Internationalism in Spain: 1868-1874 Labor Movement
Introduction to Internationalism (1868 to 1874)
The Arrival of the International in Spain
After the triumph of the September Revolution of 1868, Giuseppe Fanelli was sent to Spain to create the first nucleus of members for the International Workingmen's Association (the International). He traveled to Madrid and Barcelona, where he engaged trade union leaders such as Anselmo Lorenzo and Ramón Pellicer Forge.
Fanelli was a member of an anarchist organization founded by Bakunin in 1868. He spread anarchist ideals widely. The first Spaniards to affiliate believed the program of the Aliança was based on the general principles of the First International, a fact that contributed to the expansion and rooting of anarchism among the Catalan proletariat and Andalusian farmers.
From 1869, worker associations spread throughout Spain, although not all joined the new organization. The most important nuclei were in Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia, and the Levant.
The first congress of the Spanish Regional Federation (FRE) of the International, held in Barcelona in 1870, adopted agreements clearly consistent with the anarchist line of laborism. It described the strike as a fundamental tool for the proletariat and emphasized its apoliticism and the realization of the social revolution through direct action.
The Crisis and the Split in the FRE
In 1871, Paul Lafargue (Karl Marx's son-in-law) arrived in Madrid and led the group of internationalists favoring Marxist positions. Integrated by Francisco Mora, José Mesa, and Pablo Iglesias, this group developed a wide campaign through their newspaper, La Emancipación, advocating 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 FRE and the foundation of the new Federación Madrileña, clearly Marxist in character. The socialist minority split because the majority of organizations included in the original orientation maintained the Bakunist line.
Internationalism reached its climax during the First Republic, when anarchist groups adopted an insurrectionary position to lead the revolution and found the state. After the failure of these revolts, the International lost force. Its final decline took place from 1874, when the new Restoration regime declared it illegal, forcing it to move underground.