Progreso Alfarache Arrabal (1888 - 20 February 1964) was an Andalusian

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

, also known by the pseudonym Antonio Rodríguez.

Biography

Self-taught, he worked as a linotype artist and in 1919 he was one of the delegates of the Graphic Arts Union of Seville to the congress of the CNT at the Madrid Comedy Theatre. The same year he was arrested for the first time for his involvement in a

rent strike A rent strike, sometimes known as a tenants strike or a renters strike, is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants agree to collectively withhold paying some or all of their rent to the ...

. In 1920 he was appointed secretary of the Andalusian Regional Committee of the CNT and editor of '' Solidaridad Obrera'', and 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 had to go into exile in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1929 he befriended the writer

Ramón J. Sender Ramón José Sender Garcés (3 February 1901 – 16 January 1982) was a Spanish novelist, essayist and journalist. Several of his works were translated into English by the distinguished zoologist, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, including ''Seven ...

and in 1930 he settled in

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 served as

general secretary 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 National Committee of the CNT (27 June-December 1930). In August 1930 he participated, with Rafael Vidiella, as an observer of the CNT in what would later become the Pact of San Sebastián. For this reason he was arrested in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

on 27 September 1930, and was not released until March 1931. 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 went to

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 ...

to participate in the Extraordinary Confederal Congress of the CNT (11–16 June 1931). In August of that year he was one of the promoters and editors of the Manifesto of the Thirty, which is why he was excluded from the CNT and aligned himself with the opposition cenetista unions. In April 1932 he took part in the Extraordinary Plenary Session of the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

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 ...

and on 28 May 1932 he was sentenced to six months in prison for insulting the Civil Guard in an article published in ''Solidaridad Obrera''. In September 1933 he was appointed deputy secretary of the Graphic and Similar Industries Union of the CNT of Barcelona and participated in the creation of the Workers' Alliance. During 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 ...

he was a member of the Economic Council of the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

and was the secretary of Horacio Martínez Prieto when he was appointed minister. When the war came to an end he went into exile in Mexico, where he defended the

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...

theses and it organized in 1942 the group "New FAI", opposed to the postulates defended by Joan Garcia i Oliver. In 1944 he was secretary of the CNT in Mexico and in 1945 he participated on behalf of the

Spanish Libertarian Movement The Spanish Libertarian Movement (, MLE) was a Spanish people, Spanish anarcho-syndicalist organization founded at the end of the Spanish Civil War by the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, CNT, the Iberian Anarchist Federation, FAI and the FI ...

as Director General of Fisheries of the

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

Horacio Martínez Prieto in

José Giral José Giral y Pereira (22 October 1879 – 23 December 1962) was a Spanish politician, who served as the 75th Prime Minister of Spain during the Second Spanish Republic. Life Giral was born in Santiago de Cuba. He had degrees in Chemistry ...

's Spanish Republican government in exile in Mexico. At the end of 1946 he returned clandestinely to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to represent the exiles in the National Committee of the CNT, but was arrested in Madrid in March 1947 and imprisoned in the Ocaña Penitentiary. After spending a few years in prison he returned to Mexico, where he directed the magazine ''Comunidad Ibérica'' from 1963. He died of complications after an operation at the Sanatorio Español in Mexico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfarache Arrabal, Progreso 1888 births 1964 deaths Anarchists from Andalusia People from Algeciras General secretaries of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo