A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #18-26 - Revolution in Hand. Spain 1936: Anti-Fascism, Social Revolution, Self-Management (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Everyone knows that in 1936, now 90 years ago, a civil war broke out in 
Spain. But what is often overlooked is that, while the working class 
fought against the coup plotters, it was embarking on a social 
revolution, perhaps the most radical in history, with magnificent 
achievements of self-management. ---- The coup d'état carried out by a 
significant part of the army, with the support of the landowners, the 
bourgeoisie and the clergy, was in reality an attempt at a preventive 
counterrevolution.
In a country of twenty-one million people, the number of illiterates is 
high. More than half the population works in agriculture. Rural life 
still exists according to archaic social structures: while 50,000 
landowners (including the Catholic Church) own half of the cultivated 
land, two million farmers share ten percent of that land.

Industry, concentrated mainly in Catalonia and the Basque Country, 
employs two million workers. The main sectors of this sector are 
controlled by foreign capital (American, German, British, Belgian, and 
French).

The Church has 80,000 members, including priests, friars, and nuns. It 
controls education and important sectors of economic and social life.
The Army is a pillar of Spanish society. It employs 15,000 officers, who 
live off the national budget, as do the 64,000 police and Civil Guard 
officers responsible for maintaining social order.

To combat this social system, the most conscious workers unite in 
various organizations: the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), with 
its central union, the General Workers' Union (UGT), which has 1,400,000 
members; the Spanish Communist Party (PCE), with approximately 13,000 
members; the Trotskyist-leaning Workers' Party for Marxist Unification 
(POUM); and the libertarian movement, made up of the Iberian Anarchist 
Federation (FAI), the Libertarian Youths, Free Women, and the central 
union, the National Labor Confederation (CNT), with approximately 
1,500,000 members.

In 1931, King Alfonso XIII was deposed without bloodshed and the 
Republic was proclaimed, welcomed with enthusiasm. But the new regime 
failed to satisfy the people's aspirations. There was no redistribution 
of land, and the repression of the working class was as bloody as under 
the monarchy. For example, in 1934, a workers' rebellion in Asturias 
(from the CNT and UGT) was repressed with fire and blood, resulting in a 
horrific toll: 3,000 dead, 7,000 wounded, and tens of thousands imprisoned.

In February 1936, general elections were held, won by a coalition of 
left-wing parties, the Popular Front. The new government granted an 
amnesty, but politicians continued with their usual maneuvers. In May of 
the same year, the CNT held a congress at which, among other things, the 
foundations for social reorganization were laid in preparation for the 
revolution that was looming on the horizon.

In July of the same year, a series of army generals, the Falange 
(Spanish fascism), the Catholic right, and fundamentalists attempted a 
coup d'état, which failed in much of Spain thanks to popular 
intervention, which launched a revolutionary general strike. In 
Catalonia, where anarchism was dominant among the working class, the 
coup was also foiled, but the republican legal structure was maintained, 
although a Committee of Anti-Fascist Militias was created to lead the 
regional government. Similar situations occurred in other areas.

Militias were quickly organized to fight the fascists and try to 
liberate the populations that had fallen under their yoke. Within the 
libertarian camp, a series of columns emerged that, without falling into 
militarism, would fight on the battlefields. These CNT-FAI militias 
fought, above all, to overthrow the old world of aristocrats, 
capitalists, soldiers, and priests, and to open the doors to social 
revolution, to anarchist communism.

Industrial collectivization

A new life is being born behind the scenes. The social revolution 
underway in Spain puts into practice the great principle of the First 
International: "The emancipation of workers must be the work of the 
workers themselves." Libertarian principles prevail; decisions come from 
the grassroots. It is the unions that, within the companies, appropriate 
the means of production and decide on their new use.

Production must continue. The workers' assembly decides on the new 
organization of the factory. The owners, and most of the engineers and 
technicians, generally close to the fascists, have fled. A works council 
is elected from among the production workers, and everyone commits to 
improving collective life: reduced working hours, increased wages, 
healthcare, and pension security, all without neglecting improved 
working conditions and hygiene. They even worry about the future, 
establishing research laboratories.

The variety of situations leads to different experiences. In some 
sectors where the CNT is particularly strong, workers manage an entire 
industrial branch, from raw materials to the sale of the finished 
product; this is therefore a form of socialization. Sometimes, workers 
manage just one company in the sector: in this case, it is called 
collectivization.

The conditions imposed by the civil war hindered the development of 
collectivized industry due to the lack of raw materials, capital, and 
technicians. However, this industry, in the hands of workers, kept the 
country afloat. Based on libertarian ideas, workers were able to produce 
without bosses or military discipline; they took their destiny into 
their own hands by voting on important decisions in general assemblies 
and worked, not to enrich a single boss, but for the good of all.

In cities like Barcelona, transportation is managed by workers: trams, 
buses, the subway, taxis, and the railways. Even workshops and 
warehouses are managed by workers. Wages are raised, attempting to 
equalize them, and a 40-hour work week is introduced.

Due to the war, supplies to the main cities will be difficult. Large 
food companies will be seized and, in most cases, transformed into 
low-cost restaurants.

In the food industry, companies were collectivized, emphasizing product 
quality and moving away from capitalist profit. All these improvements 
cost the socialized industries a lot of money, money that was only 
possible thanks to the commitment and will of the workers.
It was also decided to support militias and other communities affected 
by the lack of raw materials.

Agricultural collectivization

In the countryside, life could not stop in July 1936; harvest was 
imminent, and the former landowners' lands needed to be tended. 
Abandoned lands were confiscated, and farmers voluntarily contributed to 
the collective effort by providing their machinery and livestock, and 
work was organized collectively. Living conditions for everyone improved 
immediately. Production increased thanks to the acquisition of large 
estates or hunting reserves and a more rational use of the countryside. 
Collective management of profits made it possible to purchase machinery 
and build essential projects such as hospitals, schools, irrigation 
canals, and so on. Hundreds of thousands of men and women took their 
destinies into their own hands.

350 collectivities were created in Catalonia, 500 in the Levant, 450 in 
Aragon (where 75% of the land was collectivized), and 240 in New 
Castile. Others also existed in Andalusia and Extremadura. Each had its 
own characteristics, as decisions were made in the collectivists' 
general assemblies.

Regarding exports outside the collectivist system, it was immediately 
clear that federations were needed, with a compensation fund to ensure a 
balance between rich and poor communities. Food distribution was also 
organized so that it passed directly from producer to distributor, 
without any speculation from middlemen.

Healthcare

In 1936, the health situation in Spain was catastrophic. Infant 
mortality in particular was very high, and the consequences of the war 
would exacerbate the problems. There was no national health system, but 
there were many mutual health insurance companies created by the unions. 
Efforts were made to unify all of this, though it was a complex undertaking.

In a year of revolution, numerous new hospitals were built. The fees for 
medical visits and surgeries were controlled by the Health Union. 
Sometimes, convents and other religious buildings were used to set up 
hospitals. The goal was to ensure healthcare for all segments of the 
population, particularly the working class, which had been neglected. In 
Barcelona, the Louise Michel Institute for Childcare and Maternity was 
established, which cared for children from 2 months to 4 years of age, 
both medically and psychologically. The same center organized courses 
for pregnant women and established a childcare school.

Instruction

Anarchism believes that achieving a high level of education is essential 
for the emancipation of the working class. In Spain, primary education 
was mostly provided by religious orders, while university access was 
reserved exclusively for the privileged classes. Since the beginning of 
the 20th century, numerous rationalist schools had been established, 
following the model of Francisco Ferrer's Modern School, which provided 
workers' children (and others) with a scientific, encyclopedic, and 
gender-neutral education, free from dogmatism. These schools were 
founded by unions or libertarian neighborhood colleges. At the outbreak 
of the Revolution, they multiplied and, in some cases, merged with 
public schools in an attempt to extend education to all children and 
youth. Secondary education centers were also established, and, in at 
least one case, a boarding school for agricultural vocational training.

War and counterrevolution

The civil war was actually a struggle of the Spanish people against 
European fascism. From the July 1936 pronouncement, the coup plotters 
were aided by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. But also-and this is not 
often said-by the American companies Ford (which supplied trucks) and 
Shell (which supplied fuel). This was in addition to the 
"non-intervention" decreed by France and the United Kingdom, which 
actually favored the coup-plotting army.

Only the Soviet Union aided the Republic, but in a completely 
opportunistic manner and fueling the counterrevolution. The Communist 
Party selectively channeled Soviet aid, in addition to seizing key 
positions in the Republican military hierarchy. The corollary of all 
this led to the events of May 1937, in which anarchists in Barcelona 
were attacked by Communist militias with the consent of the Republican 
government. Communist-controlled military units dismantled agricultural 
collectives in Aragon.

For reasons of anti-fascist unity, the libertarian movement had in many 
cases renounced its principles, such as accepting the militarization of 
militias or participating in the administrative and power bodies of the 
state (let's not forget the CNT ministers). This renunciation of 
principles was one of the "keys" to the defeat of the republican camp.

The military defeat led to the rise of fascism, under Generalissimo 
Francisco Franco, and a brutal repression that resulted in hundreds of 
thousands of exiles, imprisonments, and executions.
The fascist regime lasted until the dictator's death in 1975. A 
"transition" to democracy followed, agreed upon between the heirs of 
Francoism and the opposition parties, a pact in which the Catholic 
Church played a decisive role. No accountability for the crimes and 
repression of Francoism would be held accountable.

Ninety years after the Revolution, what remains? Well, very little. Its 
memory is systematically erased, as are its achievements; the war is 
spoken of only as a conflict between fascists and anti-fascists, and is 
even trivialized. The unions are bought by the state and at the service 
of the employers. But the social situation remains dire for the working 
class, with low wages and high unemployment. And with neo-fascists 
roaming around as they please. But everything can still change...

Alfredo González

https://umanitanova.org/la-rivoluzione-in-pugno-spagna-1936-antifascismo-rivoluzione-sociale-autogestione/
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