The Rise of Spanish Anarchism and Socialism: 1879-1910

Political Anarchism in Spain

In 1881, the Spanish section of the International changed its name to the Federation of the Spanish Region, creating an association of a vindictive character. Disagreements within the organization and the continued repression of the workers' and peasants' movements favored a faction of anarchism that opted for direct action and self-organized revolutionary groups.

The period between 1893 and 1897 saw the most significant acts of social violence. Anarchism was accused of being behind the Black Hand. These attacks and riots were followed by severe repression, leading to a spiral of violence. The turning point of this cycle was the Montjuïc trials, in which five anarchists were convicted and executed.

The proliferation of attacks deepened the division between supporters of anarchist direct action and those who advocated for mass action. Intellectuals and labor groups began to view social revolution as a long-term objective, advocating for the establishment of trade union organizations. This anarcho-syndicalist trend began to bear fruit with the creation of Solidaridad Obrera (1907) and the CNT (1910).

The Rise of Spanish Socialism

The New Madrid Federation of the AIT was short-lived. In 1879, a group of workers in Madrid, including Pablo Iglesias, founded the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The party was defined as Marxist, worker-oriented, and an advocate of social revolution.

Socialist Reform Program

The party presented a reform program that included:

• Right of association, assembly, and expression
• Universal suffrage
• Reduction of working hours
• Prohibition of child labor

The party grew in Spain but faced difficult development in areas dominated by anarcho-syndicalism. In 1889, the year of the founding of the Second International, the party joined the organization and helped usher in the Working Party, established in 1890. In 1888, the party held its first congress and founded the General Union of Workers (UGT). The alignment of their leaders with the Socialist Party led to an increasing influence of Marxism. Unlike anarcho-syndicalism, they practiced a prudent policy, using strikes only as a last resort.

Reformism and the Social Issue

By the 1880s, the harsh living and working conditions began to sensitize the government to the need to streamline labor relations in industrial society. Governments considered state regulation of economic and labor relations:

• 1878: Adoption of the first laws regulating hazardous work for children, building homes for disabled workers, and constructing worker housing.
• 1883: Creation of the Social Reform Commission, a government agency tasked with reporting on working conditions and promoting social reform.

However, most of these laws were not effectively enacted until the twentieth century.