The Revolutionary Workers' Party (, ; POR) is a Spanish
far-left
Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...
group. It was founded in 1974 as the radical
Anti-Francoist Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (''Partido Obrero Revolucionario de España'' (''PORE'')), a name that it kept up until 1983. This group was mainly active in the
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 ...
area. Since 1998, the ''POR'' is part of
United Left (IU) through the internal group known as ''Redes.''
History
The party was led by Aníbal Ramos (
Arturo van den Eynde) for thirty years. Its
clandestine phase in
Francoist Spain
Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
was characterized by ferocious persecution by the Spanish police and the arrest and torture of many of its members. In order to avoid extensive arrests ''PORE'' organized itself in tight
cells.
The extremism of this group by did not abate after the
caudillo
A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...
's death for ''PORE'' steadfastly opposed the
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...
which it saw as a mere continuation of
Francoism
Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
. It also opposed the reformist policies of the government of
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a retired Spanish politician who was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996 and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. He is the longest-serving democratically- ...
as well as the government crackdown of the
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
separatist organisation
Basque National Liberation Movement
The Basque National Liberation Movement (; Basque: Euskal Nazio Askapenerako Mugimendua, "ENAM") was an umbrella term that comprised all social, political and armed organizations orbiting around the ideas of the illegal armed organisation Euskadi ...
, being one of the first to cry foul during the so-called ''guerra sucia''.
''PORE'' was renamed ''POR'' in 1983, eight years after the beginning of the political transition. This party keeps decentralized sections only in
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
, being part of
Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (EUiA) as the ''Bastida'' faction. In the
Basque Country a sector of ''POR'' that was integrated in
Ezker Batua-Berdeak (''EB-B'') through
Erabaki abandoned the coalition in 2011 in order to ask the vote for
Amaiur;
''El colectivo Erabaki de EB pedirá el voto para 'Amaiur' en elecciones y reclama la unidad de "toda la izquierda vasca"''
''Europa Press'', October 1, 2011. meanwhile another sector kept within ''EB-B'' as the ''Sarea/Redes'' faction.
Internationally ''POR'' is part of the Fourth International
The Fourth International (FI) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...
. Its main publications are ''Sin Muro'' in Spanish and ''L'Aurora'' (Dawn) in the Catalan language
Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...
.
See also
*POUM
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War. It was formed by the fusion of the Trotskyism, Tro ...
References
External links
POR official site
Partit Obrer Revolucionari
(Catalan)
Redes official site
{{Authority control
Anti-Francoism
Communist parties in Spain
Far-left politics in Spain
Fourth International (post-reunification)
Trotskyist organisations in Spain
United Left (Spain)