, to form a new government. The Popular Front won the 1936 general election with a narrow victory. The Right accelerated its preparations for a coup, which had been months in the planning. Amidst the wave of political violence that broke out after the triumph of the Popular Front in

6161-409: The idea of rebellion by army officers against the government had weakened; Mola had estimated that only 12% of officers reliably supported the coup and at one point considered fleeing the country for fear he was already compromised, and had to be convinced to remain by his co-conspirators. However, the kidnapping and murder of Sotelo transformed the "limping conspiracy" into a revolt that could trigger

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6262-501: The increasing popular opposition, the Radicals and Socialist majority postponed the regular elections, therefore prolonging their way in power for two more years. This way the republican government of Manuel Azaña initiated numerous reforms to what in their view would "modernize" the country. Landowners were expropriated. Autonomy was granted to Catalonia, with a local parliament and a president of said parliament. Catholic churches in major cities were again subject to arson in 1932, and

6363-413: The issue of republic versus monarchy. Certain liberal elements would remain, such as separation of church and state as well as freedom of religion. Agrarian issues would be solved by regional commissioners on the basis of smallholdings, but collective cultivation would be permitted in some circumstances. Legislation prior to February 1936 would be respected. Violence would be required to destroy opposition to

6464-427: The largest party in the congress, was finally successful in forcing the acceptance of three ministries. However the entrance of CEDA in the government, although being normal in a parliamentary democracy, was not well accepted by the left. The Socialists triggered an insurrection that they had been preparing for nine months. A general strike was called by the UGT and the PSOE in the name of the Alianza Obrera . The issue

6565-432: The late 1980s, as the PCE had done, and 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 (Living PSUC). Since 1998, PSUC viu ( United and Alternative Left ) is the referent of PCE in Catalonia . After Anguita's retirement, and succession by Francisco Frutos ,

6666-434: The main cities remained loyal to the Republic. An estimated total of half a million people would die in the war that followed. During the Spanish Civil War, there were three Republican governments. The first was led by left-wing republican José Giral (from July to September 1936); a revolution inspired mostly by libertarian socialist , anarchist and communist principles broke out in its territory. The second government

6767-420: The main cities, remained loyal to the Republic of Spain. The leaders of the coup (Franco was not commander-in-chief yet) did not lose heart with the stalemate and apparent failure of the coup. Instead, they initiated a slow and determined war of attrition against the Republican government in Madrid. As a result, an estimated total of half a million people would die in the war that followed; the number of casualties

6868-459: The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War , it became largely irrelevant after the authority of the Republic was superseded in many places by revolutionary socialists and anarchists on one side, and Nationalists on the other. With the new constitution approved in December 1931, once the constituent assembly had fulfilled its mandate of approving a new constitution, it should have arranged for regular parliamentary elections and adjourned. However, fearing

6969-422: The participation of the left in the revolt: "The uprising of 1934 is unforgivable. The argument that Mr Gil Robles tried to destroy the Constitution to establish fascism was, at once, hypocritical and false. With the rebellion of 1934, the Spanish left lost even the shadow of moral authority to condemn the rebellion of 1936." The suspension of the land reforms that had been attempted by the previous government, and

7070-411: The party and felt his Eurocommunist course took the party too far on a social democratic path and, on the other hand, "renovators" who advocated for democratizing the party and opening it up towards more collaboration with other groups on the left. In the midst of successive waves of expulsions of members who belonged to the minority currents, the PCE suffered an electoral defeat in 1982, getting just 4% of

7171-453: The party took a turn towards the left and fundamental opposition to both PSOE and PP, and many of the members who had previously been expelled for pro-Soviet views returned to the party. By 1991, the party had 70,000 members, and IU rebounded in the 1989 elections, winning 9.1% of the vote that year and slightly increasing it to 9.6% in 1993 and 10.5% in 1996. Notably, PSUC, the Catalan referent of PCE, did not reverse its eurocommunist course in

7272-465: The peak of the mobilization, more than 60,000 workers stopped work. A first breach in the edifice of Franco's dictatorship, which had ruled the country for more than twenty years. The Party was legalized after the January 1977 Atocha massacre , on 9 April 1977, as one of the last steps in the Spanish transition to democracy . Only weeks after the legalization, PCE had over 200,000 card-holding members. But

7373-500: The position until 1960. Santiago Carrillo was General Secretary from 1960 to 1982. In 1963, after the Communist Party of Spain abandoned the armed struggle, hard-line Communists, led by Julio Álvarez del Vayo , founded the Spanish National Liberation Front (FELN), a small splinter group. Carrillo put the party on a eurocommunist course, distancing it from its Leninist origins. Carrillo accepted concessions to

7474-449: The post-election environment could become violent and was trying to quell the perceived leftist threat. Valladares resigned, even before a new government could be formed. However, the Popular Front, which had proved an effective election tool, did not translate into a Popular Front government. Largo Caballero and other elements of the political left were not prepared to work with the republicans, although they did agree to support many of

7575-423: The professional Army of Africa had much of the south and west under the control of the rebels and by October 1936, Time Magazine declared that "façade of the Spanish Republic was crumbling". Bloody purges followed in each piece of captured "Nationalist" territory in order to consolidate Franco's future regime. Although both sides received foreign military aid, the help that Fascist Italy , Nazi Germany (as part of

7676-507: The proposed reforms. Manuel Azaña was called upon to form a government before the electoral process had come to an end, and he would shortly replace Zamora as president, taking advantage of a constitutional loophole: the Constitution allowed the Cortes to remove the President from office after two early dissolutions, and while the first (1933) dissolution had been partially justified because of

7777-463: The ranks of educators. Scholars have described the constitution as hostile to religion, with one scholar characterising it as one of the most hostile of the 20th century. José Ortega y Gasset stated, "the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me." Pope Pius XI condemned the Spanish government's deprivation of the civil liberties of Catholics in

7878-429: The restoration of democracy in Spain, the government-in-exile formally dissolved the following year. On 28 January 1930, the military dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera (who had been in power since September 1923 ) was overthrown. This led various republican factions from a wide variety of backgrounds (including conservatives, socialists and Catalan nationalists) to join forces. The Pact of San Sebastián

7979-441: The results were known, a group of monarchists asked Robles to lead a coup, but he refused. He did, however, ask prime minister Manuel Portela Valladares to declare a state of war before the revolutionary masses rushed into the streets. Franco also approached Valladares to propose the declaration of martial law and calling out of the army. This was not a coup attempt, but more of a "police action" akin to Asturias , as Franco believed

8080-431: The right to join the rebellion. Within hours of learning of the murder and the reaction, Franco , who until then had not been involved in the conspiracies, changed his mind on rebellion and dispatched a message to Mola to display his firm commitment. Three days later (17 July), the coup d'état began more or less as it had been planned, with an army uprising in Spanish Morocco , which then spread to several regions of

8181-436: The rule of law and that its vision of Spain was under threat, the right abandoned the parliamentary option and began to conspire as to how to best overthrow the republic, rather than taking control of it. This helped the development of the fascist-inspired Falange Española, a National party led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera , the son of the former dictator, Miguel Primo de Rivera , although it only received 0.7 percent of

8282-447: The towns that they controlled. Thirty thousand workers were mobilized for battle within ten days. In the occupied areas the rebels officially declared the proletarian revolution and abolished regular money. The revolutionary soviets set up by the miners attempted to impose order on the areas under their control, and the moderate socialist leadership of Ramón González Peña and Belarmino Tomás took measures to restrain violence. However,

8383-399: The vote against the candidate who was supported by the PCE leadership, Enrique Santiago. He again defeated a PCE candidate in an IU leadership primary in 2007. The alliance suffered more disappointing election results (4-5% in 2004 and 2008). By 2009, PCE membership was down to 20,000. After the 2008 election, Llamazares resigned as IU coordinator, and later that year, PCE politician Cayo Lara

8484-482: The vote, and was eclipsed by the new left-wing party Podemos . UP subsequently joined with Podemos in the Unidos Podemos alliance, which received 21% of the vote in the 2016 election. The PCE, meanwhile, moved in its XX Congress in 2017 to explicitly embrace Marxism–Leninism again, marking a break with the previous forty years. The PCE consists of 15 federations: PSUC viu participates in PCE congresses, etc., as

8585-412: The vote. After the 1982 elections, Carrillo was removed as general secretary, and the new party leader Gerardo Iglesias pursued a strategy of leftist convergence and collaboration with non-communist parties and social movements. Over the objections of Carrillo, who was expelled in 1985 and went on to found a new party and warn that supporting IU was tantamount to "burying communism", the PCE developed

8686-609: The votes in the election. By July 1936, the Falange had a mere 40,000 members among millions of Spaniards. The country quickly moved towards anarchy. Even the socialist Indalecio Prieto , at a party rally in Cuenca in May 1936, complained: "we have never seen so tragic a panorama or so great a collapse as in Spain at this moment. Abroad Spain is classified as insolvent. This is not the road to socialism or communism but to desperate anarchism without even

8787-606: The war and inspired Picasso's painting . It was used as a testing ground for the German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion . The Battle of the Ebro in July–November 1938 was the final desperate attempt by the Republicans to turn the tide. When this failed and Barcelona fell to the rebels in early 1939, it was clear the war was over. The remaining Republican fronts collapsed, and Madrid fell in March 1939. The Second Spanish Republic's economy

8888-612: 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 , Partit Comunista de Catalunya (the Catalan branch of PCE) was separated from the party to fuse with other socialists to form Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya . Since then

8989-472: Was a major force during the war as well. The Republicans lost, and Franco established a military dictatorship , under which the PCE was one of the most heavily repressed parties, with specific laws banning communist parties, among others. Under the dictatorship, the PCE was the main opposition to the Francoist dictatorship. In the early years of the dictatorship, many PCE members joined the Spanish Maquis ,

9090-478: Was also suppressed and was followed by mass arrests and trials. With this rebellion against an established political legitimate authority, the Socialists showed identical repudiation of representative institutional system that anarchists had practiced. The Spanish historian Salvador de Madariaga , an Azaña supporter and an exiled vocal opponent of Francisco Franco, is the author of a sharp critical reflection against

9191-596: Was called by the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in the name of the Alianza Obrera . The rebellion developed into a bloody revolutionary uprising , aiming to overthrow the republican government. Armed revolutionaries managed to take the whole province of Asturias , killing policemen, clerics, and businessmen and destroying religious buildings and part of

9292-484: Was elected to replace him on the platform "For an anti-capitalist, republican, federal, and alternative United Left". IU shifted back towards a more confrontational attitude towards the PSOE, and José Luis Centella succeeded Frutos as PCE general secretary the next year. For the 2015 elections, IU joined up with further partners in the Popular Unity (UP) alliance, led by PCE politician Alberto Garzón . It received 4% of

9393-624: Was established as the national anthem, and the Tricolor , with three horizontal red-yellow-purple fields, became the new flag of Spain. Under the new Constitution, all of Spain's regions had the right to autonomy . Catalonia (1932), the Basque Country (1936) and Galicia (although the Galician Statute of Autonomy could not come into effect due to the war) exercised this right, with Aragon , Andalusia and Valencia , engaged in negotiations with

9494-598: Was founded by 1921, after a split in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( Spanish : Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE). The PCE was founded by those who opposed the social democratic wing of the PSOE, because the social democrat wing did not support the PSOE's integration in the Communist International founded by Vladimir Lenin two years prior. The PCE was a merger of the Spanish Communist Party ( Spanish : Partido Comunista Español ) and

9595-554: 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 reportedly stated that, while Spain had "an excellent proletariat ", it had only "a few little groups, but not a communist party". Thus,

9696-664: Was led by the PSOE's Francisco Largo Caballero . The UGT, along with the National Confederation of Workers (CNT), were the main forces behind the social revolution . The third government was led by socialist Juan Negrín , who led the Republic until the military coup of Segismundo Casado , which ended republican resistance and ultimately led to the victory of the Nationalists. The Republican government survived in exile and retained an embassy in Mexico City until 1976. After

9797-527: Was mostly agrarian, and many historians call Spain during this time a "backward nation". Major industries of the Second Spanish Republic were located in the Basque region (due to it having Europe's best high-grade non-phosphoric ore) and Catalonia. This greatly contributed to Spain's economic hardships, as their center of industry was located on the opposite side of the country from their resource reserves, resulting in immense transportation costs due to

9898-415: Was shot by Falangist gunmen. In response, a group of Guardia de Asalto and other leftist militiamen led by Civil Guard Fernando Condés, after getting the approval of the minister of interior to illegally arrest a list of members of parliament, went to right-wing opposition leader José Calvo Sotelo 's house in the early hours of 13 July on a revenge mission. Sotelo was arrested and later shot dead in

9999-534: Was that the Left Republicans identified the Republic not with democracy or constitutional law but with a specific set of left-wing policies and politicians. Any deviation, even if democratic, was seen as treasonous. The inclusion of three CEDA ministers in the government that took office on 1 October 1934 led to a country wide revolt. A " Catalan State " was proclaimed by Catalan nationalist leader Lluis Companys , but it lasted just ten hours. Despite an attempt at

10100-564: Was the key to the transition from monarchy to republic. Republicans of all tendencies were committed to the Pact of San Sebastian in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic. The restoration of the royal Bourbons was rejected by large sectors of the populace who vehemently opposed the King. The pact, signed by representatives of the main Republican forces, allowed a joint anti-monarchy political campaign. The 12 April 1931 municipal elections led to

10201-531: Was won by the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA). However the President declined to invite its leader, Gil Robles , to form a government, fearing CEDA's monarchist sympathies. Instead, he invited the Radical Republican Party 's Alejandro Lerroux to do so. CEDA was denied cabinet positions for nearly a year. In October 1934, CEDA was finally successful in forcing the acceptance of three ministries. The Socialists triggered an insurrection that they had been preparing for nine months. A general strike

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