Francesc Arín i Simó (1891–1936) was a

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

trade unionist and journalist. A

metalworker Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

by trade, Arín became a union leader in the

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The (CNT; ) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist national trade union center, trade union confederation. Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union ''Solidaridad Obrera (historical union), Solidaridad Obrera'', ...

(CNT), within which he formed part of the moderate faction. He led the metalworkers' union through the early 1920s, which saw him arrested, exiled and

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

. He then switched professions to work in the fishing industry, within which he likewise became a trade union leader. During the

dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...

, he joined the Solidaridad group led by

Ángel Pestaña Ángel Pestaña Nuñez (1886–1937) was a Spanish Anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalist General Secretary of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, general secretary of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), founder of the Syndical ...

and continued to organise the CNT throughout the period. When he was elected as the General Secretary of the CNT in 1930, he began to pursue a policy of legalisation, opposing the use of conspiratorial methods against the government. After the proclamation of the

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

, he argued for the temporary defence of the republic until the CNT had consolidated its strength and the threat of a

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

coup d'état had been averted. Together with Pestaña, he published the '' Manifesto of the Thirty'', which criticised premature calls for

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

by individual cadres. The faction gradually lost influence within the CNT and eventually split from it entirely, forming the (FSL). Arín pushed for the FSL's reintegration into the CNT and rejoined the organisation by 1936. He was killed by the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

in the first days of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Biography

Early life and activism

Francesc Arín i Simó was born in the Valencian town of Benicarló, in 1891. By 1910, he had moved to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, where he became involved in the anarchist movement as a contributor to the magazine '. He became known to the Argentine government as a "dangerous foreigner" and, on 2 March 1912, he was prosecuted for an article he co-wrote for ''La Protesta'' in which he insulted President

Roque Sáenz Peña Roque José Antonio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Sáenz-Peña (19 March 1851 – 9 August 1914) was an Argentine politician and lawyer who served as President of Argentina from 12 October 1910 to his death in office on 9 August 1914. He was th ...

. Although he was acquitted due to a lack of merit, he was nevertheless deported on 26 March 1912 to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, where he join theed anarcho-syndicalist movement. A

by trade, by 1918, he had become a leading trade unionist within the

(CNT), as secretary of the Barcelona Metalworkers' Union. Together with

and Salvador Seguí, he was also a leading figure in the moderate faction of the CNT. In October 1920, he led a strike action by metalworkers in Barcelona, which ended in an agreement with their employers. The following month, after Severiano Martínez Anido was appointed as governor of the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .syndicalist movement, Arín was arrested and imprisoned on board the ', in the

port of Barcelona The Port of Barcelona (, ; ) is a major port in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Its are divided into three zones: Port Vell (the Old Port), the commercial/industrial port, and the logistics port (Barcelona Free Port). The port is managed by the Port ...

. He was subsequently deported to

La Mola La Mola is a peninsula that forms the eastern end of the island of Formentera, in the Balearic Islands of Spain, in the western Mediterranean Sea. It contains the highest part of the island, with an elevation of about 200 m, as well as the ...

for his trade unionist activities, but by 1922, he had returned to mainland Spain. In July 1922, he was delegated by the metalworkers' union to the CNT's regional conference in

Blanes Blanes () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Selva (comarca), Selva in Province of Girona, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. During Roman rule it was named Blanda or Blandae. It is known as the ...

. In January 1923, he also presided over a regional plenary of the CNT in Barceloneta. By 1923, Arín had been

from jobs in the metalworking industry; he was forced to change professions, managing to find work as a foreman, unloading freshly-caught fish at the docks. From 1924 to 1925, he collaborated on the magazine ''Fructidor''.

Clandestine activities

During the

, he joined Ángel Pestaña's group Solidaridad. After the collapse of the dictatorship, he became editor of the group's weekly magazine ''Acción'', which published its first issue on 15 February 1930, and was tasked with reorganising the CNT after years in clandestinity. He participated in rallies in

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...

and

, organised respectively by unions in the local cinema and theatre sectors, and was also elected as president of the CNT's fishing union. In June 1930, he joined the CNT's national committee, headed by Progreso Alfarache. After Alfarache's arrest in September 1930, Arín himself took over as General Secretary of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo. From this position, he acted as the CNT's official representative in meetings with republican revolutionary committees, which aimed to overthrow the

Spanish monarchy The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish monarchy is constitu ...

, but he came out opposed to the use of any conspiratorial methods. Instead, in January 1931, he went to La Model prison in Barcelona, where he signed a document calling for the CNT to carry out a public campaign for

political freedom Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and ...

. He began to campaign openly for the legalisation of the CNT, even sending a delegation to meet with the prime minister Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas at the end of February. The following month, he explained his decision in an article published in '' Solidaridad Obrera''.

Treintism

Following the proclamation of the

in June 1931, he participated in the CNT's extaordinary congress in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, where he reaffirmed his moderate political positions. Together with Pestaña and Joan Peiró, who also served on the national committee, Arín revealed the extent of the CNT's collaboration with Catalan republican groups against the dictatorship and outlined his belief that the nascent Republic had to be temporarily supported until the CNT had consolidated itself and the threat of a

coup d'état had been averted, which provoked a heated exchange between delegates. When members of the

Federación Anarquista Ibérica The Iberian Anarchist Federation (, FAI) is a Spanish anarchist organization. Due to its close relation with the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) anarcho-syndicalist union, it is often abbreviated as CNT-FAI. The FAI publishes the pe ...

(FAI) objected to the national committee's collaborationism, Arín accused them of hypocrisy, claiming that it had been the FAI that had initiated their collaboration with republican political and military groups, without having consulted the national committee. Over time, Arín became increasingly critical of the FAI, which he accused of acting against the CNT. In response, Arín himself proposed to his fellow moderates that they publish a manifesto, personally signed with each of their names. In August 1931, he and 29 other moderate members of the CNT signed the '' Manifesto of the Thirty''. Drafted by Pestaña and rewritten by Progreso Alfarache, Agustín Gibanel and Ricardo Fornells, the manifesto criticised the FAI's

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

aspirations as "naive", declaring that revolution could only be accomplished by the co-ordinated will of the working masses, not by a militant minority. Arín and his fellow ''treintistas'' were subsequently denounced by members of the FAI, including

Buenaventura Durruti José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (14 July 1896 – 20 November 1936) was a Spanish anarchist revolutionary involved with the CNT and the FAI in the periods before and during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. Durruti played an influe ...

and Joan Garcia i Oliver, the latter of whom accused them of "dictatorial syndicalism". Undeterred, Arín contributed to the publication of the Solidaridad group's official weekly newspaper, ''Cultura Libertaria'', which began publication in November 1931. In March 1932, Arín and Pestaña were removed from the CNT's national committee and the ''treintistas'' increasingly lost influence within the organisation. The following month, Arín participated in the CNT's regional plenary in

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

, which saw the split of the ''treintista'' unions from the rest of organisation. In May 1932, he organised a meeting of the CNT's local federation in Sabadell, in which they defined their position on the

Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932 The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932, also called the Statute of Núria, was the first implemented statute of autonomy for Catalonia, officially providing self-government to Catalonia for the first time in more than 200 years. The Statute ...

. In July 1932, he was expelled from the CNT's transport union, which he had presided over for a year; that same month, he also established the Barcelona Fishing Industry Union along ''treintista'' lines, for which he served as president until February 1932. Arín was a founding member of the ''treintista'' organisation, the (FSL). He was elected to preside over its first meeting, set to be held on 9 April 1933, but it wasn't able to go ahead because of the CNT's opposition to it. When Pestaña left the FSL in 1934, Arín took over as the organisation's vice-secretary, a position from which he oversaw its reintegration into the CNT. The following year, he began collaborating on the magazine ''Sindicalismo''. In February 1936, he co-organised a rally in Mataró with Joan Peiró; and in June 1936, a rally in Balsareny with Antonio Ortiz Ramírez.

Death

At the outbreak of the

, he was in the middle of a propaganda tour; he found himself in the

province of Seville The Province of Seville () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It borders the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and Córdoba in the ...

when it was captured by

during their

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. On 18 July 1936, after a meeting in Carmona, he was arrested and shot by the forces of

Gonzalo Queipo de Llano Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra (5 February 1875 – 9 March 1951) was a Spanish Army general. He distinguished himself quickly in his career, fighting in Cuba and Morocco, later becoming outspoken about military and political figures which led ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

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