The Galician Movement for Socialism (MGS, ''Movemento Galego ao Socialismo'' in
Galician language) is a
Galician communist,
pro-independence and
feminist organization. The MGS was born in March 2009, although its origins go back to the summer of 2006. The MGS works inside the
Galician Nationalist Bloc
The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( gl, Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG ) is a political alliance of left-wing Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front".
Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Man ...
and the
Confederación Intersindical Galega.
History
The History of Galician Movement for Socialism can be divided into three basic periods:
* The period from the summer of 2006 and December 2008, where the militants of that what later would become the MGS were part of the
Movemento pola Base, an internal political current that supported
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
, independence and a
BNG based in the assemblies.
* The period between December 2008 and March 2009, in which, after the rupture with part of the
Movemento pola Base, that would finally left the
BNG the militants that later would create the MGS maintain the name of the previous organization, a situation that causes a legal conflict with the other
Movemento pola Base.
* The period between March 2009 and the present, in which the MGS establishes and thickens its social base and influence. This period i marked by the growing influence of the MGS in the
BNG, specially after the rupture of 2012. The MGS also gained a very big influence in the galician student movement after the foundation of the
Galician Student League (LEG), that the MGS considers its reference in the university.
The opposition to the drift of the BNG
The first period can be defined as opposition to what is considered a move away of the
Galician Nationalist Bloc
The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( gl, Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG ) is a political alliance of left-wing Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front".
Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Man ...
from some of its key objectives, especially the
National sovereignty
Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...
and its
leftist ideology. The political
praxis
Praxis may refer to:
Philosophy and religion
* Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised
* Praxis model, a way of doing theology
* Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...
of the
BNG in 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 ...
in the bipartite
Xunta de Galicia
The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...
(2005-2009) caused that militants of the
Galician People's Union
The Galician People's Union ( gl, Unión do Povo Galego) is a Galician nationalist and communist political party, and is one of the registered political parties of Spain. The party publishes the magazine ''Terra e Tempo'', and the secretary general ...
decided to leave that party to create a new organization within the
BNG, under the name of
Movemento pola Base (MpB). They were joined by independent militants of the BNG (not attached to any internal group or party) militants and members off the
Confederación Intersindical Galega in the
comarca
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
s of
Ferrolterra
Ferrol is a coastal ''comarca'' in the northwest of the province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. It is also known as Ferrolterra. The area is 613.4 km2, and the overall population of this ''comarca'' was 161,154 at the 2011 Census; the latest offic ...
,
Compostela and
Vigo
Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...
, among them Antolín Alcántara, Fermín Paz, Manuel Mera and Ramiro Oubiña, who were part of the executive of the
CIG.
The MpB presented then its own candidacy to the National Council of the
BNG, that was chosen in the XII National Assembly of the
BNG. The list was headed by Fermín Paz and Paula Castro, and finally got 245 votes (9.32% of the total) and 5 representatives in the National Council. The MpB criticized what they considered a drift towards homogeneity in the
BNG. On 28 October 2007, the MpB formally constitutes itself as a political organization, being defined ideologically as "independentist" and
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
and as a
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
organization.
Internal rupture of the MpB
Between the months of December 2008 and January 2009 this current split between those in favor of creating a new political formation outside of the
BNG and those who advocated to continue within that front. It was also an important element in the division the role of MpB in the
CIG and its relations with the
UPG within this union. The two factions claimed their legitimacy and the use of the name Movemento pola Base.
The faction that used as its communication channel the website ''polabase.net'' held a national assembly on February 7, 2009 where it was decided to abandon the
BNG as the electoral platform of the organization and expressed the need for a new
sovereigntist organization with presence in the institutions. This faction definitely abandoned the
BNG on March 14, 2009. After the members of the Movement for Base who used the domain ''polabase.net'' had abandoned the
BNG, the majority sector of the Movemento pola Base that remained in the
BNG (''polabase.org'') decided to give up the acronym and name, to avoid greater confrontation, and created a new organization called the Galician Movement for Socialism.
Birth of the MGS as a new political project
The Galician Movement for Socialism formally constituted on March 20, 2009. The difference between MpB and the MGS was primarily strategic and not ideological, the MGS considered that it could perform a recovery of the original
leftist and
sovereigntist fundamental principles of the
BNG.
In February 2010 the formal presentation of the party took place during the First National Meeting of the MGS, which was held in the galician municipality of
. At that meeting, the militancy officially set the ideological positions of the MGS. The MGS currently has several town councillors (inside the list of the
Galician Nationalist Bloc
The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( gl, Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG ) is a political alliance of left-wing Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front".
Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Man ...
) in the towns and cities of
Galiza
Galicia (; gl, Galicia or ; es, Galicia}; pt, Galiza) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain and nationalities and regions of Spain, historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Pen ...
like
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
,
Ourense,
Ribadeo
Ribadeo is a municipality in the Spanish province of Lugo in Galicia. It has a population of 10,023 ( INE, 2011) and an area of . It is the capital of the A Mariña Oriental comarca.
Geography
The municipality of Ribadeo has approximately the ...
, ...
In the
Galician elections of 2016 the party elected its first representative in the
Galician Parliament
The Parliament of Galicia () is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is formed by 75 deputies (). Deputies are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of ...
: Noa Presas Bergantiños, in the electoral district of
Ourense.
Structure
The MGS is an
assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
organization based in different assemblies of area (
comarcas
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
level), with ability to set the political strategy of the national organization.
Presence in other organizations
The MGS continues the analysis made in the early days of the MpB which led to the rejection of a marginalist strategy. The goal is to have social presence and presence in those organisms associated with
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
Galician nationalism
Galician nationalism is a form of nationalism found mostly in Galicia, which asserts that Galicians are a nation and that promotes the cultural unity of Galicians. The political movement referred to as modern Galician nationalism was born at ...
nominally in the
BNG and the
CIG.
The presence in the
BNG, MGS has two of the fifteen members of the National Executive.
Rafa Villar
Rafa Villar ( Cee, Galicia, 1968 - ) is a Galician writer noted especially in the field of poetry. He has a degree in Galician-Portuguese Philology from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and works in the linguistic normalization service ...
and Xavier Campos. As for the presence in the CIG the MGS is part of the majority candidacy that was presented to the V Confederal Congress, having several representants in the executive. The MGS has a very strong presence in the comarca
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
s of Ferrolterra
Ferrol is a coastal ''comarca'' in the northwest of the province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. It is also known as Ferrolterra. The area is 613.4 km2, and the overall population of this ''comarca'' was 161,154 at the 2011 Census; the latest offic ...
, Compostela and Vigo
Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...
, and its influence in the local BNG and CIG assemblies is notable.
References
External links
MGS official website
MGS official Twitter
{{Galician nationalism , state=collapsed
Member parties of the Galician Nationalist Bloc
Far-left politics in Spain
Political parties established in 2009
Communist parties in Spain
Socialist parties in Galicia (Spain)
Galician nationalist parties
Left-wing nationalist parties
Secessionist organizations in Europe
2009 establishments in Spain