Anarchism in Andorra peaked during the 1930s, when anarchist ideas were at the forefront of revolutionary politics in the
Catalan countries
The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencian Community, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La F ...
.
History
During the time of the
Second Spanish Republic, the Spanish state questioned the role of co-prince of the
bishop of La Seu d'Urgell,
Justí Guitart i Vilardebó
Justí Guitart i Vilardebó (December 16, 1875 – January 30, 1940) was the Bishop of Urgell and Episcopal Co-Prince of Andorra from 1920 to 1940.
Born in Barcelona, Guitart was ordained as a priest in 1901, and was consecrated as Bishop o ...
. The same situation was repeated as during the
French Revolution. Spain did not conceive that one of its citizens had the sovereignty of another state. The Spanish and Catalan press began to criticize the role of co-prince, exclaiming that it was possible that the Andorran people had no sovereignty and would be subject to two feudal princes.
From
Catalunya, the
Catalanist
Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation.
Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...
and
anarcho-syndicalist atmosphere greatly influenced Andorran immigrants. In 1933, the
Joves Andorrans (a trade union related to the
CNT-FAI) occupied the
General Council General council may refer to:
In education:
* General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland
* General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...
, demanding
universal suffrage for Andorran citizens - igniting the
Andorran Revolution
The Andorran Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1933, was a democratic uprising led by the Young Andorrans (a trade union related to the CNT- FAI) that called for political reforms, universal suffrage for all Andorrans and acted in de ...
, which saw the General Council elected with
universal male suffrage and the implementation of
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
.
The Spanish republic denied the bishop the right to be co-prince of Andorra, with annexationist intentions behind it. The
anticlericalism of the Second Republic was very offensive to the
Catholic Church which led to the bishop joining the
nationalists When the
Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936 the bishop went into exile in
Sanremo. He was in the
Aran Valley when he learned of the military coup. On the night of his escape, a group of anarchists went to wake him up by standing under the window where he was staying to sing
the Internationale with their fists raised. Before leaving, he left the episcopal delegation in the hands of Miquel Mateu. Once in San Remo, the nationalists convinced him to sign the collective letter of the bishops of 1937. It was a manifesto in which the Catholic Church supported fascism.
Refugees and border control
With the outbreak of the
revolution in
Catalunya,
libertarian communism was proclaimed in
Urgell. The atmosphere became radicalized and many people from Urgell temporarily fled to Andorra, thinking that the coup would fail like the
Sanjurjada
Sanjurjada () was a military coup staged in Spain on August 10, 1932. It was aimed at toppling the government but not necessarily at toppling the Republic. Following brief clashes it was easily suppressed in Madrid. Hardly any action was recorded ...
. At first the country hosted nationalists that had fled from republican positions in Catalunya. Towards the end of the conflict, a second wave of refugees fled to Andorra, these were
anarchists,
republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and
socialists, fleeing from the
nationalist offensive.
Andorra welcomed everyone, on both sides of the conflict. The
FAI was even installed on the
Andorra–Catalunya border, where they began to take control of smuggling operations.
Puigcerdà
Puigcerdà (; es, Puigcerdá) is the capital of the '' Catalan comarca'' of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the Segre River and on the border with France (it abuts directly onto the French town of Bourg-Ma ...
was also the border with the second-most escapes.
FHASA workers and Andorrans before the war
FHASA workers were affiliated with the
CNT and the
FAI, they agitated in Andorra and invited their anarchist friends to stay in the country too. Once in Andorra, they took the opportunity to register the names of the nationalists who had taken refuge and then denounced them. The FHASA's director Miquel Mateu was, on the other hand, a declared fascist and helped the nationalists as best he could. In
Sant Julià de Lòria the population joined the fascist side, where
Andorra la Vella and
Escaldes-Engordany
Escaldes-Engordany () is one of the 7 parishes of Andorra. The Escaldes-Engordany parish was founded on 14 June 1978 and has the second largest population after Andorra la Vella. The parish is composed of the areas of les Escaldes, Engordany, Els V ...
became anarchist refuges. Three bars of the time stand out in particular: the Hotel Mirador and the Casino d’Escaldes (republicans) and the Bar de Burgos (fascists). The lower parishes were usually more akin to the trends circulating in
Castile or
Catalunya while the higher ones followed the French temperament. The constant movement of people through Andorra made it impossible to take a neutral position and its people opted for one side or the other. In Sant Julià the border was blocked during the war to prevent anarchists from entering the country. Border control was so strict that even a valid pass or passport did not guarantee escape or entry into Andorra. The Andorran youth largely sympathized with the republican cause and wanted to proclaim an ''Independent Republic of Andorra''. The older generations, on the other hand, were largely followers of fascism and hoped that it would establish "order" in Andorra. There were also Andorrans who helped the refugees on both sides by giving them food and sleep.
The two sides often settled their differences by shooting at each other in the mountains, which provided anonymity from the Andorran authorities. Within the country republicans and nationalists were waging small-scale warfare with real weapons. An improvised hospital had to be set up at FHASA to manage the arrival of all those refugees who had been shot during their entrance into Andorra.
The intervention of the gendarmerie
According to the Andorran authorities, the group that caused the most instability was the FHASA workers, who gathered weapons for a republican revolution in the country. The plan was to take advantage of the fact that during the winter the port on the French side was blocked. But the attempt failed after the General Council approved French intervention by a majority. Although he did not intervene in Spain, the French co-prince
Albert Lebrun did intervene in Andorra. The communes convened parish meetings which rejected the intervention and decided on what was to be done about it. The village itself decided to mount a troop of men with the help of the communes to prevent the
gendarmes from passing beyond the border of the
Pas de la Casa. Despite this, General René Baulard once again occupied the country.
Lists of anarchist and nationalist in Andorra were drawn up. After the occupation, many anarchists had to ask the gendarmerie for permission to stay.
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...
,
Basques
The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...
,
Catalans or
Galicians who crossed the border thereafter were sent to
French concentration camps
Numerous internment camps and concentration camps were located in France before, during and after World War II. Beside the camps created during World War I to intern German, Austrian and Ottoman civilian prisoners, the Third Republic (1871–1940 ...
. The turn to the right caused by the war caused many political milestones to be revoked. Universal male suffrage was suspended and freedom of expression was revoked. People were afraid to talk openly about the war or about
Francoism. With the war, escape networks were created that helped
Holocaust survivors, among others, to leave
Europe or take refuge in isolated countries, such as Andorra.
Antoni Forné i Jou, a member of the
Workers' Party of Marxist Unification, helped to organize the Andorran escape network.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Andorra, Anarchism in
Andorra
1930s in Andorra
Political movements in Andorra