The Galician Youth Union (UMG, ''Unión da Mocidade Galega'' in Galician language) is the

youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...

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 genera ...

. It was created in August 1977.

History

The document of the

(UPG) ''The youth of the party'', in February 1977, included the decision to create the UMG due to the increase in the number of supporters, members and activists of the UPG in high school or that were young workers. University students were already members of the

Galician Revolutionary Students Galician Revolutionary Students (in Galician: ''Estudantes Revolucionarios Galegos'') was a leftwing nationalist students organization in Galicia, Spain. ERGA functioned as the students wing of the Galician People's Union (UPG). ERGA was founded ...

(ERGA). This led the party to the creation of a

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

which, besides serving to bring to the Galician youth "a

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

and communist political line", could address the youth particular issues and problems effectively. The creation of UMG was ratified in the 1st Congress of UPG in August 1977, few days after the UMG itself was officially founded. In the spring of 1977 a recruitment of militants was carried out, along with cell organization and theoretical and programmatic discussion. The constituent congress was held on the 14 and 15 August 1977, under the slogan "For a free and socialist

Galiza Galicia (; gl, Galicia or ; es, Galicia}; pt, Galiza) is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and ...

". In that congress the UMG approved the statutes of the organization and a program that analyzed the specific situation of the Galician youth, the role of UMG that context and the alternatives that the organization should offer, including a table of "minimal demands". The UMG defined itself as the ''

Patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

and communist organization of

and the

of the

''.Final document of the 1st congress of the Galician Youth Union.
/ref> In 1989 the UMG participated in the creation of Galiza Nova, the

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 ...

(BNG). Since then, UMG has subordinated its political action to

Galiza Nova Galiza Nova (''Young Galiza'') is the youth organisation of the Galician Nationalist Bloc, founded in 1988. History Galiza Nova is the youth organisation of the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) whose basic function is the organisation and mobilizat ...

, rarely doing solo acts. Since 1988, after the creation of

(BNG youth organization), UMG renounced to make public activity, focusing all their efforts in working for the BNG.

Ideology

Like the UPG, the UMG declares itself

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 ...

and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, and believes that the establishment of

socialism 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 e ...

necessarily passes by the previous

national liberation Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separat ...

of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

. Among

Marxism 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 ...

the UMG follows the Marxist-Leninist ideology, although the organization also includes in their ideology the thought of the

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

Galician nationalists previous to the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, like Castelao,

Alexandre Bóveda Alexandre Bóveda Iglesias (Ourense, 7 June 1903 - executed in A Caeira, Poio, 17 August 1936), commonly known as Alexandre Bóveda, was a Spanish politician and financial officer from Galicia. He is considered one of the most important Galicia ...

or Ramón Suárez Picallo. The UMG also considers itself the continuation of the

Federación de Mocedades Galeguistas The Federación de Mocedades Galeguistas (FMG, ''Galicianist Youth Federation'' or ''Galician Nationalist Youth'' Federation in English language) was the youth organization of the Partido Galeguista, which was formed in January 1934, bringing toge ...

Organization

The first statutes of UMG, established

democratic centralism Democratic centralism is a practice in which political decisions reached by voting processes are binding upon all members of the political party. It is mainly associated with Leninism, wherein the party's political vanguard of professional revo ...

as the main organizational principle. The organization is formed as a pyramidal organization, divided into zones and localities and defining

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

as the basic fundamental core (called "Zone Assembly" since 1990). Local Committees and Area Committees are the intermediate direction bodies, while the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

acts as the supreme body of the UMG between congresses and elected by (and in every) the National Congress. The Executive Committee is elected by the Central Committee. The highest governing body is the National Congress. Heading the UMG is the Secretary or general secretary, with executive functions.

References

Various authors. ''25 anos da UMG (1977–2002): A paixón por transformar''. Edicións Terra e Tempo,

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 St ...

, 2002
Authorized internet version here

External links

Website of the UMG
{{Galician nationalism , state=collapsed Galician Nationalist Bloc Secessionist organizations in Europe Galician nationalism Leninist organizations

History

Ideology

Organization

References

Further reading

External links