Misplaced Pages

#290709

109-698: The CCOO were organized in the 1960s by the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and workers' Roman Catholic groups to fight against Francoist Spain , and for labor rights (in opposition to the non-representative "vertical unions" in the Spanish Labour Organization ). The various organizations formed a single entity after a 1976 Congress in Barcelona . Along with other unions like the Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) and

218-524: A constituent assembly . Fraga's programme aimed to achieve a "liberal democracy" that was "comparable to the rest of the Western European countries" through a "gradual and controlled process", through a series of reforms of the pseudo-constitutional Fundamental Laws of the Realm . This is why his proposal was dubbed as a "reform in the continuity", and his support came mostly from those who defended

327-550: A 77.72% participation rate, 94% of voters indicated their support for the changes. From this moment, it was possible to begin the electoral process (the second part of the Suárez program), which would serve to elect the members of the Constituent Cortes , the body that was to be responsible for creating a democratic constitution. With this part of his plan fulfilled, Suárez had to resolve another issue: should he include

436-603: A 95% of following, and forced the government to totally withdraw the Youth Employment Plan. Since the Fourth Congress (1987), the union's general secretary was Antonio Gutiérrez , reelected in the V Congress (1991). During his mandate CCOO distanced itself from the PCE and a preference for negotiations and the social pacts over strikes and conflictivity was promoted. This was criticized by a faction known as

545-890: A Francoist sociological model. In order for reform to succeed, it had to earn the support of the hardcore Francoist faction known as the Búnker , which had a major presence in the Cortes and the National Council of the Movement, the two institutions that would have to eventually approve the reforms of the Fundamental Laws. It also had to garner support within the Armed Forces and in the Spanish Labour Organisation . It also needed to appease

654-661: A PCE federation. Spanish Transition The Spanish transition to democracy , known in Spain as la Transición ( IPA: [la tɾansiˈθjon] ; ' the Transition ' ) or la Transición española ( ' the Spanish Transition ' ), is a period of modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system , in

763-526: A constitution, in the middle of 1977. In 1978, the Moncloa Pact was passed: an agreement amongst politicians, political parties, and trade unions to plan how to operate the economy, during the transition. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 went on to be approved in a referendum, on 6 December 1978. Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez's party, the UCD, received a plurality , but not an absolute majority , in both

872-599: A decree of the government of José María Aznar that made firings cheaper, eliminated agricultural subsidies and encouraged job insecurity, known as the decretazo . After protests the measure was withdrawn almost entirely. In this cycle CCOO reached again over one million members. CCOO also opposed the Iraq War and participated in the massive protests against it . CCOO held its IX Confederal Congress in December 2008, with 1.2 million members and 120,000 elected delegates in

981-558: 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

1090-428: A further clear agenda. Many UCD members were fairly conservative and did not want further change. For example, a bill to legalize divorce caused much dissension inside the UCD, in spite of being supported by the majority of the populace. The UCD coalition fell apart. The clashes among the several factions, inside the party, eroded Suárez's authority and his role as leader. The tension exploded in 1981: Suárez resigned as

1199-630: 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

SECTION 10

#1732782461291

1308-575: A large part of the army to oppose Suárez, opposition that further intensified when the PCE was legalized. Meanwhile, Gutiérrez Mellado promoted officials who supported political reform and removed those commanders of the security forces (the Policía Armada and the Guardia Civil ) who seemed to support preserving the Francoist regime. Suárez wanted to demonstrate to the army that

1417-503: 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

1526-535: A new prime minister, leaving in place the incumbent head of government under Franco, Carlos Arias Navarro . Arias Navarro had not initially planned a reform of the Francoist regime; in the National Council of the Movement , an advisory assembly of the ruling FET y de las JONS ( Falange ) party and other groups in the Movimiento Nacional , he declared that the purpose of his government was

1635-580: 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 was founded by 1921, after a split in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( Spanish : Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE). The PCE

1744-976: Is organized territorially in local, provincial, regional/nationality levels (in regional unions or in nationality confederations) and in a Spain-wide level. Equally and in a parallel way CCOO is organized at the sectoral level, from local unions in a company to the federal branch. The decision-making bodies at the federal level are the Confederal Congress, the Confederal Council and the Confederal Executive Committee. Branch federations are: There are 3 internal currents in CCOO: [REDACTED] Media related to Comisiones Obreras at Wikimedia Commons Communist Party of Spain (main) The Communist Party of Spain ( Spanish : Partido Comunista de España ; PCE )

1853-731: 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 the Socialists ' youth organization ( Federación de Juventudes Socialistas or FJS) while

1962-444: The 1982 general election and the first peaceful transfer of executive power . Democracy was on the road to being consolidated. The end result of the Transition according to Casanova was "at least from 1982 onwards, a parliamentary monarchy, based on a democratic constitution, with a large number of rights and freedoms, the consequence of a complex transition, riddled with conflicts, foreseen and unforeseen obstacles and problems, in

2071-530: The Communist Party of Spain (PCE), Christian labor movements ( JOC and HOAC  [ es ] ) and other groups opposed to the Spanish State . Gradually the ad hoc commissions started to become permanent, creating a stable and well organized movement. For many historians, one of the first places where the Workers' Commissions were formed was the valley of Laciana ( province of León ), within

2180-574: The Communist Party of Spain (PCE). On December 30 convictions were announced, which coincided with requests of the prosecutor and whose severity was considered related to the murder of Carrero Blanco . The convictions were the following: Marcelino Camacho , 20 years of jail; Nicolás Sartorius , 19; Miguel Ángel Zamora Antón, 12; Pedro Santiesteban, 12; Eduardo Saborido, 20; Francisco García Salve, 19; Luis Fernández, 12; Francisco Acosta, 12; Juan Muñiz Zapico Juanín, 18; and Fernando Soto Martín, 17. They were amnestied on 25 November 1975. The tactic of CCOO

2289-621: The Confederación de Sindicatos Unitarios de Trabajadores (CSUT), a group of CCOO members affiliated with the Party of Labour of Spain (PTE) split from the organization. In May 1977 CCOO suffered another split, this time from supporters of the maoist Workers' Revolutionary Organisation (ORT), that formed the Sindicato Unitario . The year after legalization in 1978, CCOO held its I Confederal Congress, where Marcelino Camacho

SECTION 20

#1732782461291

2398-661: The Critical Sector of CCOO , supported by Marcelino Camacho and Agustin Moreno, in the sixth Congress (1996). The Critical Sector of CCOO has continued to organize the most pro- PCE sector of CCOO since then. In the VII Congress (2000) José Maria Fidalgo was chosen as the new secretary general, being re-elected at the Eighth Congress in April 2004. In 2002 CCOO and UGT called for a general strike against

2507-759: The First Spanish Republic and the Second Spanish Republic . General Francisco Franco came to power in 1939, following the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and ruled as a dictator until his death in 1975. In 1969, he designated Prince Juan Carlos , grandson of Spain's most recent king, Alfonso XIII , as his official successor. For the next six years, Prince Juan Carlos remained in the background during public appearances and seemed ready to follow in Franco's footsteps. Once in power as King of Spain , however, he facilitated

2616-576: The Organic Law of the State for the appointment of his first head of government . Only in his speech before the Cortes did he indicate his support for a transformation of the Spanish political system. This de facto alliance between Juan Carlos and the political forces opposed to maintaining the status quo is considered to be a key part to the success of Spain’s transition to democracy. The transition

2725-661: The Political Reform Act ( Ley para la Reforma Política ) was written by Torcuato Fernández-Miranda, speaker of the Cortes, who handed it over to the Suárez government in July 1976. The project was approved by the Suarez Government in September 1976. To open the door to parliamentary democracy in Spain, this legislation could not simply create a new political system by eliminating the obstacles put in place by

2834-813: 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

2943-728: The Workers' Party of Spain – Communist Unity (PTE-UC) (called carrillistas and led by Julián Ariza); the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE); and the Revolutionary Communist League and the Communist Movement (known as Izquierda Sindical ). In 1980, CCOO received an important part of the USO members, that belonged to the socialist self-management current. In 1986 the union participated in

3052-428: The left distrusted a king who owed his position to Franco. The King's legitimacy rested on this appointment; his father, Don Juan, did not renounce his claim until 14 May 1977. Liberal opinion at the time held therefore, that the throne's legitimacy could only be saved by establishing a democratic, constitutional and parliamentary monarchy. For the transition to succeed, the army needed to refrain from intervening in

3161-565: 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

3270-640: 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,

3379-522: The 28th Congress of the PSOE in May 1979, secretary-general Felipe González resigned, rather than ally with the strong revolutionary elements that seemed to dominate the party. A special congress was called that September, and realigned the party along more moderate lines, renouncing Marxism and allowing González to take charge once more. Throughout 1982, the PSOE confirmed its moderate orientation and brought in

Workers' Commissions - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-566: 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

3597-925: The Constituent Cortes were carried out in June 1977. The elections held on 15 June 1977 confirmed the existence of four important political forces, at the national level. The votes broke down in the following manner: With the success of the Basque Nationalist Party ( Basque : EAJ, Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea ; Spanish : PNV, Partido Nacionalista Vasco ) winning 8 seats and the Democratic Pact for Catalonia (PDC, Pacte Democrátic per Catalunya ) winning 11 seats in their respective regions, nationalist parties also began to show their political strength in these elections. The Constituent Cortes (elected Spanish parliament) then began to draft

3706-508: The Criminal Code, which had previously made it a crime to be affiliated with a political party other than FET y de las JONS . The members of the Cortes, who vehemently opposed the legalization of the Communist Party, added an amendment to the law that banned political organizations that "submitted to an international discipline" and "advocated for the implantation of a totalitarian regime ". Javier Tusell pointed out that "those who in

3815-504: The Franco regime against democracy: it had to liquidate the Francoist system through the Francoist Cortes itself. The Cortes, under the presidency of Fernández-Miranda, debated this bill throughout the month of November; it ultimately approved it, with 425 votes in favor, 59 against, and 13 abstentions. The Suárez government sought to gain further legitimacy for the changes through a popular referendum . On 15 December 1976, with

3924-439: The Francoist legal system and thus avoid the prospect of military intervention in the political process. Suárez was appointed as the 138th Prime Minister of Spain by Juan Carlos on 3 July 1976, a move that, given his Francoist past, was opposed by leftists and some centrists. As Prime Minister, Suárez quickly presented a clear political program based on two points: This program was clear and unequivocal, but its realization tested

4033-400: The June 1977 and March 1979 elections. To exercise power, the UCD had to form parliamentary coalitions with other political parties. From 1979, the government spent much of its time working to hold together the many factions within the party itself, as well as their coalitions. In 1980, the Suárez government had, for the most part, accomplished its goal of a transition to democracy and lacked

4142-480: 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

4251-487: The Minero Siderurgica de Ponferrada (MSP) industry. Another place that sometimes is also cited as the first is La Camocha mine ( Gijón ) in 1957, during a strike. The Asturian miners' strike of 1962 ("La Huelgona") was the first massive action of the union and one of the first massive popular mobilizations against Francoist Spain. The union was heavily repressed in Spain. In 1972 all the leadership of CCOO

4360-459: 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

4469-632: 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

Workers' Commissions - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-442: 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 , the PCE defines its goals as "democratically participate in a revolutionary transformation of society and its political structures, overcoming

4687-404: 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

4796-524: 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 , a group of guerrillas who fought against the regime. Years later, the Maquis' power declined, and the PCE abandoned

4905-523: The Political Reform Act. Suárez had to risk even more to involve the opposition forces in his plan. In December 1976, the PSOE celebrated its 27th Congress in Madrid , and began to disassociate itself from the demands of the PCE, affirming that it would participate in the next call for elections for the Constituent Cortes. At the beginning of 1977, the year of the elections, Suárez confronted

5014-414: The Spanish transition was far more prevalent than during the analogous democratization processes in Greece or Portugal , with the emergence of separatist, leftist, fascist and vigilante terrorist groups and police violence. The re-democratization also led to Spain's integration into Europe, a dream of Spanish intellectuals since the end of the 19th century. Previous attempts at democratization included

5123-459: The UGT, it called a general strike in 1976, and carried out protests against the conditions in the country. Marcelino Camacho , a major figure of Spanish trade unionism and a PCE member, was CCOO's General Secretary from its foundation to 1985 - he was elected to the Congress of Deputies in the 1977 election . However, CCOO disassociated from the PCE in the early 1990s and is nowadays a non-partisan, negotiation-prone union. Taking as reference

5232-431: The afternoon of 23 February 1981. The coup leaders claimed to be acting in the king's name. However, early on the following morning, Juan Carlos gave a nationwide speech unequivocally opposing it, saying that "the Crown, symbol of the permanence and unity of the nation, will not tolerate, in any degree whatsoever, the actions or behavior of anyone attempting, through use of force, to interrupt the democratic process." The coup

5341-446: The army and exercised influence over important sectors of the military. The ever-present threat of a coup d’etat from the hardliners required careful navigation. To resolve the issue, Suárez intended to support himself with a liberal group within the military, centered on General Díez Alegría . Suárez gave the members of this group the positions of authority with the most responsibility. The most notable personality of this faction within

5450-461: The army was General Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado . However, in July 1976, the Vice President for Defense Affairs was General Fernando de Santiago , a member of a hardline group within the army. De Santiago had shown his restlessness before, during the first amnesty in July 1976. He had opposed the law granting the right to unionize. Suárez dismissed Fernando de Santiago, nominating Gutiérrez Mellado instead. This confrontation with General de Santiago caused

5559-447: 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

SECTION 50

#1732782461291

5668-403: 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 the laïcité variety. The youth organization of PCE

5777-416: The clandestine union Oposición Sindical Obrera (OSO) the first workers' commissions were organized during 1960 in Asturies , Catalonia , Madrid and the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia as labor disputes emerged outside the Francoist national-syndical movement . Originally the "commissions" were representative bodies of workers elected in assemblies. The first "comisiones" were boosted by

5886-429: 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

5995-417: The conditions that the opposition groups first demanded in 1974. These opposition forces met in November 1976 to create an association of democratic organizations called the Democratic Convergence Platform . Suárez had initiated political contact with the opposition by meeting with Felipe González , secretary general of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), in August 1976. The positive attitude of

6104-425: The context of economic crisis and political uncertainty." However, as then-prime minister González said later, "the state apparatus was retained, in its entirety, from the dictatorship". Importantly, most of the significant aspects in the Transition were adopted by consensus between the governments and the opposition. In addition to this pragmatic, civic, "a-nationalist" leadership in Madrid, contributing factors to

6213-421: The continuation of terrorist attacks by ETA (m) ("ETA Military"; later simply "ETA") or to a lesser extent, GRAPO. Meanwhile, restlessness in various sections of the armed forces created fear of an impending military coup . Reactionary elements in the army attempted a coup known as 23-F , in which Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero led an occupation by a group of Guardia Civil of the Congress of Deputies , on

6322-430: The continuity of Francoism through a "democracy in the Spanish way" ( Spanish : democracia a la española ). He believed political changes should be limited: he would give the parliament, the Cortes Españolas, the task of "updating our laws and institutions the way Franco would have wanted". The reform programme adopted by the government was the one proposed by Manuel Fraga , rejecting Antonio Garrigues' plan to elect

6431-421: The democratic opposition to Francoism. The approach towards the dissenters was that they would not be part of the reform process, but would be allowed to participate in politics more generally, with the exception of the Communist Party of Spain ( Partido Comunista de España , PCE). This conservative reform was partly inspired by the historical period of the semi-democratic Bourbon Restoration (1876–1931), and

6540-437: The development of a constitutional monarchy as his father, Don Juan de Borbón , had advocated since 1946. King Juan Carlos I began his reign as head of state without leaving the confines of Franco's legal system. As such, he swore fidelity to the Principles of the Movimiento Nacional (National Movement), the political system of the Franco era; took possession of the crown before the Francoist Cortes Españolas ; and respected

6649-424: The economic policy of the Felipe González government, and one on June 20, 2002, against the government of José María Aznar and its plan to change the unemployment insurance system. The current General Secretary is Ignacio Fernández Toxo . On September 29, 2010, the CCOO called a general strike to protest the José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero government's plans to raise the retirement age and cut spending. CCOO

SECTION 60

#1732782461291

6758-420: The elections pushed Suárez to take the riskiest step of the transition: the legalization of the PCE in April 1977. However, throughout this critical period the government began a strategy of providing greater institutional space to the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) union, more moderate and linked to the Socialists, in comparison to the Communist-oriented CCOO . The manner in which a unified trade union

6867-421: The form of constitutional monarchy under Juan Carlos I . The democratic transition began after the death of Francisco Franco , in November 1975. Initially, "the political elites left over from Francoism" attempted "to reform of the institutions of dictatorship" through existing legal means, but social and political pressure saw the formation of a democratic parliament in the 1977 general election, which had

6976-505: The head of government, and Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was appointed, first to lead the new cabinet, and later, to the presidency of the UCD; social democrats led by Francisco Fernández Ordóñez defected from the coalition, later joining the PSOE, while Christian democrats left to form the People's Democratic Party . While the democratic normalization had succeeded in convincing ETA (pm) , the "political-military" faction of ETA, to abandon arms and enter parliamentary politics, it did not stop

7085-407: The historical mobilizations against the permanence of Spain in NATO . CCOO asked for a "NO" vote in the NATO referendum . CCOO called 4 general strikes in the government of Felipe González : 1985, 1988, 1992 and 1994; against the economic and employment policy of the PSOE government. Especially massive and historic was the 1988 Spanish general strike , organized jointly with the UGT , which had

7194-424: The imprimatur to write a new constitution that was then approved by referendum in December 1978. The following years saw the beginning of the development of the rule of law and establishment of regional government , amidst ongoing terrorism, an attempted coup d'état and global economic problems. The Transition is said to have concluded after the landslide victory of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in

7303-436: The kidnapping of two important figures of the regime: the President of the Council of the State José María de Oriol , and General Villaescusa, President of the Superior Council of the Military Justice. From the right, during these kidnappings, members of the neo-fascist Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista conducted the Atocha massacre, three of them labor lawyers , in an office on Atocha Street in Madrid, in January 1977. In

7412-432: 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 ,

7521-482: 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 a member of the Third International and held its first congress in Sevilla in March 1922. In May, Jules Humbert-Droz ,

7630-484: The middle of 1976 had seemed open to a limited truce after Franco's death, resumed armed confrontation again in October. The time from 1978 to 1980 would be ETA's three deadliest years ever. However, it was between December 1976 and January 1977 that a series of attacks brought about a situation of high tension in Spain. The Maoist GRAPO ( Grupos de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre ) began its armed struggle by bombing public locations, and then continued with

7739-402: The midst of these provocations, Suárez convened his first meeting with a significant number of opposition leaders, who published a condemnation of terrorism and gave their support to Suárez's actions. During this turbulent time, the Búnker capitalized on the instability and declared that the country was on the brink of chaos. Despite the increased violence by the ETA and GRAPO, elections for

7848-554: 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 , a time when the PCE became also extremely relevant, due to Franco's anti-communist legacy. Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez legalized

7957-443: The officers strongly declared opposition to the legalization of the PCE. The PCE, for its part, acted ever more publicly to express its opinions. According to the Communists, the Political Reform Act was anti-democratic and the elections for the Constituent Cortes should be called by a provisional government including members from the opposition. The Communists particularly and the opposition more broadly did not show any enthusiasm for

8066-476: The opposition groups who had not participated at the beginning of the transition? Suárez also had to deal with a third problem: coming to terms with the anti-Francoist opposition. Suárez adopted a series of measured policies to add credibility to his project. He issued a partial political amnesty in July 1976, freeing 400 prisoners; he then extended this in March 1977, and finally granted a blanket amnesty in May of

8175-411: 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

8284-508: 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

8393-412: The past were in bed with totalitarianism now felt entitled to prohibit the totalitarianism of others". The reforms of the Fundamental Laws governing royal succession and the composition of the Cortes, designed by Fraga, also failed. Fraga had intended to make the Cortes bicameral , with one chamber elected by universal suffrage and the other having an " organic " character. Torcuato Fernández-Miranda ,

8502-470: 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

8611-524: The political capacity of Suárez. He had to convince both the opposition to participate in his plan and the army to allow the process to run uninterrupted, and at the same time needed to bring the situation in the Basque Country under control. Despite these challenges, Suárez's project was carried out without delay between July 1976 and June 1977. He had to act on many fronts during this short period of time in order to achieve his aims. The draft of

8720-500: The political normalization of the country meant neither anarchy nor revolution. In this, he counted on the cooperation of Santiago Carrillo, but he could in no way count on the cooperation of terrorist groups. The Basque Country remained, for the better part of this period, in a state of political turbulence. Suárez granted a multi-stage amnesty for numerous Basque political prisoners, but the confrontations continued between local police and protesters. The separatist group ETA , which in

8829-465: The political process on behalf of Francoist elements within the existing government. As Raymond Carr explains, In containing the right and keeping the army loyal to the government the support of the King, as commander-in-chief of the army, was critical, enabling the government to retire factious generals who regarded it as their duty to maintain the existing constitution. The King did not initially appoint

8938-513: 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

9047-515: The president of the Council of the Realm , placed Adolfo Suárez on a list of three candidates for King Juan Carlos to choose to become the new head of government, replacing Arias Navarro. The king chose Suárez because he felt he could meet the challenge of the difficult political process that lay ahead: persuading the Cortes, which was composed of appointed Francoist politicians, to dismantle Franco's system. In this manner, he would formally act within

9156-460: The problem of legalizing the PCE. After the public indignation against anti-reformists aroused by the Massacre of Atocha in January 1977, when far-right terrorists murdered labor leaders aligned with the PCE, Suárez opened negotiations with Communist leader Santiago Carrillo in February. Carrillo's willingness to cooperate without prior demands and his offer of a "social pact" for the period after

9265-531: The reformists lost control of much of the legislative direction of the country; the reformists had been planning updated "Laws of Assembly and Association", which included a reform of the Spanish Criminal Code . Even so, the new Law of Assembly was passed by the Francoist Cortes on 25 May 1976, allowing public demonstration with government authorization. On the same day the Law of Political Associations

9374-598: The same year. In December 1976, the Tribunal de Orden Público (TOP), a sort of Francoist secret police , was dissolved. The right to strike was legalized in March 1977, with the right to unionize being granted the following month. Also in March, a new electoral system act ( Ley Electoral ) introduced the necessary framework for Spain's electoral system to be brought into accord with those of other countries that were liberal parliamentary democracies . Through these and other measures of government, Suárez complied with

9483-419: The social democrats, who had just broken from the UCD. Winning an absolute majority in parliament in two consecutive elections (1982 and 1986 ), and exactly half the seats in 1989 , allowed the PSOE to legislate and govern without establishing pacts with the other parliamentary political forces. In this way, the PSOE could make laws to achieve the goals of its political program, " el cambio " ("the change"). At

9592-438: The socialist leader gave further support for Suárez to carry forward his reforms, but everyone clearly perceived that the big problem for the political normalization of the country would be the legalization of the Communist Party (PCE), which at the time had more activists and was more organized than any other group in the political opposition. However, in a meeting between Suárez and the most important military leaders in September,

9701-560: The strikes that followed helped the legalization of the organization. In those years the union is growing rapidly in membership, like the rest of unions and leftist parties. From 1976 to 1978, CCOO went from 30,000 to 1,823,907 members. However, after the signing of the Moncloa Pacts , this figure gradually begun to descend, passing to 702,367 in 1981 and 332,019 in 1986. This negative trend in membership started to change since 1987. In those years CCOO also suffered various splits. In 1976

9810-456: The success of the Transition were a Monarchy as a cohesive unitary symbol and the neutralisation of the Army's influence on political life. Additionally, the contrasting action of Basque violence and the peaceful mobilisation of Catalonia, successfully transformed Spanish politics during the Transition. While often cited as a paradigm of peaceful, negotiated transition, political violence during

9919-639: 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 a Socialist in November 1922 and organized party militants attempted

10028-399: 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

10137-489: 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

10246-412: 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

10355-576: 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

10464-569: The workplaces of Spain at the time. At the Ninth Congress Ignacio Fernández Toxo was elected general secretary, surpassing by 28 votes José María Fidalgo . Between 1987 and 2000, the union's general secretary was Antonio Gutiérrez ; he was followed by José María Fidalgo (1997–2009), often criticized by the left wing of the union. The CCOO and the UGT, summoned three general strikes (1988, 1992 and 1994) against

10573-532: Was entryism , i.e.: infiltration in the Vertical Unions of Francoism. This tactic culminated in the union elections of 1975, where CCOO got the overwhelming majority of the delegates elected in the major companies in the country. CCOO led numerous strikes and labor mobilizations in late Francoism and the Spanish Transition . Since the democratic transition until 1987 its secretary general

10682-482: Was also approved, supported by Suárez, who affirmed in parliamentary session that "if Spain is plural, the Cortes cannot afford to deny it". Suárez's intervention in favor of this reform shocked many, including Juan Carlos I. This intervention was key in Juan Carlos' decision to appoint Suárez as Prime Minister in the following month. The Arias-Fraga reform collapsed on 11 June, when the Cortes rejected changes to

10791-582: Was an ambitious plan that counted on ample support both within and outside of Spain. Western governments, headed by the United States , now favoured a Spanish constitutional monarchy, as did many Spanish and international liberal capitalists . The spectre of the Civil War still haunted Spain. Francoists on the far right enjoyed considerable support within the Spanish Army , and people of

10900-584: Was broken later that day, but demonstrated the existence of insurrectionary elements within the army. Calvo Sotelo dissolved parliament and called for elections in October 1982. In the 1979 election, the UCD had achieved a plurality, but in 1982, it suffered a spectacular defeat with only 11 seats in the Parliament. The 1982 elections gave an absolute majority to the PSOE, which had already spent many years preparing its image of an alternative government. At

11009-478: Was criticised for not taking into account the social and political circumstances of the time. The project coalesced into a proposal to reform three of the Fundamental Laws, but the exact changes would be determined by a mixed commission of the Government and the National Council of the Movement, as proposed by Torcuato Fernández-Miranda and Adolfo Suárez . The creation of the commission meant that Fraga and

11118-491: 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

11227-432: 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 was a major force during the war as well. The Republicans lost, and Franco established a military dictatorship , under which

11336-651: 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 the Spanish Communist Workers' Party ( Spanish : Partido Comunista Obrero Español ). The PCE

11445-581: 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,

11554-437: Was jailed, being judged in the infamous Proceso 1001 . They remained imprisoned until the trial, more than a year later. This finally took place on 20 (day that coincided with the assassination of Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco , which led to the suspension of the trial for a few hours), 21 and 22 December 1973. The defendants faced the accusation of belonging to an illegal and subversive organization, and of having links with

11663-471: Was reelected, what would happen again in the Second (1981) and III (1984) congresses. CCOO also was the most voted union (37.8% of the representatives) in the workers representative elections of 1978 , the first democratic ones in the history of Spain . In this last congress, different factions emerged, including a majority linked to PCE (led by Marcelino Camacho ) and three minorities, respectively linked to

11772-468: Was strategically countered is an important feature of the Spanish transition, as it limited radical opposition and created the basis for a fractured industrial relations system. Adolfo Suárez knew well that the Búnker —a group of hard-line Francoists led by José Antonio Girón and Blas Piñar , using the newspapers El Alcázar and Arriba as their mouthpieces—had close contacts with officials in

11881-597: Was the historic union leader Marcelino Camacho , also a prominent leader of the PCE and deputy between 1977 and 1981. In 1976 CCOO held the Assembly of Barcelona, where the modern class trade union confederation was formed. CCOO was legalized on 27 April 1977. The murder of 5 labor lawyers in 1977 (members of the union and the PCE) in Madrid that year was followed by a massive funeral, more than 250,000 people participated, and

#290709