The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Republic and mainly active around the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. It was formed by the fusion of the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

Communist Left of Spain Communist Left of Spain (, ICE) was a Trotskyist political party during the Second Spanish Republic. Its leader was Andreu Nin, who had been a supporter of the Left Opposition while living in Russia. Although the group was affiliated to the Left ...

() and the

Workers and Peasants' Bloc The Workers' and Peasants' Bloc (, BOC; , BOC) was a "Right Opposition" communist group in Spain, centered in Catalonia. History BOC was founded in Barcelona in 1931, as the mass front of the Catalan-Balearic Communist Federation (FCCB), afte ...

(BOC, affiliated with the

Right Opposition The Right Opposition () or Right Tendency () in the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was a label formulated by Joseph Stalin in Autumn of 1928 for the opposition against certain measures included within the first five-year plan, an oppos ...

) against the will of

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

, with whom the former broke.

Formation

In 1935, POUM was formed as a communist opposition to the

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

form of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

promoted by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, by the revolutionaries

Andreu Nin Andreu Nin i Pérez (; 4 February 1892 – 20 June 1937) was a Spanish politician, trade unionist and translator. He is mainly known for his role in various Spanish left-wing movements of the early 20th century and, later, for his role in the S ...

and

Joaquín Maurín Joaquín Maurín Juliá ( Catalan: Joaquim Maurín, 12 January 1896 – 5 November 1973) was a Spanish communist politician and activist. The leader of the Workers and Peasants Bloc (BOC) and of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POU ...

. Nin was profoundly influenced by the thinking of

, particularly his

permanent revolution Permanent revolution is the strategy of a revolutionary class pursuing its own interests independently and without compromise or alliance with opposing sections of society. As a term within Marxist theory, it was first coined by Karl Marx and ...

thesis. It resulted from the merging of the Communist Party's

Left Opposition The Left Opposition () was a faction within the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) from 1923 to 1927 headed '' de facto'' by Leon Trotsky. It was formed by Trotsky to mount a struggle against the perceived bureaucratic degeneration within th ...

(the

) and the

(the

). This alliance was against the wishes of Trotsky, with whom the Communist Left of Spain broke. In his writings on the Spanish Revolution, Trotsky would elaborate on his criticisms of the POUM such as their abandonment of the

program in favour of reformism to retain tactical advantage among other political tendencies.

Position

The party grew larger than the official

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

(PCE) nationally and in the communist hotbeds of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and the

Valencian Country The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, where the

Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia The Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (, PSUC) was a communist political party active in Catalonia between 1936 and 1997. It was the Catalan branch of the Communist Party of Spain and the only party not from a sovereign state to be a full membe ...

(PSUC) represented the PCE. The POUM was highly critical of the popular front strategy advocated by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

and the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

(Comintern) but it participated in the Spanish Popular Front initiated by

Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain, Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the la ...

, leader of

Acción Republicana Republican Action (AR; ) was a Spanish left-liberal republican party between 1930 and 1934. History The AR was founded in 1925 under the name ''Acción Política'' ("Political Action") by Manuel Azaña and José Giral. Political Action became a p ...

. The POUM attempted to implement some of its radical policies as part of the Popular Front government but they were resisted by the more centrist factions.

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

, fought in the POUM in the civil war and reported that its membership was roughly 10,000 in July 1936, 70,000 in December 1936 and 40,000 in June 1937, although he notes that the numbers are from POUM sources and are probably exaggerated.

Conflict with the PCE and PSUC

The POUM's independent communist position, including opposition to Stalin, caused huge ruptures with the PCE, which remained fiercely loyal to the Comintern. Moreover, these divisions, which included accusations of Trotskyism (and even

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

) by the communists, resulted in actual fighting between their supporters; most notably, in 1937, a primarily communist coalition of government forces attacked the POUM during the

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

May Days The May Days (, ), sometimes also called May Events (, ), were a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in str ...

. While the larger

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The (CNT; ) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist national trade union center, trade union confederation. Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union ''Solidaridad Obrera (historical union), Solidaridad Obrera'', ...

(National Confederation of Labour, CNT) supported the POUM at first, the moderate leadership of the CNT dropped its support after it joined the government. Radical elements within the anarchist movement however fought side by side in the streets of Barcelona during the May Days and were isolated as well, like the

Friends of Durruti The Friends of Durruti Group () was a Spanish anarchist group commonly known for its participation in the May Days. Named after Buenaventura Durruti, it was founded on 15 March 1937 by and Félix Martínez, who had become disillusioned with th ...

. The POUM, along with the purely Trotskyist Seccion Bolshevik-Leninista, became isolated, and both organizations were driven underground. Nin was detained and presumably tortured to death by

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

agents in

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...

, Nin and his party were consistently labeled as provocateurs in Stalinist

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

International links

The POUM was a member of the

London Bureau The International Revolutionary Marxist Centre was an international association of left-socialist parties. The member-parties rejected both mainstream social democracy and the Third International. Organizational history The International was for ...

of socialist and

centrist Marxist Centrist Marxism represents a position between revolution and reformism. Within the Marxist movement, ''centrism'' thus entails a specific meaning between the left-wing revolutionary socialism (exemplified by communism and orthodox Marxism) and ...

parties that rejected both the

reformism Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

of the

Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...

and the pro-Moscow orientation of the Comintern. Other members included the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

in Britain, the

Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party The Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party (''Parti socialiste ouvrier et paysan'', ''PSOP'') was a socialist organisation in France, formed on June 8, 1938, by Marceau Pivert. Its youth wing was the ''Workers and Peasants' Socialist Youth'' (''Je ...

(PSOP) in France, and

Poale Zion Poale Zion (, also romanized ''Poalei Tziyon'' or ''Poaley Syjon'', meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire at about the turn of the 20th c ...

. Its youth wing was affiliated to the

International Bureau of Revolutionary Youth Organizations International Bureau of Revolutionary Youth Organizations (in , in ) was an international organization of socialist youth, formed in 1934. It functioned as the youth wing of the London Bureau. The founding congress was held in the Netherlands, h ...

, through which it recruited the

ILP Contingent The British Independent Labour Party sent a small contingent to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The contingent fought alongside the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) and included George Orwell, who subsequently wrote about his experienc ...

in the Civil War. Foreign supporters of POUM during the Civil War included

Lois Orr Lois Orr (23 April 1917 – August 1985), also known as ''Louise Cusick'', ''Lois Cusick'' and ''Lois Culter'' was a 20th-Century American member of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) female militia. Background Orr was born in Louis ...

Transition era

During the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

, the POUM was legalized in 1977. This led to a split in the party, with one faction opposing formal legalization, calling for a boycott of the 1977 general election and demanding the immediate restoration of the republic. The legalized party participated in the election as part of the Front for Workers' Unity (FUT), a coalition of parties and organisations to the left of the PCE which won 0.22% of the nationwide vote. The election result led to a crisis for the POUM as well as for most parties to the left of the PCE, from which it was not able to recover. The POUM continued to exist as a small party with an office in Barcelona and a monthly newspaper, ''La Batalla'', calling for cooperation among the various far-left parties, but an attempted merger with Communist Action and the Collective for Marxist Unification failed during a "Unification Congress" in 1978. After this setback, the POUM decided not to participate in the 1979 elections. POUM branches in several cities became part of local coalitions and unification attempts with various far-left groups. In 1980, the POUM made its last electoral efforts, supporting

Herri Batasuna Herri Batasuna (; ; HB) was a Far-left politics, far-left Basque nationalist coalition in Spain. It was founded in 1978 and defined itself as abertzale left, abertzale, left-wing, socialism, socialist, and supported the independence of the Basque ...

in the Basque country and participating in the

Left Bloc for National Liberation Left Bloc for National Liberation (, BEAN) was a coalition and, later, political party in Catalonia and Valencia, Spain. BEAN was an independentist and socialist party, that defended a Socialist Federal Republic of the Catalan Countries. History ...

(BEAN - Unitat Popular) coalition in the Catalan parliamentary election, but the party was disintegrating. ''La Batalla'' ceased publication in May 1980, marking the end of the POUM as an organized party, though it was never officially dissolved. As a last remnant, the

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

branch remained active until 1981. Former members of the POUM formed the Fundación Andreu Nin (Andreu Nin Foundation) to preserve the heritage of their party and ideological current.

Cultural references

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

author

fought alongside members of the

as part of POUM militias; he recounted the experience in his book ''

Homage to Catalonia ''Homage to Catalonia'' is a 1938 memoir by English writer George Orwell, in which he accounts his personal experiences and observations while fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Covering the period between December 1936 and June 1937, Orwell re ...

.'' Likewise, the film '' Land and Freedom'', directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

, tells of a group of POUM soldiers fighting in the war from the perspective of a member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

who initially fought for the POUM before he later joined his CPGB comrades in the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

. In particular, the film goes on to deal with his disillusionment with the

's policies in the war while he was fighting with the International Brigades, after which he decided to return to his POUM comrades shortly before the POUM's June 1937 suppression. The POUM is briefly mentioned in

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American people, American science fiction author and former college professor. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974), which was inspired by his experiences as a combat soldier ...

's science fiction novel ''

The Forever War ''The Forever War'' (1974) is a military science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story about human soldiers fighting an interstellar war against an alien civilization known as the Taurans. It won the N ...

'' as a militia where "(y)ou obeyed an order only after it had been explained in detail; you could refuse if it didn't make sense."

Victor Serge Victor Serge (; born Viktor Lvovich Kibalchich, ; 30 December 1890 – 17 November 1947) was a Belgian-born Russian revolutionary, novelist, poet, historian, journalist, and translator. Originally an anarchist, he joined the Bolsheviks in Janu ...

dedicates ''Midnight in the Century'' to Andreu Nin and other slain leaders of the POUM. Discussion of POUM in Hemingway's ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'' (Collier edition, p. 247). In William Herrick's novel "Hermanos!", the American communist protagonist comes to Spain in order to fight Fascism, but gets diverted into hunting down members of POUM. The POUM activists which the protagonist tortures and executes are depicted very sympathetically, shown bravely defiant and sticking to their positions to the bitter end - eventually causing the protagonist to undergo a crisis of conscience, break with the Party and become a dissident himself. Ian Fleming's '' From Russia with Love'' (Signet edition, p. 50) states that Rosa Klebb infiltrated the POUM and may have murdered Andrés Nin Pérez. In

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

's prize-winning novel, ''

The Blind Assassin ''The Blind Assassin'' is a novel by the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 2000. The book is set in the fictional Ontario town of Port Ticonderoga and in Toronto. It is narrated from the present ...

'', a fictional newspaper account details the actual battles between the POUM and the Stalin-backed communists in Barcelona; the title of the newspaper article is ''Red Vendetta in Barcelona'' and mentions the purges against the POUM by Stalinist communists "well armed by Russia".

Footnotes

External links

Fundación Andreu Nin website
(Spanish)
Documents on POUM from "Trabajadores: The Spanish Civil War Through the Eyes of Organised Labour,"

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collect ...

. —Collection of more than 13,000 pages of documents from the archives of the British

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

.
POUM Archive
at marxists.org
POUM texts
at

libcom Libcom.org is an online platform featuring a variety of libertarian communist essays, blog posts, and archives, primarily in English. It was founded in 2005 by editors in the United States and the United Kingdom. Libcom.org also has a forum and soc ...

POUM texts
at "La Bataille socialiste"
Victor Alba "La Revolución Española en la Práctica" (Introduction)
{{DEFAULTSORT:POUM 1935 establishments in Spain Defunct communist parties in Spain Political parties established in 1935 Political parties of the Spanish Civil War Right Opposition Trotskyist organisations in Spain Socialist parties in Spain Anti-fascist organisations in Spain Political parties disestablished in 1980