Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, commonly abbreviated by its Spanish initials, PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español), is a major party in Spain and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in 1833. It is a democratic socialist party. It has had strong ties with the Unión General de Trabajadores, a Spanish trade union. For decades, UGT membership was a requirement for PSOE membership. During the 1980s, though, UGT criticised the economic policies of the PSOE, even calling for a general strike on 14 December of 1988. Since the Spanish legislative election, 2004 on March 14, 2004 it is the largest party of government. It forms part of the Party of European Socialists and is a member of the Socialist International.

Ideology

The PSOE was founded with the purpose of representing the interests of the working class born from the Industrial Revolution with the declared objective of achieving socialism, and inspired by the revolutionary principles of Marxism and Leninism.

Early history

The PSOE was founded on May 2, 1879 in Madrid by the historical Spanish workers' leader Pablo Iglesias. The first program of the new political party was passed in an assembly of 40 people, on July 20th of that same year. Although the PSOE was rather weak during the late 1800s, its active participation in strikes from 1899 to 1902 and especially its electoral coalition with the main Republican parties led in 1910 to the election of Pablo Iglesias as the first Socialist representative in the Spanish Cortes. PSOE formed part of the Spanish government during the Second Spanish Republic and as part of the Spanish Popular Front, elected to government in 1936. During the Spanish Civil War, it was divided into three wings: a leftist revolutionary Marxist wing, led by Francisco Largo Caballero; a centrist, but violence-prone, led by Indalecio Prieto; and a reformist one, led by Julian Besteiro. The dictator Francisco Franco banned the PSOE in 1939, and it was legalised again in only 1977. During Franco's rule it was persecuted, with many leaders and militants being imprisoned, assassinated, or exiled.

Modern history

Its 25th Congress was held in Toulouse in August 1972. In 1974 at its 26th Congress in Suresnes, Felipe González was elected Secretary General, replacing Rodolfo Llopis Ferrándiz. González was from the "reform" wing of the party, and his victory signaled a defeat for the historic and veteran wing of the Party. The direction of the party shifted from the exiles to the young people in Spain who hadn't fought the war. Llopis led a schism to form the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (historic) (PSOE (h)). González showed intentions to move the party away from its Marxist and socialist background, turning the PSOE into a social-democratic party, similar to those of the rest of western Europe. In 1977 PSOE became the official opposition party with 29.2% of the vote and 118 seats in the Parliament. Their standing was further boosted in 1978 when the 6 deputies of the Popular Socialist Party (Spain) agreed to merge with the party.

In their 27th congress in May 1979 Gonzalez resigned because the party would not abandon its Marxist character. In September the extraordinary 28th congress was called in which González was re-elected and the party agreed to end Marxism within the party. European social democratic parties supported González' stand, and the German SPD granted them money. The party symbol was changed from the anvil with the book to the Social Democratic fist with a rose. In the referendum of 1978, PSOE supported the Spanish Constitution, which was approved. In the 1979 elections they gained 30.5% of the vote and 121 seats, remaining the main opposition party. On October 28 1982, the PSOE was victorious, with 48.3% of the vote (10,000,000 total). Felipe González became Prime Minister of Spain on December 2, a position he held until March 1996. In spite of its appearance as a party with a progressive economic program, the PSOE combined social reforms with a liberal and capitalist economic policy. In the face of this problem, the leftist base was disappointed to see their leaders rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful. One example would be the marriage between the Finance minister Miguel Boyer and the star of gossip magazines Isabel Preysler. Though the party had previously opposed NATO, after reaching the government most party leaders supported keeping Spain inside the organisation. The González administration organised a referendum on the question in 1986, calling for a favourable vote, and won. The administration was criticised for avoiding the official names of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and NATO, using the unofficial Atlantic Alliance terms. A symbol of this U-turn is Javier Solana who campaigned against NATO but ended years later as its Secretary General. PSOE Supported the United States in the First Gulf War (1991). The PSOE won 1986, 1989 and 1993 elections. Economic crisis, corruption scandals and state terrorism against the illegal Basque armed group ETA eroded the popularity of Felipe González, and in 1996, the PSOE lost the elections to the conservative Partido Popular (PP). Between 1996 and 2001 the PSOE weathered a crisis, suffering a hard defeat in 2000 (34.7%). It has still remained as the ruling party in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias. In 2001, a new general secretary, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, was elected, replacing Felipe González, and renewing the party. Later, the PSOE won the municipal elections of 2003. On 13th November 2003 the PSOE won the regional election in Catalonia, through a pact with Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia, ERC, left-wing pro-independence) and Iniciativa per Catalunya (Initiative for Catalonia, ICV, left-wing). In 2004, the PSOE won the Spanish legislative elections with almost 43% of the votes, following the 11-M terrorist attacks, and maintained their lead in the elections to the European Parliament. - - In 2005, PSOE called for a Yes vote on the European Constitution.

Terms

Baron: Unofficial term for the party's regional leaders. They can be very powerful, especially if they run an autonomous community. There have been conflicts between barons and the central directorate. Some barons are Pasqual Maragall (Catalonia), Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra (Extremadura), Manuel Chaves (Andalusia). (Enrique Barón was a PSOE minister for Industry, the surname is a coincidence). The term baron is more colloquial than official, representing the great power than these persons have in the party.
Compañero ("companion"): A term of address among Socialists, similar to the English term comrade. After the social-democratization, it is out of vogue and used only during campaigns or by the most leftist socialists.
Currents: There have been several internal groups within PSOE, based on personal or ideological affinities. Some of them have ended with separation from the PSOE. The failed trial of primary elections for PSOE candidates was an attempt to conciliate currents. Examples of currents are "Guerristas" (followers of Alfonso Guerra), "Renovadores" (renewers, right-wing of the Party) or Izquierda Socialista (Socialist Left).

Notable members

External link

Official site

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