Anarchism in Barcelona

Anarchy boarded a locomotive in Geneva, Switzerland in 1868. Italian Giuseppi Fanelli had been sent to Spain at the request of Russian anarchist Mikhaïl Bakunin. His was a mission of recruitment for the International Workingmen’s Association, or First International, with the overarching objective of unifying the working class. The timing for a worker’s revolution could not have been better. All state and regional institutions were perceived as instruments for helping the wealthier classes grow even wealthier. Schemes for improving the lives of ordinary people were rarely proposed, and rarer still, enacted. And crucially, the church had, since the land confiscations earlier in the century, abandoned them, opting instead to close ranks around the aristocracy and bourgeoisie, in order to recover some of the holdings they had forfeited. While the First International established its first chapter in Madrid, anarchism garnered much more support amongst the workers in Barcelona. And, it could be said, this was no accident. Barcelona was divided in two. The bourgeoisie on one side, and working class on the other. Events like the Exposition of 1888, as well as the proliferation of private real estate projects, were drawing unskilled laborers in droves–first from within Catalunya, and then from regions like Andalucia and Murcia. While the population grew out of control, the bourgeoisie chose to ignore the problem. There was little interest in improving the city’s infrastructure, or meeting social issues head on through the creation of a modern welfare state, already in vogue throughout Europe. It was a phenomenon anthropologist Ignasi Terrades would label, 100 years later, the ‘absentee state.’ In its place, the working class relied upon one another, living in close quarters, keenly aware that survival itself was a community-driven effort. They organized collectively, and cultural centers, Ateneus, Catalan for Atheneum, began to open up in the working-class neighborhoods. For the working class, Ateneus offered education, literacy, food, and even organized events like hiking expeditions. But above all else, the Ateneus provided cultural empowerment that was transformative, and the sense that, however bleak the outlook, they were part of a tightly-knit community, in place to protect them and their loved ones. Where syndicates, and syndicalism, throughout Spain, is synonymous with trade unions, and the right to collective bargaining, Anarcho-Syndicalism was something else. For French politician, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who’d mentored Mikhaïl Bakunin and influenced Karl Marx, anarcho-syndicalism was a necessary, two-step process that would transition a capitalist society to a freer one, absent classes and hierarchies. Unions would wrest the means of production, or labor, from the factory owners. This would lead to economic parity, self-sufficiency, and ultimately, to an enlightened society built on freedom, and individual autonomy for all. Anarchism’s foothold on Barcelona grew more pronounced at the congress of the First International in 1870, where delegates from 150 workers associations converged, along with thousands of ordinary tradesmen. During the course of the event, the Spanish chapter of the First International was reconstituted as the Spanish Regional Federation, and the structure of the organization bore more similarity to a labor union than a worker’s party. Owing to the embryonic state of the movement, and pervasive repression by authorities, many of the new organization’s actions were stymied, and those that were undertaken proved ineffectual. This inspired a more direct approach by some, a political action known as ‘Propaganda by the Deed,’ or as Mikhaïl Bakunin put it: “We must spread our principles, not with words but with deeds, for this is the most popular, the most potent, and the most irresistible form of propaganda.” This gave rise to a series of high-profile bombings in Barcelona. On September 24, 1893, Catalan anarchist Paul Pallàs i Latorre set off two bombs during a military parade along the busy traffic artery named Gran Via. The intended target was Captain General of Catalunya, Arsenio Martínez-Campos Antón, who was presiding over the event. The Captain General incurred minor injuries, but a civil guard was killed, and 15 others were seriously injured. After being caught, tried, and executed, republican daily El País published a letter written by the bomber. “To General Martinez, as a soldier and as a gentleman, I respect him. But I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to undo one of the many pillars on which rests the current state of affairs in Spain. […] I want it to be clear that, in carrying out my act, I was driven by no other motive than to sacrifice my life for the benefit of my brothers…” Anarchist presses differed in their interpretations of the man’s actions. One praised him as a martyr, another labeled it the unspeakable act of a diseased brain. Weeks later, on November 7, 1893, during the second act of a production of William Tell at the Liceu Theatre, Spanish Anarchist, and friend of Paul Pallàs, Santiago Salvador Franch, threw two bombs into the orchestra pit. The bombing killed 20 people, and injured scores more. Salvador fled, and wasn’t apprehended until the following year, in the city of Saragossa. At his trial in April 1894, Salvador said: My desire was to destroy bourgeois society, to which anarchism has declared open warfare. His execution was carried out later that year, in Barcelona, by garrot, alongside five other anarchists who had been rounded up, at random, during the panic that ensued after the bombing. None of the five were acquainted with Salvador, nor had they any connection with the Liceu bombing. On June 7, 1896, an event occurred that could not so easily be drawn along class lines. As night fell on the annual Corpus Christi Procession through the Old City, a bomb exploded. Three died instantly. Another nine would die later, from injuries sustained from the blast, all of them ordinary citizens. The indiscriminate and brutal act triggered widespread outrage. Attacks on anarchist groups in the city began occurring frequently. Sensing popular support, authorities rounded up 400 people, alleged to be anarchists, revolutionaries or subversives. The suspects, among them teachers, propagandists and intellectuals, were detained in Montjuïc Castle. In what would later be called the Montjuïc Process, 87 detainees were put on trial. The judicial proceedings were conducted without legal guarantees, and evidence was largely based on statements given under torture. The decisions were handed down in April of the next year, in Madrid. Five defendants were sentenced to death. 19 received prison sentences of 10-to-20 years, and 63 were acquitted. While the Corpus Christi Bombing and Montjuïc Process put an end to the notion of “Propaganda by the Deed,” it would not close the book on Barcelona’s relationship with anarchism. The trials would shock the world, inspiring protests across Europe. And later that same year, in an act of retribution for the Montjuïc Process, an Italian anarchist would travel to Spain and shoot the Prime Minister at point-blank range. And in little more than 10 years, with continued working-class oppression by the ruling class, the budding anarchism of 19th century Barcelona would morph into a revolutionary movement, setting off a chain of events that would change the city, the nation and the world, forever.

Well, the FAI was inspired by some initiatives already in existence. Especially, in France, among exiles from the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, where there were a few anarchist meetings in Perpignan…I don’t know, well, in South France. But these are mainly people in exile. France was home to exiles from everywhere. From throughout Europe. That’s why the best archives remain in France. The French police force has some impressive archives of all the movements: Russian, Italian, French, whatever you need. Meetings take place in 1924 and 1925. The FAI begins to take shape, which leads to the Valencia gathering. All of them come together as the FAI to establish anarchist purity within the CNT. That is the main purpose of the FAI. And the ateneus that we’ve already talked about, this is where these principles are applied. But these are heterogeneous groups in every sense: ecologists, naturists, vegans, unionists. It’s all represented. Regarding Direct Action groups, there weren’t as many as people think. These aren’t action groups. They are groups that act through words, perhaps radical ones. Maybe to establish dialogue, and build opinions. And this is what’s later pursued in the libertarian ateneus. Libertarian ateneus provide a new way understanding. It’s a break from the popular ateneus of the 1920s, which weren’t so radical. A variety of thought, but there it is more about anarchist purism.

The CNT inspired and organized numerous activities. This was all part of the Catalan anarchist framework. Culturally, the anarchist world is very robust. Owing to its uniqueness, its penchant for questioning everything, not obeying rules. It argues everything, intellectually, which gives it enormous strength. When we ask, “What did it contribute culturally?” we need to look at the context. In general, most members are poor, with limited access to education. Learning to read and write took enormous effort, requiring one to teach oneself. So this culture, in this space, has limits. It’s nurtured through the efforts of leaders, but as much, members’ commitment to self-learning. And they end up becoming thought leaders within the union movement itself. But cosmopolitan intellectualism is more at home within the anarchist world’s broader landscape. This, though, is separate from the union, within the larger anarchistic world. The engagement between these two worlds, or two social strata, prompts the anarchist world to take great interest in creating spaces for education, culture and leisure. Spaces for theater, all kinds of spaces …more than schools alone.

Anarchism, I think, appeared very innocently. When the workers in Llobregat become enlightened, learning to read and write, and abandon barter, and start using currency in dealings with one another, social demands are made. The fact that they live in settlements together inspires solidarity. Because they spend so many hours together, leisure time, too. That’s where the gathers, the Aplecs and Sardanas come from. On Sundays, all the workers went on excursions. To the mountain to sing, dance, cook, eat. Children played. All of this created solidarity. And when the employers wouldn’t bend, anarchism began bubbling to the surface. This atmosphere of solidarity, naturism and fraternity, it’s very nascent, starting 1845 or 1848. They can’t be considered anarchists. More, utopian socialists. They are a brotherhood, a brotherhood committed to enlightenment. Many European anarchists–Bakunin, Kropotkin–were here already. And there were in Catalonia specifically, because they saw it as a place predisposed, Many cooperatives had been set up. It’s precisely the result of those industrial cooperatives.

I’d ask, “What is the importance of anarchism in Barcelona?” Not all of the anarchist movements revolved around unions. At this time, anarchism and labor societies do play an important role in education. The newly-formed labor movement– itself, a new concept– the first thing they did was call attention to what was lacking. And what was the greatest lack? Education. This is a Spanish state government that, in organizing its regime in 1876, put no priority on education, and left it in the church’s hands. But that’s another subject. This labor world understands that education is key to moving forward and improving work conditions. So education is at the forefront of the CNT union’s programs, likewise in the socialist unions. How is this accomplished? Within anarchist circles, there are two very important pedagogical models which will create schools which function, let’s say, in the normal manner. The most famous, but not the only one, in Barcelona, is the Modern School. That’s the most famous, but not the most important one. On the other hand, labor societies will create meeting rooms, because this anarchist world casts a wide sociocultural net. And the answer to the question, “What was a meeting area?” To sum, a cafe. And the cafe was important. That’s where the counter was, where people drank coffee and brandy. And the back, what we’d call, in a shop, the back shop. In cafes, they didn’t have names. It was used as a meeting area, where, informal, but structured classes were held. Reading and writing was taught. Plays were rehearsed. And who was behind that? People who knew how to do it. It might be teachers with a specific expertise, sometimes people from a specific organization. But there was a real obsession with education. So they created classrooms, school offices, areas for reading newspapers, trade union magazines, to teach and train people. In this world, it’s a vitally important pedagogical tool. The comics, the plays are enormously educational. It’s an extremely important space. And then, specific schools through the ateneus, which are very important in Catalonia, are created. A meeting area that is half leisure, half cultural and surely, the most important one is the Encyclopedic Popular Athenaeum, which ends up, practically, a university. Not officially, but with a very important level of education.

Anarchism isn’t an ideology, but rather a feeling, an attitude towards life. And if you’re from here, everyone understands it in their own way. That’s why there are anarchists. The other day, someone asked me if the CUP… was anarchist, and I said to him, “Let CUP define itself as anarchistic or not.” I wouldn’t know. Everyone’s got to do it their own way. You can reach anarchism from naturism, from ecology, from… …from, I don’t know, from syndicalism, from rebellion, from anywhere, right? From pedagogy, you can reach anarchism from many places. Back then, there are people focused on organizing unions, and others, purists, seeking revolution. Go all the way…it’s a different way of thinking. Purism within the CNT has rules, and skirting those guidelines is difficult. Well, difficult, if you step out of line you get smacked, so to speak. I think that’s how it was. Then, of course, everyone has their own interpretation. For example, Joan Peiró, an organization man, a factory man, went about it differently from García Oliver, who fought on the streets. THere’s a speech on Durruti’s tomb, given in ’37 or ’38, a revolutionary speech about the “Owners of Barcelona.” Well, it’s quite a revolutionary speech. And Peiró, he was shot by firing squad on Franco’s orders. He was a man who made and reached agreements, pursuing pure syndicalism. So there were two approaches.

Anarchism, I think, appeared very innocently. When the workers in Llobregat become enlightened, learning to read an The anarchist movement in Barcelona was among the most important in the world. Maybe the greatest influence anarchism had on art relates to freedom, standing up to conservatives, to the establishment, to dictatorships. Anarchism translated to freedom, and maybe that’s reflected in the arts. There were posters that anarchists made before and during the Civil War. I couldn’t tell you who made them, not now, but there were many important ones. Photographers like Català Roca made anarchism a principle focus. But it was mostly art at the street level, nothing you’d see in dining rooms and museums. It was more direct: graffiti, posters, flyers. I’ve followed anarchism in Barcelona very closely. In my time, as a friend of the anarchists, young and old. I’ve a friend making a movie right now about anarchism in Barcelona. I’ve lent him a bunch of footage we’d filmed. We filmed the gas station strikes, the Libertarian Days, the CNT meetings. We captured a lot of history. Anarchism was a very important counterpoint to conservative rule. But, and I don’t want to step out of line here, the anarchists and communists fought constantly before the war. Fighting one another really diminished things. That handed the right wing victory, which begot the coup. If they’d only worked together… The conservative groups always put aside their differences, and the left always fights. We’re seeing that now. The right wing, the PP, the former Popular Alliance… all the fascists work together. Meanwhile, Podemos, the socialists, everyone on this side, they all go in their own direction. That certainly makes things more interesting, but the right wing ends up winning. The anarchist movement in the 1960s and ’70s was very important. There was the cinema syndicate, led by movie director Bellmut. Andrés Grima, who organized Libertarian Days. There was the transportation syndicate operating out of a flat in Plaça Medinaceli A place where I later lived, on the same floor. The place had huge rooms where the meetings were held. I filmed the meetings. They were quite heavy. They organized the gas station strikes, occupying quite a few floors. It was quite powerful. But like I said before, with the Libertarian Days it kind of came to an end. Younger anarchists came, who were less about flags than they were about sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. The other ones were horrified by it all. The old anarchists, for example, and I say this with love, they came with their wives. They’re very serious people. Anarchists have always been serious and deep, so they were a bit shocked by the sex and drugs and rock ‘n roll. I think that marked the end of the CNT in its classic form, replaced by an anarchism with no flags.

I’d ask, “What is the importance of anarchism in Barcelona?” Barcelona has an an anarchist tradition. Do I think Barcelona’s anarchist roots have an influence on my art? The labor movement in Catalonia was very unique. Perhaps more anarchistic than other places. And in Barcelona, the CNT, anarchism, was a powerful force. People believed in anarchism then, and still do. The anarchists entered the San Andreu barracks, seized the weapons, and the street was theirs. Barcelona, obviously, has a very strong anarchist tradition. Anarchism isn’t an ideology, but rather a feeling, an attitude towards life. My mother’s family were all anarchists. For a time, it was an anarchist government. From the start of the 20th century, there is a very strong anarchist tradition in Catalunya. In Catalunya, with the anarchists’ help, they manage to stop the military coup. For example, my grandfather was killed by an anarchist, yet I am an anarchist. The anarchists said, “They must have an interest in theater, in music.” “They should understand literature and history.” Some anarchists went too far, making their popularity wane. On a creative level, anarchy means, “Everything belongs to everyone.” But thanks to the anarchists here in Barcelona the coup was stopped. And Francoist military officer General Godet, was captured and shot by firing squad. Barcelona, since the start of the 20th century, has been a magnet for anarchists. An alternate Catalan anarchist movement, Terra Lliure, threw a bomb in there, killing two or three Marines. What it did have was a connection with the anarchist world. But this connection with the anarchist world wasn’t just about the spread of ideas. They also published books. Speaking generally, these were rationalist books, books about evolution, books on anarchism, socialism. Well, everything was improvised. On top of all that, most workers in Barcelona were CNT members, a libertarian, anarchist organization. Their culture was completely opposed to any idea of hierarchy. Some ruling? Others obeying? They found the idea repulsive. Culturally repulsive.