Crisanto Abaño Evangelista (November 1, 1888 – June 2, 1942) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician and labor leader of the first half of the 20th century. He is credited as being one of the founders of the

Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP-1930), also known as the Philippine Communist Party, is a communist party in the Philippines that was established on November 7, 1930. It uses the aforementioned appellation in order to distinguish i ...

. Evangelista was also an influential head of the

Congreso Obrero de Filipinas () is a musical band from Chile. Founded in 1969 in Quilpué, it is a highly acclaimed band with over 50 years of experience fusioning and developing Latin American music. Began their career in the late 1960s linked to New Chilean Song movemen ...

, at the time the foremost and largest trade federation in the Philippines, having served as secretary for multiple years. He also headed the

Union de Impresores de Filipinas Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** Union ...

as its Secretary-General. Prior to forming the PKP, Evangelista was a member of the

Partido Obrero de Filipinas The ''Partido Obrero de Filipinas'' (Spanish, "Labor Party of the Philippines") was a Marxist political party formed in 1924 by Filipino labor organizers Crisanto Evangelista, Domingo Ponce and Cirilo Bognot during the administration of the I ...

, a Filipino workers' party with increasingly radical leanings. Evangelista was eventually captured by the Japanese during the Second World War and executed.

Biography

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

1913, together with

Hermenegildo Cruz Hermenegildo Cruz (1880-1943) was a Filipinos, Filipino writer and trade union organizer. He was a founding member of Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina and a member of the Philippine Assembly. He became director of the Department of Labor and E ...

, he had attempted to guarantee basic

workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

and unify the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s in the country. After defecting from the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...

with its left wing allies, he became one of the founders and early leaders of the increasingly

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, which became the Progressive Workers Party. Around it, he formed a new trade union federation, one that was more radical in its goals. Evangelista was one of five members of the inaugural executive committee of the

Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat The Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat (PPTUS) was a regional subdivision of the Profintern, Red International of Labor Unions (RILU, commonly known as the Profintern), the trade union organization associated with the Communist International. Est ...

, established in 1927 as a Pacific regional subdivision of the

Red International of Labor Unions The Red International of Labor Unions (russian: Красный интернационал профсоюзов, translit=Krasnyi internatsional profsoyuzov, RILU), commonly known as the Profintern, was an international body established by the Comm ...

(RILU, commonly known as the Profintern). He was instrumental in affiliating the Philippine labor federation, the

(COF) with that organization on June 30 of that same year.E.H. Carr, ''A History of Soviet Russia, Volume 14: Foundations of a Planned Economy: Volume 3, Part 3.'' London: Macmillan, 1978; pg. 1040. On November 7, 1930, the 13th anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, Evangelista reformed his group as the

, Note: Karnow misspelled the first name as "Cristano", page 444. and subsequently led it briefly until it was banned on October 26, 1932 by the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...

. Jailed towards the end of the decade, Evangelista was involved in informal talks with

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

, negotiating a social peace. He was arrested by invading

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

troops along with

Pedro Abad Santos Pedro Abad Santos y Basco (, ; 31 January 1876 – 15 January 1945) was a Filipinos, Filipino Marxism, Marxist politician. He founded the Partido Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PSP) or Philippine Socialist Party in 1929. He ran for several local elect ...

, and

Guillermo Capadocia Guillermo Capadocia (1909-1951) was a Filipino communist politician and labour leader. He was a prominent leader of the Communist Party in the Philippines (PKP) and different labour movements. During the last one and a half years of his life he w ...

on January 25, 1942, and executed on June 2, 1942 after an attempt to use him as a bargaining tool in contacts with the

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Communism, communist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to Philippine resistance against Ja ...

.L. Taruc, ''He Who Rides the Tiger.'' London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1967; pg. 61.

Footnotes

External links

''Labor movement in the Philippines''
Filipino communists Filipino trade union leaders Executed politicians 1942 deaths Executed Filipino people People executed by Japanese occupation forces Nacionalista Party politicians 1888 births Filipino political party founders {{Philippines-politician-stub