The Spanish Labor Movement: Origins and Divisions
The Spanish Labor Movement: A Historical Overview
The new industrial framework and economic and working conditions of workers favored the rise of the labor movement. The initial demands focused on the right of association and the maintenance of salaries. From 1870 onward, ideological and political approaches developed, aiming to transform the economy and society.
1) The Harsh Conditions of Life
- Working Conditions: Although improved, working conditions remained harsh.
- Low Salaries: Salaries were stable but remained low, barely sufficient to maintain a basic standard of living. Price increases led to subsistence problems, creating discontent and urban riots.
- Long Workdays: Workdays often stretched to 15 hours. Pedro Felipe Monlau proposed reducing working hours to improve workers’ health.
- Challenges for Working Women: Working women with young children faced immense challenges. They often had to hide their children at the factory to avoid being fired. Their salaries were also lower than those of men.
- Poor Working Environments: Working conditions were poor, characterized by noise, temperature extremes, lack of ventilation, poor diet, lack of rest, and frequent accidents. Workers also faced the threat of arbitrary dismissal, lower wages, illiteracy, and a lack of social protection.
- Low Life Expectancy: Life expectancy was approximately 30 years.
2) The Beginnings of the Labor Movement
- Mutual Aid Societies (1830s): These societies provided protection in case of illness or job loss, funded by small contributions from members.
- Banning of Associations: These associations were banned (except when liberals were in government). Between 1842 and 1855, workers organized through the Central Board of Directors of the Working Class.
- First General Strike: Thanks to this board, the first general strike spread through Catalonia. It demanded freedom of association, stable working hours, joint employer-worker committees, and limitations on layoffs.
3) Division of Labor in the Six-Year Revolutionary Period
- First International Workers Association (AIT): Founded in London by British and French workers, the AIT aimed to achieve the economic and social emancipation of the working class, overcome class divisions, establish collective ownership of the means of production, and create an egalitarian society.
- Clashes Between Marx and Bakunin: Disagreements arose between Marx and Bakunin regarding the methods for achieving these objectives.
- Marx’s Approach: Marx advocated for workers to seize government power and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat to build an equitable (socialist) society.
- Bakunin’s Approach: Bakunin rejected political participation, advocating for the direct destruction of the State, private property, and all forms of authority. He proposed social organization through a federation of free communes (anarchist).
- Influence in Spain: In Spain, the Revolution of 1868 led to freedoms of expression and association, opening the door to the influence of both Marx and Bakunin through the AIT.
- Fanelli’s Visit: Fanelli (a follower of Bakunin) visited Spain and founded the first centers of the AIT. In 1870, a congress was held, creating the Spanish Regional Federation of the AIT.
- Ideological Split: In Cordoba in 1871, Bakuninist ideas took hold, while Marxism spread in Madrid (through Paul Lafargue). The Spanish labor movement subsequently divided into socialists (Bilbao, Madrid, Asturias, Cantabria) and anarchists (Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, Valencia).
- Suppression of Associations: The flourishing of associations was short-lived, as the coup of Pavia (1874) outlawed all associations, forcing them to go underground.