Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español or PSOE) is one of the main parties of Spain. It is a social democratic party, a member of the Socialist International.
Its strongholds have been the miners and industrial workers of Biscay, Guipúzcoa and Asturias, the landless labourers of Andalusia and Extremadura and, since the 1970s, the public officers across Spain. It has had strong ties with the Unión General de Trabajadores trade union. For decades, UGT membership was a requisite for PSOE membership. During the ruling of PSOE in the 1980s, though, UGT protested the PSOE economic policy, even calling to a general strike (14-D) on 14 December of 1988.
History
It was founded on 1879 by the historical spanish workers' leader Pablo Iglesias.
The PSOE formed the Government during the second Spanish Republic (1931-1936) and as part of the Spanish Popular Front ("Frente Popular"), elected to government in 1936. During the Spanish Civil War, it divided into two wings: the left, revolutionary, and Marxist wing, led by Francisco Largo Caballero, and the right, reformist wing, led by Indalecio Prieto and Julian Besteiro.
During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1975) the PSOE was illegal and it was persecuted. Many of their leaders and militants were assassinated, imprisoned or they exiled to France, the United States, or Mexico. In the first democratic elections (1977), it arose as the second party of Spain, with 30% of the votes. In 1979 it obtained similars results. From 1974, its general secretary was Felipe González, who in a congress at Suresnes (France), moved the party away from its Marxist and socialist path, turning the PSOE into a social-democratic party, similar to those of the rest of western Europe. To this end, he banned the Marxist wing, directed by the Trotskyist newspaper New Clarity, similar to the British Socialist Appeal (former Militant). These movements were encouraged by the European social democracy; German SPD granted money to PSOE. The party symbol was changed from the anvil with the book to the Social Democratic fist with a rose.
In 1982, the PSOE won an historic electoral victory, with more than 10,000,000 votes (48%). Felipe González became Prime minister, a position that he occupied from 1982 to 1996. In spite of its appearance as a leftist party, with a progressive program, the PSOE made a policy of social reforms combined with a liberal and capìtalist economic policy. In addition, it was favorable to the entrance of Spain in NATO (1986) and supported the United States in the First Gulf War (1991). The PSOE won 1986, 1989 and 1993 elections.
An economic crisis, scandals of corruption and state terrorism against the Basque violent separatist group ETA eroded the popularity of Felipe González, and in 1996, the PSOE lost the elections to the conservative Partido Popular ("Popular Party") (PP). Between 1996 and 2001 the PSOE weathered a crisis, suffering a hard defeat in 2000 (34.7%), after agreeing with Izquierda Unida ("United Left") (IU).
It still has remained as the ruling party in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias. On 13th November 2003 the PSOE won the Catalonian election, and obtained the autonomous government, Generalitat de Catalunya, through a pact with Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia, ERC, left-wing independentist) and Izquierda Unida (United Left, IU).
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.
In 2004, the PSOE won the Spanish legislative elections with almost 43% of the votes, following the 11-M terrorist attacks.
PSOE maintains good connections with those Spanish artists and intellectuals who enjoyed the Spanish transition to democracy. The party has received different degrees of support from people like Antonio Banderas.
Glossary of PSOE terms
See also: Politics of Spain, PASOC, Flick, Hotel Crillon