The Partido Comunista de España (Reconstituido) ( en, "Communist Party of Spain (Reconstituted)", ''PCE(r)'') is a Spanish clandestine
communist party that broke away from the
Communist Party of Spain
The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...
(PCE). The general secretary of the PCE(r) is
Manuel Pérez Martínez ('Comrade Arenas'), currently in jail.
History
It was formed in 1975, by the remnants of the
Organization of Spanish Marxist-Leninists
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
(OMLE) which was dissolved that year. OMLE, which was operating from exile, had been formed through a 1968 split in the
Communist Party of Spain
The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...
(PCE).
Following the famous
revolts in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in 1968, certain groups of leftist
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
exiles were disappointed with the staunchly pro-
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
and “frozen” stance of the Spanish Communist Party, the
PCE and its leader
Santiago Carrillo
Santiago José Carrillo Solares (18 January 1915 – 18 September 2012) was a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) from 1960 to 1982. His role in the Paracuellos massacres during the Civil ...
. This led in September of the same year to the foundation of the
Organización de Marxistas Leninistas Españoles (OMLE) (Organization of Spanish Marxist-Leninists) in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. In 1974
Organización Obreira, a Galician organization, joined the OMLE.
During the following years, this splinter group of Spanish Communists was inspired by
ETA
Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...
’s rise and by the military coup in Portugal that led to the
Carnation Revolution. Thus it accumulated a number of sympathizers and well-wishers, especially among left-wing circles in the Spanish youth.
Franco
Franco may refer to:
Name
* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
’s illness was also interpreted as an omen for a wide-open future and a promise of success for the PCE(r)'s ambitions and goals.
The OMLE renamed itself “Partido Comunista de España Reconstituido” in June 1975. Two months after Franco’s death, in January 1976, during the
Spanish political transition from dictatorship to democracy, the PCE(r) began a "revolutionary struggle" against the political reforms of the newly established monarchy of King
Juan Carlos I. In order to carry about its struggle, the PCE(r) restructured itself into different commissions. The party also established various "sectorial organizations", including a student union (Organización Democrática de Estudiantes Antifascistas), a prisoner-support group (Asociación de Familiares y amigos de Presos) and an "antirrepresie" organization (Socorro Rojo).
El PCE(r).
Política21
Despite its initial successes, the PCE(r) became increasingly a marginal group after certain key-measures were adopted by the transitional Spanish government. Foremost of these were the 1977 amnesty for political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s, the democratic normalization, and the growing success of the newly introduced measures adopted by the Spanish police and the Spanish courts to combat terrorism.
After the issuing of a new law concerning political parties in 2002, the Spanish authorities severely curtailed the activities of the PCE(r) in 2003. Currently the party is outlawed, although still exists as a clandestine organization.
Historically, the strongholds of the party have been Vigo
Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...
, Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
, A Coruña
A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
and El Pozo del Tio Raimundo.
Ideology
Originally the party was Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
, advocating a people's war
People's war ( Chinese: 人民战争), also called protracted people's war, is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to main ...
in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Since the late 1990s the party abandoned Maoism
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
in favour of more classic Marxist-Leninist positions.
References
External links
PRES.O.S. - organization for support prisoners of the PCE(r) - GRAPO
PCE(r) Official Website archive.org mirror
{{Authority control
1975 establishments in Spain
Banned communist parties
Banned political parties in Spain
Communist parties in Spain
Left-wing militant groups in Spain
Political parties established in 1975
Republican parties in Spain