''El Comunista'' ("The Communist") was the official publication of the

Spanish Communist Party The Spanish Communist Party (in ), was the first communist party in Spain, formed out of the Federación de Juventudes Socialistas (Federation of Socialist Youth, youth wing of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). The founders of the party, that ...

. The

Socialist Youth of Spain Socialist Youth of Spain () is the youth organisation of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Spain. Headquartered in Madrid, the organization was founded in 1906 and is aligned internationally with the Young European Socialists and the ...

(Juventudes Socialistas de España; JSE) had been a proponent of the

Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...

, an organisation of socialist and labour parties. This stance aligned with that of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(Partido Socialista Obrero Español; PSOE), with which it was associated. Following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

in 1917, there was an influx of new and more left-leaning members to the JSE, which caused it to diverge from the PSOE. One of these members was Juan Andrade, who joined the JSE in 1916 and became editor of the official JSE newspaper, ''Renovación'', in 1919; the ''Renovación'' then began printing articles supporting the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

. On April 15, 1920, at the Fifth Congress of the JSE, the membership voted to break off from the PSOE, and founded the

, leaving behind a small group that wished to rebuild the Socialist Youth of Spain, which continues to exist. The new party changed the name of ''Renovación'' to ''El Comunista'', similar to the name of the official newspaper of the PSOE, '' El Socialista''. Andrade continued as the founding editor of ''El Comunista'', and in the first issue he published the statutes and thesis to be discussed at the new party's First Congress. The PSOE went through a similar schism at the following year's Congress, when the more left-leaning members (the ''terceristas'') split off to form the Spanish Communist Workers' Party on April 13, 1921, after the PSOE had voted to join the

International Working Union of Socialist Parties The International Working Union of Socialist Parties (IWUSP; also known as the 2½ International or the Vienna International; , IASP) was a political international for the co-operation of socialist parties. History The IWUSP was founded on 27 Feb ...

and reject the Communist International. A few months later, on November 14, the year-old Spanish Communist Party and the newer Spanish Communist Workers' Party merged to form the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

,S.G. Payne,''The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism.'' New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004; pg. 12. at which point ''El Comunista'' became ''La Antorcha'', with Andrade continuing as editor.

References

{{Reflist Communist newspapers published in Spain Newspapers established in 1920 1921 disestablishments in Spain 1920 establishments in Spain Publications disestablished in 1921 Defunct newspapers published in Spain Spanish-language communist newspapers