The Rise of the Labor Movement in Spain
Early Stages
The addition of steam to factories at the beginning of the 1830s fueled layoffs and produced some episodes of destruction of machinery, such as the fire at the Bonaplata factory in Barcelona (1835). But the impact of Luddism in Spain was limited. The first signs of organized labor were mutual aid societies. In 1840, the Mutual Protection Society of Cotton Weavers was founded in Barcelona, and similar societies soon proliferated throughout the country. However, the moderates banned most of them in 1844, and they went underground.
During the Progressive Biennium (1854-1856), and thanks to the revolutionary experience of 1854, the labor movement experienced significant development. Widespread protests occurred among spinners, weavers, and mechanics, and the riots led to frequent clashes with the troops. The Labour Act passed by the Cortes was disappointing, defending employers’ interests. Since then, the workers realized that the progressives were not going to defend their cause, so they moved to align with Democrats and Republicans.
During the Liberal Union government (1858-1863), the labor movement remained dormant, partly due to prosperity but also due to the harsh government crackdown. However, from 1863, coinciding with the return to government of moderates, protests resumed, now openly politicized.
The Revolution of 1868 and the International
The revolution of 1868 aroused the hopes of workers and peasants who believed that it would begin the desired process of social reform. Recognition of the right of assembly and association contributed to this idea. However, the arrest of the revolutionary process, the permanence of the fifth, the simple substitution of consumption, and the maintenance of the monarchy led to the separation of the labor movement from the Democrats and Republicans and the rapid implementation of the International in Spain.
In October 1868, G. Fanelli, sent by Bakunin, arrived in Spain to organize the Spanish section of the International Workingmen’s Association (AIT) on the bases of anarchist theory. Fanelli established two sections, in Madrid and Barcelona, the latter being the stronger. In June 1870, the First Congress of the Spanish section of the International was held in Barcelona, where the Spanish Regional Federation (ERF) of anarchists was formed.
In the spring of 1871, during the reign of Amadeus of Savoy, the Paris Commune uprising took place. The impact of the revolution on the European ruling class was huge, and in Spain, it resulted in a series of repressive measures against the AIT. Moreover, in December, P. Lafargue, a leader of the AIT and supporter of Marxism, arrived in Madrid, and his principles were accepted by the core. However, after the Congress of Zaragoza (June 1872), the Marxist leaders in Madrid were expelled, and a month later, they founded the New Madrid Federation, which became the Spanish section of the Marxist wing of the AIT.
The First Republic and its Aftermath
The proclamation of the First Republic led to a wave of demonstrations and strikes that forced employers to make major concessions on hours and wages. Barcelona once again acted as the spearhead of the protest movement, while in Andalusia, land occupations occurred. Worker participation in the Alcoy strike (July 1873) and the cantonal movement was used by conservatives to end the AIT. On January 10, 1874, after the coup of Pavia, Serrano decreed its dissolution.
After the Bourbon restoration, the labor movement went underground. But from 1881, the Liberal governments of Sagasta eased repression, especially when in 1887, during his “long government,” the Associations Act was approved, which recognized freedom of association.
Anarchism and Socialism
The introduction of anarchism was notable in Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia, and Andalusia, but internal divisions and police repression resulted in its division in the late 1880s:
- Anarchosyndicalist Current: Focusing on education, freedom of association, and the ways and organizational tactics of the workers’ struggle (resistance, use of the strike, etc.).
- Revolutionary or Insurrectionary Conspiracy Current: A follower of the FRE of Sexenio and its heir, FTRE (Barcelona, 1881). Advocated “direct action” or “propaganda by deed.” Sprang from the spontaneous character of a popular peasant revolt and aimed to destroy the state and all forms of power (Acracia).
The last decade of the century and the early twentieth century were characterized by a wave of attacks (1893, Martinez Campos, Bomb The Lyceum assassination of Canovas, 1897, etc.), which fed a continuous dynamic of action-repression.
After the suppression of 1874, the Socialists in Madrid were organized around the core of the printers. It was they who, along with some intellectuals and other craftsmen, founded the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in May 1879. Pablo Iglesias became the main leader. Over the next decade, the party grew and implanted itself around the country. In 1888, the General Union of Workers (UGT) was founded in Barcelona. Since then, a clear dividing line was drawn between the party, with political purposes, and the union, whose role was to defend workers through protest and immediate action. The party also adopted the system of conference papers to define its own ideological and political tactics. In 1890, following the slogan of the Second International, the first May Day was celebrated.
Two factors allowed the party to strengthen its position: obtaining councilors in four major cities in the municipal elections of 1890 and their persistent denunciation of the war in Cuba as an imperialist war and their opposition to military service discrimination.
Catholic Trade Unionism
Labor movements of Catholic inspiration also tried to organize in the early nineteenth century. The encyclical Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII denounced socialism and, after making a mild criticism of the capitalist system, encouraged the use of the Gospel to improve the living conditions of the working class. Catholic trade unionism was based on social inequality as an undeniable fact that could not be eliminated. It intended to mitigate the effects of unemployment, strikes, or the harsh conditions of work through a paternalistic employer-employee relationship that protected workers. The first Catholic unions were encouraged by Father Vincent’s Circle of Catholic Workers, with the Marquis de Comillas, who led the movement, chairing the Central Board of the Bourgeoisie.
Definitions
Bourgeoisie: According to Marxist thought, the social class whose members are characterized by not being employed, that is, being the owners of the means of production. By extension, also called bourgeois to holders of large amounts of capital. In sociology, the middle class is often described as a politically and socially conservative class, although entrepreneurial vocational subjects.
Proletariat: A group of people without property who depend for their livelihood on their ability to get a salary for a job. The proletariat or working class was born in the midst of capitalist industrial society and will be providing the “class consciousness” that will guide their demands.
Political Power: The logical consequence of the exercise of functions by persons holding positions within a representative system of government in a country. Political power in democratic systems is identified with the executive and legislative branches, while the third power of the state, the judiciary, is in a different scheme and its legitimacy is sustained by a vote of the people as the other two powers, if not by compliance with the exercise of their functions. Political power is legitimate when it is elected under the laws of the country (Constitution). In democratic countries, legitimacy is granted by the people through the popular vote (elections). However, according to classical Marxist thought, the bourgeoisie imposes itself on society as a whole through its financial and ownership interests, then it is illegitimate to use coercion to achieve that purpose.
Rating
We are faced with a circumstance of a political text. This is a fragment of the founding manifesto of the PSOE. Although the party was founded clandestinely in Madrid two months earlier (May 2, 1879) around a core of intellectuals and workers, mainly printers, among which were, among others, Pablo Iglesias, García Moan, Victorian Calderón, Jaime Vera, Francisco Mora, Tomas Robles, the text was signed on July 20. The fragment includes the declaration of intent by the signatories, which displays the Marxist principles underlying the new party’s political agenda.