In Spain, a Casa del Pueblo ( es, House of the People) refers to a typical local branch office of both the

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...

and the

Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse ...

. Historically, the term has been used to describe clearing houses of information for Spanish employees and workers. A large number of societies and labor organizations were often housed in ''casas del pueblo''.

Madrid

The first ''casa del pueblo'' was founded by Pablo Iglesias in 1908 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

; the office was created in a former ducal palace on Calle del Piamonte. Inside,

Arturo Barea Arturo Barea Ogazón (20 September 1897 – 24 December 1957) was a Spanish journalist, broadcaster and writer. After the Spanish Civil War, Barea left with his wife Ilsa Barea to live in exile in England where he died. Biography Barea was ...

records offices, a hall for cinema, theater and rallies, a library and the site of the first health insurance managed by the workers of Madrid, the Mutualidad, which protects the worker and his family at a time without Social Security and has a clinic that provides free medicine to the affiliate. The example of the Casa del Pueblo in Madrid was rife throughout Spain, particularly in the industrial areas of Asturias and the Basque Country. The workers are taught to read and write, but can also get more advanced education befitting a people's university. Currently, the term has disappeared from most of the PSOE headquarters, except in the Basque country where it is preserved. The name is also used for some cultural sites managed by anarchists and the union

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( en, National Confederation of Labor; CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionar ...

(CNT-AIT), although in these cases the general term was ''Ateneo libertario''. The ''casa del pueblo'' in

Alcoy Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...

is the cultural home of UCE ( Communist Unification of Spain).

Madrid

See also