Social Change and Labor Movement in 19th Century Spain
In Spain, there was strong population growth during the 19th century. The population model was based on the predominance of agriculture. Crop failure (causing famine), epidemics, and diseases were common.
From Estates Society to Class Society
The transition to a capitalist economy led to social change. The new ruling class was nurtured by the old landed gentry, who formed an oligarchy of landowners at the top of society. Below them, a weak middle class existed, both rural and urban, consisting of small businesses, employees, and stockholders. The vast majority of the population remained rural. Low wages, seasonal unemployment, and the effects of crises remained a permanent threat. A major social change was the emergence of the industrial working class, only significant in Barcelona and Madrid, where working-class neighborhoods grew, devoid of any public or private assistance.
Genesis of the Labor Movement
In the 1840s, due to dire working conditions and low wages, mutual aid societies formed, and the ideas of utopian socialism were disseminated.
Development of the Labor Movement
A definitive separation of the labor movement from the Democratic and Republican parties occurred, along with the implementation of the International (International Workers Association) in Spain.
In October 1868, Fanelli came to Spain to organize the Spanish section of the International based on the anarchist thesis of Bakunin. Two sections were established, one in Madrid and one in Barcelona. In 1870, the First Congress of the Spanish section of the International was held in Barcelona, setting an anarchist orientation that rejected working or forming alliances with bourgeois parties.
In 1871, the international impact of the Paris Commune insurrection led the Spanish government to ban meetings and strikes, shut down newspapers, and arrest labor leaders. Upon the arrival in Spain of Lafargue, a representative of the Marxist current, the new Marxist leaders in Madrid were expelled and founded the New Madrid Federation.
The proclamation of the First Republic led to a wave of demonstrations and strikes that forced employers to make major concessions on hours and wages. However, workers’ participation in the Alcoy strike and the cantonal movement was used by conservatives to end the International. On January 10, 1874, after the coup, Serrano’s government ordered the dissolution of the International. Most of the leaders split into two streams: anarchist and socialist.
Anarchist Movement
The anarchists were reorganized in 1881 and founded the Federation of the Spanish Region. Police repression and internal divisions led, by the end of the 1880s, to one faction leaning toward union activism and protest, while a radical minority opted for direct action (violent strikes or attacks). The resounding response from the authorities served the ruling classes to label all anarchism as violent.
Socialist Movement
In 1879, some intellectuals and workers founded the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) around the figures of Pablo Iglesias and Jaime Vera. The program outlined three goals: the abolition of classes and the emancipation of the workers, the transformation of private property into collective property, and the conquest of political power by the working class. The program also included a list of political demands and measures to improve the living conditions of workers.
In 1888, when socialist groups existed in major cities throughout the country, the General Union of Workers (UGT) was founded in Barcelona. This marked a line between the party’s political purposes and the union, whose function was to defend workers in capitalist society.
In 1890, the first of May was celebrated, following the slogan of the Second International. In the local elections of 1891, the PSOE won its first four councilors in major cities. The war in Cuba secured its position. The Socialists opposed discriminatory military service and denounced the war as imperialist and anti-social.