The Carlist Traditionalist Communion is a Spanish political movement and former political party established in 1986 during the ''“Carlist Unity Congress”'' held in

San Lorenzo de El Escorial San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Moun ...

(

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 ...

). It unified several traditionalist Carlist groups dissatisfied with the leftist direction of the Carlist Party under Carlos Hugo de Borbón-Parma. The name derives from the historical political party of Carlism, ''

Traditionalist Communion The Traditionalist Communion (, CT; , ) was one of the names adopted by the Carlist movement as a political force since 1869. History In October 1931, Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne Duke Jaime died. He was succeeded by the 82-year-old ...

'' with the addition of ''Carlist'' ( Traditionalist-Carlist), a designation occasionally used during the 1930s at the initiative of Don Alfonso Carlos. The Congress brought together three distinct political parties: Catholic-Monarchist Communion: Linked to the General Zumalacárregui Study Center of Francisco Elías de Tejada, based in Madrid. Carlist Union: Composed of Carloctavists and supporters of the Regency of Estella, primarily active in Vizcaya and

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 ...

: Representing former followers of Javier de Borbón-Parma, with a presence in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, and

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

. In 1996, the faction loyal to

Sixto Enrique de Borbón Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma (; ; born 22 July 1940), known as Enrique V by supporters, is considered Regent of Spain by some Carlists who accord him the titles Duke of Aranjuez, Infante of Spain, and Standard-bearer of Tradition. Early ...

was expelled from the CTC. In 2000, they reconstituted their own political organization under his leadership, reclaiming the name ''

''.

Ideology

The CTC adheres to Carlism's historic motto: ''“God, Fatherland, Fueros, King.”'' It preserves Carlist symbols, such as the Cross of Saint Andrew, the Oriamendi March, and the traditional red or white beret. The CTC advocates a "natural" social organization inspired by Spain's political traditions, structured around kingdoms and territories developed during the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. It proposes replacing autonomous statutes with a foral system respecting subsidiarity. Political parties would be eliminated in favor of an organic system of direct representation. As a confessional Catholic group, the CTC bases its political action on the Church's Social Doctrine and the principle ''“Nothing without God.”'' This perspective applies a Catholic worldview to all aspects of social life, opposing:

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

Abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

Euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, and Secular education in public schools

Dynastic Question

The CTC defines itself as

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

and

legitimist The Legitimists () are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject the claim of t ...

but does not currently recognize any claimant as king. The last officially acknowledged legitimate Carlist king was

Alfonso Carlos I Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

, who died in 1936. In 2016, its governing board issued a declaration maintaining neutrality between Carlos Javier de Borbón Parma and his uncle Sixto Enrique.

Economic Policy

The CTC justifies its program based on the principles of the Church's Social Doctrine, although it lacks a clear roadmap in economic matters. There is some division regarding capitalism and the

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...

, with considerable tensions present (one side aligns more with a program inspired by

Falangist Falangism () was the political ideology of three political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española, the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS), and afterwa ...

principles). Those who are more favorable to free-market theories from the Chicago School and the

Austrian School The Austrian school is a Heterodox economics, heterodox Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivat ...

have been accused of infiltrating the party. In fact, some of them, now in VOX, have been accused of consolidating
paleo-libertarian caucus
The Austrians are more inclined to follow figures such as Rubén Manso Olivar, Miguel Anxo Bastos, and Jesús Huerta de Soto. On the other hand, the opposing faction draws inspiration from economist Daniel Marín Arribas, researcher Felisa Turuleta, and tax advisor Javier de Miguel Marqués. Two digital media outlets are notably involved in this tension. The faction more favorable to the market is supported by the newspaper ''Navarra Confidencial'', while the faction more critical of

libertarianism Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...

is aligned with the ''Asociación Editorial Tradicionalista'', which advocates for distancing itself from the former. Both outlets were founded by individuals who at some point have held or currently hold responsibilities within the CTC.

Structure and Activities

The CTC operates with a structure based on a governing board, whose current president, since October 2022, is Javier Garisoain, and its secretary general is Javier Mª Pérez Roldán. This Governing Board is formed through the National Congress. There are Carlist circles and groups in various Spanish cities, such as

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 ...

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, Liria (Valencia), and others, maintaining connections with traditionalist Catholic groups in other countries. It also has a youth association, called ''Cruz de Borgoña'' (Burgundy Cross), which organizes annual youth camps, and publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Ahora Información''. Along with other organizations, it is linked to the ''Liga Tradicionalista'' (Traditionalist League). The CTC has participated in various protests against the policies of

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

's government: opposing same-sex marriage (2005), the Organic Law on Education (2006), negotiations with

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 ...

in Pamplona (2007), and the expansion of the Abortion Law (October 17, 2009), among others. On December 28, 2012, the CTC was one of the entities organizing "pro-life" rallies in several locations across Spain, including

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, Santander,

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, and

Jaén Jaén may refer to: Places Peru *Jaén Province, Peru, a province in Cajamarca Region, Peru ** Jaén District, one of twelve districts of the province Jaén in Peru ***Jaén, Peru, a city in Peru, capital of the Jaén Province Philippines * Jaen ...

. Other organizing entities included far-right parties and organizations such as ''

Alternativa Española Alternativa may refer to: * Alternativa (video game) * Alternativa (Kosovo political party), a liberal political party in Kosovo * Alternativa (Italian political party), a populist political party in Italy * Alternative (North Macedonia), an Alban ...

'' (AES), '' Derecha Navarra y Española'' (DNE), the ''Cruz de San Andrés'' association, and the ''Foro Arbil''. The manifesto received support from 48 other associations.

References

Bibliography

External sites

Sitio web oficial de la Comunión Tradicionalista Carlista

Sitio web de la asociación juvenil 'Cruz de Borgoña'

Sitio web del periódico digital Ahora Información
{{Authority control Political parties established in 1986 Catholic political parties Catholicism in Spain Conservative parties in Spain Far-right political parties in Spain Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Europe Anti-LGBTQ Christian organizations Monarchist parties 1986 establishments in Spain Monarchism Carlism Monarchist organizations Reactionary