The Evolution of Social Movements in Spain: A Historical Overview
5. The First Social Movements
The Birth of the Labor Movement
The first liberal legislation did not cover any labor relations and regulations, explicitly prohibiting workers’ associations. In light of this situation, the first protests against the new industrial working conditions took a violent and illegal form in the 1820s. This was the first Luddism, the first expression of rebellion by workers against the introduction of new machines, which they attributed responsibility for the loss of jobs and the decrease in their monthly wages. The incident involved the Bonaplanta factory in Barcelona, the first steam-operated factory in Spain. Workers realized that their problems were not with the machines but with the working conditions imposed by the progressively more exploitative owners.
The focus of the protests was on labor relations, and the workers’ struggle was oriented towards the defense of their rights and improving their living conditions. This led to the first embryo of workers’ associations aimed at defending their interests. In 1834, a group in Barcelona presented a petition to the Captain General of Catalonia against employers’ decisions to increase the dimensions of the pieces while paying the same amount. The labor movement spread, leading to the creation of mutual relief partnerships or mutuals, where workers paid a small fee to ensure assistance in case of illness or death. One of the first associations was the mutual protection association of cotton weavers (founded by Joan Muns in Barcelona). This association lasted for many years and signified the extension of workers’ claims, mainly for wage increases and reduced working hours.
Strikes became a tool used more frequently to lobby for these demands. Workers’ societies created funds to support those on strike, leading to the establishment of resistance funds. A significant event was the first general strike declared in Spain in 1855 during the progressive biennium. This strike occurred in Barcelona as a reaction to the introduction of new machines that left many workers in a precarious situation.
Revolts, Land Conflicts, and Rebellions
Land conflicts and rebellions in the countryside were a constant story in Spain during the 19th century. The increase in the rural population without a parallel growth in labor and resources caused serious social problems, especially in 1840, leading to a wave of protests in Andalusia. Land occupations spread through the Andalusian countryside, where poor harvests and chronic hunger led to the burning of crops and killing of livestock, resembling Luddite movements. The problem worsened in 1855 with the seizure of communal goods from rural municipalities, as these lands passed into private hands. Consequently, more peasant uprisings occurred, which were harshly repressed by the civil guard, resulting in numerous casualties among the revolting peasants.
Following these social struggles in the 1830s and 1870s, banditry persisted in Andalusia as a violent response to the magnitude of social inequalities. Bandits, like those in Sierra Morena, gathered in groups to assault trails, farmhouses, and small towns.
Utopian Socialism and Republicanism
The labor movement and early laborers were bolstered when their demands found support in doctrines like socialism in its various definitions. The first mention of socialism aimed to create egalitarian societies with collective ownership and equitable distribution of wealth to end the injustices of liberal society. The introduction of socialist doctrines in Spain occurred through the diffusion of French utopian socialist thinking, particularly from Saint-Simon. The most notable figure in 19th-century Spanish socialism was Joaquín Abreu, who advocated for the creation of falansteries, cooperatives for production and consumption that would meet the needs of their inhabitants. From Andalusia, socialism spread to Madrid and Barcelona, emerging around a core of Saint-Simonians led by Philip Monlau and Abdo Cabetians Terrades, along with many writers like Narcís Monturiol. Socialism and cooperatives were disseminated through literature and the press by figures such as Fernando Garrido, Sixto Cámara, Ramón de la Sagra, and Francesc Pi i Maragall. Politically, the early Spanish working class was closely linked to federal republicanism. When male suffrage was granted in 1868, workers consistently voted for republicanism, as it seemed more favorable to their social aspirations.
The Arrival of Internationalism (1868-1874)
The Arrival of the International in Spain
After the triumph of the September revolution, a messenger from the AIT (International Workers Association, also known as the 1st International), the Italian Giuseppe Fanelli, arrived in Spain. He visited Madrid and Barcelona to create the first nuclei of international affiliates, forming union leaders like Anselmo Lorenzo and Ramón Pellicer Forge. Fanelli was a member of the International Anarchist Alliance of Socialist Democracy (founded by Bakunin), which spread anarchist ideals as if they were those of the AIT. The first Spanish affiliate to the organization adopted a program that included the abolition of the state, collectivization, and apoliticism, relying on the general principles of the first international. This expansion helped to root anarchist ideas among the Catalan and Andalusian proletariat and farmers. Starting in 1869, the movement spread throughout Spain, with labor associations growing to 195 affiliates. The most important nuclei were in Barcelona, Madrid, Levante (Alcoy), and Andalusia. In the first congress of the Spanish Regional Federation (SPA) of the AIT, held in Barcelona, agreements were clearly aligned with the anarchist line of laborism. Strikes were defined as fundamental for the proletariat.
The Crisis and the Split in the SPA
In 1871, Paul Lafargue, Karl Marx’s son, arrived in Madrid and led the group of internationalists in favor of Marxist positions. This group, which included Francisco Mora, José Mesa, and Pablo Iglesias, developed a campaign through the periodical Emancipation advocating for the need for the working class to conquer political power. Discrepancies between the two internationalist currents culminated in 1872 with the expulsion of the Madrid group from the SPA and the foundation of the new Madrid Federation, characterized by Marxism. Internationalism reached its peak during the First Republic when various anarchist groups took an insurrectionary position, which ultimately led to the failure of these revolts. After the SPA’s connection to the AIT weakened, its final decline occurred in 1874 when the new regime declared it illegal, leading to its members going into hiding.
Anarchism and Socialism (1874-1900)
Apolitical Anarchism
In 1881, the Spanish International (SPA), with a Bakuninist edge, changed its name to the Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region (FTRE) due to the need to adapt to new laws prohibiting international organizations. This new federation had a strong presence among workers and peasants in Andalusia. Disagreements within this organization and constant repression of the worker and peasant movement favored a faction that opted for direct action and organized autonomous groups with revolutionary aims to undermine the foundations of capitalism: the bourgeoisie and the church. Between 1893 and 1897, there were notable acts of social violence, including attacks on leading political figures (such as Cánovas and Martínez Campos), bombings at the Liceu in Barcelona, and attacks on religious processions. Anarchism was accused of being behind these violent acts, which were attributed to illegal associations in Andalusia in the late 19th century. The attempts or anarchist riots led to a spiral of violence based on a dynamic of action/repression/action. A significant event in this spiral was the Montjuïc trials in Barcelona in 1897, where five anarchists were convicted and executed. The proliferation of attacks deepened the division between supporters of direct action and those advocating for mass action. Older anarchists (like Anselmo Lorenzo) and extensive labor groups protested against terrorism, proposing a mid-term social revolution and advocating for the establishment of trade union organizations. This new trend, with a clear anarcho-syndicalist orientation, began to bear fruit in the early 20th century with the creation of Solidaridad Obrera (1907) and CNT (1910).
The Workers’ Socialism
The Madrid Federation of the AIT, created by the Marxist tendency of workers, had a brief existence. In 1876, after the disappearance of the International, its members decided to form a political party. A group of Madrilenians, including Pablo Iglesias, founded the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) in 1879. In 1886, the party published its first weekly paper, The Socialist. The socialist party was defined as Marxist, with a clear workers’ orientation and support for social revolution. It also included a reform program advocating for workers’ rights, assembly and demonstration, universal suffrage, the prohibition of child labor, and other social measures. The party grew slowly across Spain, and by the end of the century, it had established socialist groups in many developing areas. However, it faced challenges in regions dominated by anarcho-syndicalism. In 1899, with the foundation of the Second International (Socialist), the PSOE joined this organization and helped introduce Labor Day (May 1) in Spain. In 1888, the party held its first congress in Barcelona and founded the General Union of Workers (UGT), which was not declared Marxist but allowed its members freedom of political militancy. Its leaders increasingly aligned with Marxism, and the UGT organized unions in each locality, maintaining a cautious policy in their claims and using strikes as a last resort, in contrast to anarcho-syndicalism.
Reformism and the Social Issue
By 1880, the harsh conditions of life and labor for workers made some sectors of liberalism aware of the need to rationalize labor relations in industrial society. The government raised the opportunity for the state to take remedial action to regulate economic relations and labor. In 1878, the first laws regulating labor conditions for children were passed, creating working conditions for the disabled and reconstructing neighborhoods for workers. In 1883, the Social Reform Commission was established, a government body tasked with informing on working conditions and proposing sufficient social reforms. However, most of the laws regulating labor conditions and collective negotiation did not come to light until the early decades of the 20th century.
(TEMA-9) Political System Restoration
A New Political System
The conservative groups in Spain were satisfied with the restoration of the Bourbons, as they hoped the new monarchy would restore political stability and end any attempts at democratic revolution in Spain. Cánovas did not seek a return to the disarray of the past but aimed to develop a constitution that would establish a political system based on bipartisanship and pacify the country by ending the war in Cuba and the Carlist conflict. The first important political measure was calling for constituent elections, as the constitution of 1869 had been more democratic but had no effect after the proclamation of the Republic.
Constitution of 1876
This constitution was characterized by censitary suffrage and shared sovereignty between the courts and the king. It was a conservative document, clearly inspired by traditional values of monarchy, religion, and property. The constitutional monarchy was considered an unquestionable institution, permanent and outside any political decision. It established a moderating power to arbitrate in political life and ensure good understanding and alternation between the political parties. It established joint sovereignty and granted broad powers to the monarch, including the veto, the appointment of ministers, and the ability to convene, suspend, or dissolve the courts without the government. The bicameral courts were composed of the Senate and Congress, with the latter being elected. The constitution did not specify the type of vote, but a law of 1878 established censitary voting. In 1890, when the Liberal Party was in power, universal male suffrage was adopted. The constitution also proclaimed Catholicism as the state religion, although other beliefs were tolerated, and it established a budget for worship and clergy.
Pacific Time Bipartisanship and Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Cánovas del Castillo introduced a government system based on bipartisanship and the alternation of power between two major dynastic parties, the conservatives and liberals. It was accepted that there would be a Pacific Time that would guarantee institutional stability through the participation of two families of liberalism, which would end military intervention in political life. The army constituted a major pillar of the regime, remaining subordinate to civil authority. A royal decree of 1875 established that the army’s mission was to defend national independence and not to intervene in internal affairs, thus providing a period of peace. This eliminated the problem of military pronouncements and the military’s role in political life that had characterized Spain during the disarray of the Second Republic.
The End of the War
The stability of the system favored the end of wars, particularly the Carlist and Cuban wars. The Bourbon Restoration deprived the Carlist cause of much of its legitimacy, and some hypothetical Carlist leaders recognized Alfonso XII. The military government’s efforts in 1875 led to the reduction of Carlist strongholds in Catalonia. The military intervention commanded by Martínez Campos ultimately forced the surrender of Carlists in Catalonia, Aragon, and Valencia. The conflict continued for a few months in the Basque Country and Navarre, where most of the government forces were concentrated to weaken resistance until total surrender in 1876. Prince Carlos crossed the French border into exile, and the war was considered over in all territories. The immediate consequence of the Carlist defeat was the definitive abolition of the foral regime. The Basque territories were subjected to the same tax and military service obligations as the rest of the state. In 1878, an economic agreement was stipulated that granted a degree of tax autonomy to the Basque provinces, which would pay a certain amount directly to the central administration. The end of the Carlist War facilitated the resolution of the Cuban insurrection (the War of Independence). As a result of military action and negotiations with the insurgents, the Peace of Zanjón was signed in 1878, which included an extensive amnesty, the abolition of slavery, and the promise of political and administrative reforms that would allow Cuba representation in the Spanish courts. The delay or non-fulfillment of these reforms would provoke a new conflict (Guerra Chiquita) and another insurrection in 1895.