Desfile militar del Frente Nacional por la avenida de la Libertad (2 de 4) - Fondo Marín-Kutxa Fototeka

The Juventudes de Acción Popular (JAP) was the radicalised youth wing of the

CEDA The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA), was a Spanish political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined itself in te ...

, the main Catholic party during part of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

. The organization underwent a process of fascistization whereas their members (''japistas'') shared a camaraderie with the main fascist and reactionary organizations. The organisation was originally created as a branch of

Acción Popular ''Acción Popular'' may refer to: * Popular Action (El Salvador), a political party in El Salvador * Popular Action (Peru) The Popular Action ( es, Acción Popular, AP) is a liberal and reformist political party in Peru, founded by former P ...

in 1933. Its founder and leader was

José María Valiente Soriano José María Valiente Soriano (1900-1982) was a Spanish politician. He commenced his career in Acción Nacional and gained recognition as leader of Juventudes de Acción Popular, the youth branch of CEDA. In 1935 he joined Carlism; his political ...

. Expelled from CEDA and JAP in 1934 for his secret talks with

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

, he was replaced by José María Perez de Laborda. The JAP emphasized sporting and political activity. It had its own fortnightly paper, the first issue of which proclaimed: 'We want a new state.' The JAP's distaste for the principles of universal suffrage was such that internal decisions were never voted upon. As the thirteenth point of the JAP put it: 'Anti-parliamentarianism. Anti-dictatorship. The people participating in Government in an organic manner, not by degenerate democracy.' The line between Christian corporatism and fascist

statism In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production. While in use s ...

became very thin indeed. Conversely, Stanley Payne argues that JAP disliked fascist squadrism and denied that their focus on authority and leadership was to be interpreted as support for authoritarianism. The fascist tendencies of the JAP were vividly demonstrated in the series of rallies held by the CEDA youth movement during the course of 1934. Using the title ''jefe'' (boss), the JAP created an intense and often disturbing cult around the figure of CEDA leader Gil Robles. Robles himself had returned from the

Nuremberg rally The Nuremberg Rallies (officially ', meaning '' Reich Party Congress'') refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first rally held took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactf ...

in 1933 and spoken of its "youthful enthusiasm, steeped in optimism, so different to the desolate and enervating scepticism of our defeatists and intellectuals." JAP members wore green shirts and employed a salute that mimicked the fascist salute by raising the arm partway up. Following the CEDA defeat at the 1936 election, the exalted JAP members fled to extreme right organizations such as

Falange Española Falange Española (FE; English: Spanish Phalanx) was a Spanish fascist political organization active from 1933 to 1934. History The Falange Española was created on 29 October 1933 as the successor of the Movimiento Español Sindicalista (ME ...

and the Carlists. JAP ceased to exist in 1937, following the

Unification Decree The Unification Decree was a political measure adopted by Francisco Franco in his capacity of Head of State of Nationalist Spain on April 19, 1937. The decree merged two existing political groupings, the Falangists and the Carlists, into a new p ...

. A history of the JAP by

Sid Lowe Simon James "Sid" Lowe (born 21 June 1976) is an English columnist and journalist. Born in Archway, London, and based in Madrid, he covers Spanish football for many publications, websites, television channels, radio stations, and football-relat ...

has been published by Sussex Academic Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juventudes de Accion Popular 1933 establishments in Spain 1937 disestablishments in Spain Anti-communism in Spain Anti-communist organizations Catholic youth organizations Defunct Christian organizations Organisations of the Spanish Civil War Organizations disestablished in 1937 Second Spanish Republic Youth organizations established in 1933 Youth wings of political parties in Spain