Luis Pío Moa Rodríguez (

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

, Galicia, 1948) better known as simply Pío Moa, is a Spanish writer and journalist. He has authored historical essays about the origins 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 ...

, the Second Republic in Spain,

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 ...

and the various political movements of that era. Following the death of Franco and the reinstatement of a democratic regime in Spain, a slow process of opening of archives and publicizing of Civil War related documents began. In the face of this process Moa started reviving the

Francoist 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 ...

theses that the parties that formed the Popular Front were ultimately responsible for the

and the rise of

autocracy Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...

in Spain. Moa maintains that they have left a legacy of "moral, political and intellectual devastation", accuses the left of hypocrisy in regards to democracy and

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

and claims that the material aid provided by

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to 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 ...

in the Civil War not only prolonged the war and caused innumerable deaths but also was equivalent to the help provided by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republ ...

. The polemical nature of Moa's writings have gained him much public attention in Spain and a measure of controversy as a result. His best-selling book, ''Myths of the Civil War'', with 150,000 units sold, was a best-seller for six consecutive months.

Biography

Early years as radical

Born during 1948 in

, Galicia,

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 ...

. During his youth, Moa was a radical anti-Francoist agitator. He was a militant 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 ...

(and its reconstituted version), as well as the clandestine

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

terrorist-designated organisation

GRAPO The First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups () was a Spanish clandestine Marxist–Leninist group aiming for the formation of a Spanish Republican state. The group was anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and strongly opposed Spain's me ...

. It was involved in violent clashes with the government's

Movimiento Nacional The Movimiento Nacional () was a governing institution of Spain established by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. During Francoist Spain#Francoism, Francoist rule in Spain, it purported to be the only channel of parti ...

. Moa was present at the murder of a policeman on 1 October 1975 after the execution of two

ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...

and three FRAP members. Two other members of GRAPO, Enrique Cerdán Calixto and Abelardo Collazo Araújo, were also present. Cerdán shot the police officer. Moa was expelled from GRAPO in 1977 and later recalled this period of his life in ''About Time and a Country: The Violent Left''. After the transition of

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 ...

, Moa dedicated himself to the study of contemporary

Spanish history The history of Spain dates to contact between the List of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula with the Greeks and Phoenicians. During Classical A ...

and evolved over time to a Francoist position.

Intellectual evolution and writing

His opinions increasingly changed towards conservative positions. He is an outspoken critic of the Spanish

political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

, which he accuses of being the main cause of the

. He has also written essays on Feminism, Marxism, current Spanish politics and an autobiographical book about his experiences in the terrorist group

. In his books, he strongly criticises Franco's communist, socialist and nationalist rivals. Moa is rejected as a "pseudo-historian" by several historians."Pro-Franco history tops bestseller list"
''The Guardian'', 14 November 2005. While disagreeing with some of Moa's theses, the historian

Stanley G. Payne Stanley George Payne (born September 9, 1934) is an American historian of modern Spain and Europe, European fascism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He retired from full-time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Dep ...

has praised his work. He believed in a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

on the authorship of the

11-M Madrid train bombings in 2004 The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days before Spain's ...

. He has been accused of

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

by civil rights groups and of being a defender of the Franco's regime. In an interview in 2008 he openly refused to condemn Franco's regime.Pio Moa: “No condeno el franquismo”
, ''La Nación'', 17 April 2008. However, he declares in his books that he does not defend the dictatorship but rather criticizes his rivals. He was the editor of the historical journals ''Tanteos'' (1988–1990) and ''Ayeres'' (1991–1993) and a librarian at the

Ateneo de Madrid The Ateneo de Madrid ("Athenæum of Madrid") is a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain that was founded in 1835. Its full name is ''Ateneo Científico, Literario y Artístico de Madrid'' ("Scientific, Literary and Artistic ...

, a prestigious cultural and literary institute in Madrid and was on its board of directors for three years. He currently writes for online newspapers such as ''

Libertad Digital ''Libertad Digital'' (LD) is a Spanish-language online newspaper founded on 8 March 2000. Origins ''Libertad Digital'' was founded by Federico Jiménez Losantos who continues to be associated with the publication. Its first edition was relea ...

'' .

Publications

*''Los orígenes de la guerra civil española'' (The origins of the Spanish Civil War) *''Los personajes de la República vistos por ellos mismos'' (The characters of the panish secondrepublic as viewed by themselves) *''El derrumbe de la segunda república y la guerra civil'' (The collapse of the second republic and the civil war) *''Una historia chocante – Los nacionalismos vasco y catalán en la historia contemporánea de España'' (A shocking history – Basque and Catalan nacionalism within the contemporary history of Spain) *''Los mitos de la Guerra Civil'' (Myths of the Civil War) *''La sociedad homosexual y otros ensayos'' (Homosexual society and other essays) *''Años de hierro. España en la posguerra. 1939–1945"'' (Iron years, Post-war Spain 1939–1945) *''De un tiempo y de un país, La izquierda violenta (1968–1978)'' (About a time and a country. The violent left 1968–1978) *''Franco – un balance histórico'' (Franco – a historical assessment) *''Franco para antifranquistas'' (Franco for antifrancoist) *''1934: comienza la guerra civil'' (1934: civil war begins) *''1936: el asalto final a la república'' (1936: final assault on the republic) *''Los crímenes de la guerra civil y otras polémicas'' (The crimes of the civil war and other controversies) *''Nueva Historia de España'' (New History of Spain)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moa, Pio 1948 births Living people People from Vigo Spanish male writers Spanish revolutionaries 2004 Madrid train bombings conspiracy theorists 20th-century Spanish journalists Spanish conspiracy theorists Spanish historians