Germinal de Sousa (born 22 May 1906 in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, died 3 November 1968 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and secretary of the

Iberian Anarchist Federation 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 ...

's Peninsular Committee.Manuscript: "37 / 10A" (ln). Typed: "Comrade Germinal de Souza (Secretary of the Peninsular of the FAI" (tn); "year 1938" (tn); "neg. Leica nº 5414" (tn) He oversaw the FAI's collaboration with the government of the

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 King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

up until late 1938, when he broke with the leadership of the CNT over the matter.

Biography

After the establishment 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), de Sousa joined

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 ...

's group Solidaridad, which went on to form the core of the Treintista movement that opposed the radicalism of the FAI. In 1935, de Sousa was himself elected to the Peninsular Committee of the FAI, serving alongside

Diego Abad de Santillán Sinesio Baudillo García Fernández (20 May 1897 – 18 October 1983), commonly known by his pseudonym Diego Abad de Santillán, was a Spanish Argentine anarcho-syndicalist economist. Born in León, his family moved to Argentina while he was ...

, Ildefonso González, Pedro Herrera and . By the outbreak 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 ...

, de Sousa had become the

secretary general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the FAI. From this position, De Sousa approved the decision by 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) to join the government of

Francisco Largo Caballero Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist who served as the prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. He was one of the historic leaders of the ...

. When the FAI joined the national committee of the Popular Front on 31 May 1938, de Sousa and Abad de Santillán were appointed to it as delegates. By October 1938, the FAI had finally broken with the leadership of the CNT over the latter's continued support for the Republican government of

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...

. De Sousa himself criticised

Mariano R. Vázquez Mariano Rodríguez Vázquez (1909 – 18 June 1939), popularly known by his nickname ''Marianet'', was a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist politician who served as General Secretary of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) during the Spanish ...

, the Secretary General of the CNT, for having condemned the FAI's anti-government position, stating that it had been formed based on the "opinion of various political and military personalities". Disturbed by the

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

of 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 ...

(PCE) during the civil war, de Sousa opposed forming a

united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

with the

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party (, , PCP) is a Communism, communist and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist List of political parties in Portugal, political party in Portugal. It is one of the strongest List of communist parties, communist par ...

(PCP) against the Estado Novo, instead preferring to cooperate with the

socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

and the

democratic republic A democratic republic is a form of government operating on principles adopted from a republic and a democracy. As a cross between two similar systems, democratic republics may function on principles shared by both republics and democracies. Whil ...

ans.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sousa, Germinal de 1906 births 1968 deaths People from Porto Portuguese anarchists Portuguese people of the Spanish Civil War