Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party
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The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a
social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in government longer than any other political party in modern democratic Spain, namely from 1982 to 1996 under Felipe González; from 2004 to 2011 under
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...
; and currently since 2018 under Pedro Sánchez. The PSOE was founded in 1879, making it the oldest party currently active in Spain. The PSOE played a key role during the Second Spanish Republic, being part of
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
from 1931 to 1933 and from 1936 to 1939, when the Republic was defeated by
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
in the Spanish Civil War. The party was then banned under Franco's dictatorship and its members and leaders were persecuted or exiled. The PSOE was only legalised again in 1977. Historically a
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 ...
party, it abandoned Marxism in 1979. Just like most mainstream Spanish political organizations since the mid-1980s, PSOE has been considered by experts to embrace a positive outlook towards
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
. The PSOE has historically had strong ties with the General Union of Workers (UGT), a Spanish trade union. For a couple of decades, UGT membership was a requirement for PSOE membership. Since the 1980s, the UGT has frequently criticized the economic policies of the PSOE, even calling for several
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
s against the PSOE governments on 14 December 1988, 28 May 1992, 27 January 1994 and 29 September 2010, all jointly with the Workers' Commissions, another major trade union. Both the trade unions and the left have often criticized the economic policies of the PSOE for its economic liberal nature, have denounced the policies of
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
and generalization of the precarious and temporary work, cuts in social benefits such as unemployment and retirement as well as the
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
s of big companies and public services. The PSOE is a member of the Party of European Socialists, Progressive Alliance and the Socialist International. In the European Parliament, the PSOE's 20 Members of the European Parliament sit in the
Socialists and Democrats The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist ...
European parliamentary group.


History


Restoration regime (1879–1931)

The PSOE was founded by Pablo Iglesias on 2 May 1879 in the Casa Labra tavern in Tetuán Street near the Puerta del Sol at the centre of Madrid. Iglesias was a typesetter who had become in contact in the past with the Spanish section of the International Workingmen's Association and with Paul Lafargue. The first program of the new political party was passed in an assembly of 40 people on 20 July of that same year. The bulk of the growth of the PSOE and its affiliated trade union, the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) was chiefly restricted to the Madrid- Biscay- Asturias triangle up until the 1910s. The obtaining of a seat at the Congress by Pablo Iglesias at the
1910 Spanish general election The 1910 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 8 May (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 22 May 1910 (for the Senate), to elect the 14th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 404 seats in the Congress of D ...
in which the PSOE candidates presented within the broad
Republican–Socialist Conjunction The Republican–Socialist Conjunction ( es, Conjunción Republicano–Socialista, CRS) was a Spanish electoral coalition created in 1909 and lasting until 1919. It comprised different parties during its short lifespan, but it always included the S ...
became a development of great symbolical transcendence and gave the party more publicity at the national level. The PSOE and the UGT took a leading role in the general strike of August 1917 in the context of the events leading to the Spanish crisis of 1917 during the conservative government of Eduardo Dato. The strike was crushed by the army with the result of further undermining of the constitutional order. The members of the organizing committee ( Julián Besteiro, Francisco Largo Caballero, Daniel Anguiano and
Andrés Saborit Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...
) were accused of
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
and sentenced to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
. Sent to the prison of Cartagena, they were released a year later after being elected to the Cortes in the
1918 Spanish general election The 1918 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 24 February and on Sunday, 10 March 1918, to elect the 17th Restoration Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain. All 409 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 se ...
. During the 1919−1921 crisis of the socialist internationals, the party experienced tensions between the members endorsing the Socialist International and the advocates for joining the Communist International. Two consecutive splits of dissidents willing to join the Communist International, namely the Spanish Communist Party in 1920 and the Spanish Communist Workers' Party in 1921, broke away from the PSOE and soon merged to create the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). The PSOE was a member of the
Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI; german: Sozialistische Arbeiter-Internationale, label=German, SAI) was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a me ...
between 1923 and 1940. After the death of Pablo Iglesias in 1925, Julián Besteiro replaced him as president of both the PSOE and the UGT. During the 1923–1930 dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, corporatist PSOE and UGT elements were willing to engage into limited collaboration with the regime, against the political stance defended by other socialists such as Indalecio Prieto and Fernando de los Ríos, who instead advocated a closer collaboration with republican forces. The last years of the dictatorship saw a divergence emerge among the corporatist which was personified in Francisco Largo Caballero, who began to endorse the rapport with bourgeois republicans; and Julián Besteiro, who continued to show great distrust towards them. Besteiro's refusal to participate in the Revolutionary Committee led to his resignation as president both of the party and the trade union in February 1931. He was replaced as president of the party by Remigio Cabello.


Second Republic and Civil War (1931–1939)

After the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic on 14 April 1931, three PSOE members were included in the cabinet of the provisional government, namely Indalecio Prieto (Finance), Fernando de los Ríos (Education) and Francisco Largo Caballero (Labour). The socialist presence remained in the rest of cabinets of the Social-Azañist Biennium (1931–1933). After the November 1933 general election which marked a win for the centre-right forces in a climate of increasing polarization and growing unemployment, along with a desire to make amends for the mistake of not having sided with the republicans in the election against the united right, Largo Caballero adopted a
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...
rhetoric, calling for violent revolution and a transitionary dictatorship of the proletariat. Indalecio Prieto had also participated in the increasingly aggressive rhetoric, having already condemned the heavy-hand repression of the December 1933 largely anarchist uprising by the government, that has been cheered on by the CEDA leaders on parliament. The
Socialist Youth of Spain Socialist Youth of Spain ( es, Juventudes Socialistas de España) is the youth organisation of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Spain. Headquartered in Madrid, the organization was founded in 1906 and is aligned internationally with ...
(JSE) also engaged into a shrilling revolutionary rhetoric while Besteiro firmly opposed the insurrectionary drift of the militancy. The formation of a new cabinet that included CEDA ministers in October 1934 was perceived among the left as a reaction, with the CEDA party being indistinguishable from contemporary fascism to most workers while CEDA leader Gil-Robles had advocated the establishment of a corporative state already in the 1933 electoral campaign. The UGT called for a nationwide general strike for 5 October which developed into a full-blown insurrection (the Revolution of 1934) in the mining region of Asturias which was vocally supported by socialists such as Largo Caballero and Prieto. After the end of the revolt, whose repression was entrusted to Generals
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
and
Manuel Goded Manuel Goded Llopis (15 October 1882 – 12 August 1936) was a Spanish Army general who was one of the key figures in the July 1936 revolt against the democratically elected Second Spanish Republic. Having unsuccessfully led an attempted insur ...
, most PSOE and UGT leaders were jailed. A growing rift between Prieto and Largo Caballero (with disparate views of politics, albeit sharing a general pragmatist approach) formed in 1935 while Besteiro's hold on the party diminished significantly. Followers of Indalecio Prieto would ultimately become "estranged from the party left". The PSOE formed part of the broad left-wing Popular Front electoral coalition that stood for election in the
1936 Spanish general election Legislative elections were held in Spain on 16 February 1936. At stake were all 473 seats in the unicameral Cortes Generales. The winners of the 1936 elections were the Popular Front, a left-wing coalition of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ...
and achieved a victory in seats over the right. In September 1936, a few months into the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), a cabinet presided over by Largo Caballero was formed (he also held the functions of Minister of War). In November, Largo Caballero succeeded in bringing some CNT members into his government. The left socialist ''caballeristas'' were revolutionary in rhetoric, although in reality they proposed moderate reformist policies while in government. The May Days of 1937 in Barcelona destabilised the government which was replaced by a new cabinet led by Juan Negrín, another socialist.


Clandestinity and exile (1939–1974)

With the PSOE reduced to clandestinity during the Francoist dictatorship, its members were persecuted, with many leaders, members and supporters being imprisoned or exiled and even executed. Prime Minister Negrín fled to France in March 1939 after the final collapse of the Republican front and his fall from office. The aging and ill Julián Besteiro, who preferred to stay in Spain over exile, died in a Francoist prison in 1940.
Julián Zugazagoitia Julián Zugazagoitia Mendieta (5 February 1899, Bilbao – 9 November 1940, Madrid) was a Spanish journalist and politician. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, he was close to Indalecio Prieto and the editor of the ''El Social ...
, government minister in 1937–1938, was captured in exile by the Gestapo, handed over to Spain and executed in 1940. The party was legalized again only in 1977 during the
Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. Disputes between the followers of Indalecio Prieto (who had exiled to Mexico) and Juan Negrín over the political strategy of the Republican government in exile soon arose. Negrín, whose 1937–1939 spell at the government in wartime was seen negatively by large elements of both ''caballerista'' and ''prietista'' extraction, had become vilified. The party was re-organized along new lines in 1944 in the 1st Congress in Exile that took place in Toulouse and in which Rodolfo Llopis became the party's new secretary-general. The PSOE congresses in exile during the post-war period were marked by strong
anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
positions as a reflection of how the exiles remembered the last events of the Civil War (which featured bitter strifes with the communists) and in line with the stance of other parties of the Socialist International during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, neglecting any kind of rapprochement with the Spanish Communist Party (PCE). The relative void left in Spain by the PSOE, with a Toulouse-based direction lacking in dynamism and innovation, was filled by the PCE and other new clandestine organizations such as the Agrupación Socialista Universitaria (ASU), the Popular Liberation Front (FELIPE) or later the
Enrique Tierno Galván Enrique Tierno Galván (Madrid, 8 February 1918 – Madrid, 19 January 1986) was a Spanish politician, sociologist, lawyer and essayist, best known for being the Mayor of Madrid from 1979 to 1986, at the beginning of the new period of Spanish de ...
's Socialist Party of the Interior. The Toulouse executive board became increasingly detached from the party in Spain in the 1960s an insurmountable chasm between the former and the party in the interior was already defined by 1972.


Return to democracy


González leadership (1974–1996)

The 25th party congress was held in Toulouse in August 1972. In 1974, Felipe González was elected Secretary-General at the 26th party congress in Suresnes, replacing Llopis. González was from the reform wing of the party and his victory signaled a defeat for the historic and veteran wing of the party. The direction of the PSOE shifted from the exiles to the young people in Spain who had not fought the war. Llopis led a schism to form the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (historic). González showed intentions to move the party away from its Marxist and socialist background, turning the PSOE into a social-democratic party, similar to those of the rest of western Europe. In 1977, the PSOE became the unofficial opposition leading party with 29.2% of the vote and 118 seats in the Cortes Generales (which until then it had been the PCE, leading more aggressively among a larger representation of underground parties since the last free popular vote during the Civil War on Republican territory). Their standing was further boosted in 1978 when the Popular Socialist Party agreed to merge into the PSOE. At the 27th party congress in May 1979, González resigned because the party would not abandon its Marxist character. In September of that year, the extraordinary 28th congress was called in which González was re-elected when the party agreed to move away from Marxism. Western European social-democratic parties supported González's stand and the
Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...
granted them money. PSOE party symbol was changed from the anvil with the book to the social democratic fist and rose created in the French Socialist Party, redrawn for the PSOE by José María Cruz Novillo. In the
1978 Spanish constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Spain on Wednesday, 6 December 1978, to gauge support for either the ratification or repealing of the Spanish Constitution which had been approved by the Cortes Generales on 31 October 1978. The question as ...
, the PSOE supported the Spanish constitution which was approved. In the
1979 Spanish general election The 1979 Spanish general election was held on Thursday, 1 March 1979, to elect the 1st Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 208 seats in the Senate. This was the ...
, the PSOE gained 30.5% of the vote and 121 seats, remaining the main opposition party. In the
1982 Spanish general election The 1982 Spanish general election was held on Thursday, 28 October 1982, to elect the 2nd Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 254 seats in the Senate. The el ...
, the PSOE was victorious with 48.1% of the vote (10,127,392 total). González became Prime Minister of Spain on 2 December, a position he held until May 1996. Although the party had opposed NATO, most party leaders supported keeping Spain inside the organisation after reaching the government. The González administration organised a referendum on the question in 1986, calling for a favourable vote, and won. The administration was criticised for avoiding the official names of ''North Atlantic Treaty Organisation'' and ''NATO'', using the unofficial ''Atlantic Alliance'' terms. A symbol of this U-turn is Javier Solana who campaigned against NATO but ended up years later as its Secretary General. The PSOE supported the United States in the Gulf War (1991). PSOE won the 1986, 1989 and 1993 general elections. Under the Gonzalez administration, public expenditure on education, health, and pensions rose in total by 4.1 points of the country's GDP between 1982 and 1992. Economic crisis and state terrorism ( GAL) against the violent separatist group ETA eroded the popularity of González. In the
1996 Spanish general election The 1996 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 3 March 1996, to elect the 6th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 257 seats in the Senate. Ever since ...
, the PSOE lost to the conservative People's Party (PP) (PP). Between 1996 and 2001, the PSOE weathered a crisis, with Gonzalez resigning in 1997. The PSOE suffered a heavy defeat in the
2000 Spanish general election The 2000 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 12 March 2000, to elect the 7th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 259 seats in the Senate. The incumbe ...
, with 34.7% of the popular votes. However, the PSOE remained as the ruling party in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura.


Zapatero and Rubalcaba leadership (2000–2014)

In 2000,
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...
was elected as the new Secretary-General, renewing the party. Later, the PSOE won the
2003 Spanish local elections The 2003 Spanish local elections were held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect all 65,510 councillors in the 8,108 municipalities of Spain and all 1,036 seats in 38 provincial deputations. The elections were held simultaneously with regional elec ...
. The PSOE strongly opposed the Iraq War which was supported by the Aznar government. In the
2003 Catalan regional election The 2003 Catalan regional election was held on Sunday, 16 November 2003, to elect the 7th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election. This election marked a change for all Catalan p ...
, the PSOE's Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) increased its vote total, but ended up in second place after Convergence and Union. After a period of negotiations, the party formed a pact with the Initiative for Catalonia Greens, the Republican Left of Catalonia and the United and Alternative Left, governing Catalonia until 2010. In the
2004 Spanish general election The 2004 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 14 March 2004, to elect the 8th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 259 seats in the Senate. The electo ...
, the PSOE won with almost 43% of the votes following the
11-M The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías Madrid, Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days ...
terrorist (11 March) attacks. It was alleged that the PSOE, with the help of the national newspaper '' El Pais'', did not observe the "reflection journey" which forbade political parties from trying to sway public opinion (forbidden by Spanish law), calling the opposing political party "assassins" and blaming the terrorist attack on them. The PSOE maintained their lead in the
2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
. In 2005, the PSOE called for a yes vote on the European Constitution. The PSOE also favoured the negotiations between the government and the ETA during the 2006 cease-fire which had a ''de facto'' end with the Barajas Airport terrorist attack. In the
2008 Spanish general election The 2008 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 9 March 2008, to elect the 9th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 264 seats in the Senate. After four y ...
, the PSOE won again, with Zapatero remaining Prime Minister. The PSOE increased their share of seats in the Congress of Deputies from 164 to 169 after the latest election. After waning popularity throughout their second term, mainly due to their handling of the worsening economic climate in Spain in the aftermath of the
2008 global financial crisis 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
, the PSOE was defeated in the
2011 Spanish general election The 2011 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 20 November 2011, to elect the 10th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate. An elec ...
by the conservative People's Party. Shortly after, an
extraordinary congress Extraordinary may refer to: * "Extraordinary" (Clean Bandit song), 2014 * "Extraordinary" (Liz Phair song), 2004 * "Extraordinary" (Mandy Moore song), 2007 * "Extraordinary" (Prince song), 1999 * "Extraordinary", a song by Idina Menzel from '' ...
was held in which
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (; 28 July 1951 – 10 May 2019) was a Spanish statesman, politician and chemist who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain from 2010 to 2011, and previously as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993, as Minister of ...
, former Deputy to Zapatero and Minister of the Interior, was elected Secretary-General defeating Carme Chacón, the other candidate, who stood for the Zapatero platform. This victory caused huge internal divisions and weakened the party's external image. In 2013, the PSOE held a political conference which introduced a completely new platform, widely seen as a move to the left in an attempt to regain votes from parties such as the United Left, whose popularity rose steadily due to the general discontent with the two-party system and spending cuts. That platform was the basis for the
2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...
manifesto, promoted as a solid alternative to the conservative plan for Europe. The expectations inside the party which chose Elena Valenciano as their election candidate were optimistic, but the PSOE suffered another defeat due to the appearance of new parties such as Podemos which managed to gain the support of left-wing voters, with PSOE winning 14 seats. Shortly thereafter, Rubalcaba resigned as Secretary-General and an
Extraordinary Congress Extraordinary may refer to: * "Extraordinary" (Clean Bandit song), 2014 * "Extraordinary" (Liz Phair song), 2004 * "Extraordinary" (Mandy Moore song), 2007 * "Extraordinary" (Prince song), 1999 * "Extraordinary", a song by Idina Menzel from '' ...
was convoked.


Sánchez leadership (2014–present)

This party congress was the first to use a
primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
system with three candidates, namely Pedro Sánchez, Eduardo Madina and José Antonio Pérez Tapias. Sánchez was elected with 49% of the vote of the affiliates and therefore became Secretary-General on 27 July 2014. In the
2015 Spanish municipal elections The 2015 Spanish local elections were held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect all 67,515 councillors in the 8,122 municipalities of Spain and all 1,040 seats in 38 provincial deputations. The elections were held simultaneously with regional elec ...
, the PSOE won 25% of the vote, one of its worst results in since the restoration of democracy. Together with the fall of the People's Party which won 27% of votes, it meant the end of the two-party system in Spain in favor of new parties. The PSOE alone lost 943 councilors. The
2015 Spanish general election The 2015 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 20 December 2015, to elect the 11th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate. At exac ...
produced an hung parliament broken into four major parties. Due to the large increase for parties such as Podemos (left) and
Citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
(centre-right), the PSOE got about 20% of the vote, its worst result since democracy was restored. The parliament was so fragmented, no government could be formed and six months later new elections were held. The
2016 Spanish general election The 2016 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 26 June 2016, to elect the 12th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate. No party h ...
resulted in the PSOE losing a further five seats despite gaining 0.6% of the vote (still the party's second-worst popular vote total after 2015 since the restoration of democracy), leaving the party with 85 seats in the parliament, their lowest total since the restoration of democracy and the fewest since the
1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
in Republican Spain left the party with 59 seats in the 473-member parliament. With the exception of the
2015 Andalusian regional election The 2015 Andalusian regional election was held on Sunday, 22 March 2015, to elect the 10th Parliament of the autonomous community of Andalusia. All 109 seats in the Parliament were up for election. President Susana Díaz chose to terminate the co ...
, elections held during the early leadership of Sánchez were losses for the PSOE. In addition, the policy of pacts conducted by Sánchez after the 2016 general election, based on Sánchez's outright refusal to facilitate a People's Party government, caused a faction within the party critical of Sánchez to gain momentum, led by President of Andalusia
Susana Díaz Susana Díaz Pacheco (; born 18 October 1974, Seville, Spain) is a Spanish politician from Andalusia and a leading figure in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) as the former leader of the Andalusian PSOE-A. She served as the President ...
. On 28 September 2016, the Secretary of Federal Policy Antonio Pradas went to the party's headquarters and presented the ''en bloc'' resignation of 17 members of the Federal Executive and the demands of those who resigned for the party to be run by an interim manager and to pressure Sánchez to resign as secretary-general. The Executive later lost two more members in the ''en bloc'' resignation, bringing the total number of resignations to 19. Resigning executives included the president of the party Micaela Navarro, the former Minister Carme Chacón, the President of Valencia Ximo Puig and the President of Castilla–La Mancha
Emiliano García-Page Emiliano García-Page Sánchez (born 11 June 1968) is a Spanish politician from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is ...
. This launched the
2016 PSOE crisis The 2016 PSOE crisis was a political conflict within the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), starting on 26 September 2016. Long-standing discontent with party Secretary General Pedro Sánchez and the combination of a series of circumstances r ...
. On the afternoon of 1 October 2016, after holding a tense Federal Committee meeting, Sánchez resigned as party General-Secretary, forcing an extraordinary party congress to choose a new General-Secretary. That night, it was reported that an interim manager would be chosen, later confirmed to be the President of Asturias Javier Fernández Fernández. Sánchez announced his intention to run for General-Secretary of the party as did Susana Díaz (one of the leaders of the anti-Sánchez faction of the party) and Patxi López, former President of the Basque Autonomous Community. At the 39th federal congress in June 2017, Díaz received 48.3% of endorsements, outpacing both Sánchez (43.0% of endorsements) and López (8.7% of endorsements), but Sánchez won an absolute majority of the party's popular vote at 50.3% (Díaz received 39.9% and López 9.8%). Both Díaz and López withdrew before the delegate vote, returning Sánchez as the General-Secretary and ending the crisis. Sánchez won every region of Spain except for the home regions of López and Díaz. In mid-2018, the National Court found that the conservative People's Party profited from the illegal kickbacks-for-contracts scheme of the Gürtel case, confirming the existence of an illegal accounting and financing structure that ran in parallel with the party's official one since 1989 and that sentenced that the PP helped to establish "a genuine and effective system of institutional corruption through the manipulation of central, autonomous and local public procurement". The PSOE Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies filed a motion of no confidence against the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, presenting Sánchez as alternative candidate. The PSOE's motion passed with the support of Unidos Podemos (UP), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT),
Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...
(PNV), Coalició Compromís, EH Bildu and New Canaries (NCa), bringing down the Rajoy government. The PP voted against the proposal, joined by
Citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
(C's), the Navarrese People's Union (UPN) and the
Asturias Forum Asturias Forum ( es, Foro Asturias, ast, Foru Asturies, Foro), previously known as Forum of Citizens ( es, Foro de Ciudadanos, FAC) is a regionalist political party in the Principality of Asturias. History Asturias Forum was founded in January 2 ...
(FAC). The Canarian Coalition (CC) abstained. Following the successful motion of no confidence, Sánchez became Prime Minister on 2 June 2018 in a minority government. In December 2018, the PSOE's branch in Andalusia was defeated in the
2018 Andalusian regional election The 2018 Andalusian regional election was held on Sunday, 2 December 2018, to elect the 11th Parliament of the autonomous community of Andalusia. All 109 seats in the Parliament were up for election. As a result of the previous election, the Span ...
for the first time since the restoration of democracy, with a centre-right coalition of PP, C's and the resurgent
right-wing nationalists Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establi ...
Vox taking power in the region. For most of his first term as Prime Minister, Sánchez relied on support from the UP and the NC to get his agenda passed, occasionally being forced into negotiating with the Catalan separatist parties the ERC and the PDeCAT and the PNV on individual issues. In February 2019, the ERC, the PDeCAT and
En Marea En Marea (translated in English as "In Tide") is a political party and former political alliance integrated by Podemos, Anova, United Left of Galicia, and some municipal alliances that participated in the 2015 Spanish local elections (Marea Atlá ...
withdrew their support of Sánchez's government by voting against and helping defeat the 2019 General State Budget and Sánchez called an early election for 28 April 2019. The April 2019 Spanish general election resulted in victory for the PSOE, with the party winning 123 seats on 28.7% of the vote in the Cortes and an absolute majority of 139 in the Senate, gains of 38 and 79 seats respectively. The PSOE also finished eight percentage points ahead of the PP which finished second in both seats and in the popular vote. At election night, party supporters demanded Sánchez to reject any coalition with Cs. On the same day as the April 2019 general election, the 2019 Valencian regional election resulted in the Valencian branch of the PSOE being re-elected in coalition with the Valencianist party Compromís and UP. On 26 May 2019, the PSOE became the largest Spanish party in the European Parliament following the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
. The PSOE gained six seats to bring their total to 20 and won all but eight provinces in the country. 26 May also saw regional elections for every region in the country except Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia, the Basque Country and Galicia. In every region, the PSOE gained seats and votes from the 2015 regional elections. The PSOE finished first in terms of votes and seats in every region except for Cantabria, where the Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) finished first and the PSOE third behind the PP; and Navarra, where the conservative regionalist NA+ finished first and the Socialist Party of Navarre finished second. PSOE governments were re-elected in Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura, with the party receiving an absolute majority of seats in both regions. The party took over the Presidency of the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
with the support of New Canaries and Podemos, ending 26 years of Canarian Coalition government. On the same date, the PSOE became the largest party in the municipalities following the local elections. Following months of political deadlock, Sánchez called a second general election in seven months. In the November 2019 Spanish general election, the PSOE lost only three members of parliament and 0.7% of the popular vote in the election, but the PP and VOX gained 23 and 28 seats respectively, further worsening the deadlock. As of 23 December, there was still no government in place, although members of PSOE, PSC and UP have voted overwhelmingly to join in a coalition government, agreed to by Sánchez and UP Secretary-General Pablo Iglesias Turrión. On 5 January 2020, the PSOE–UP government failed its first investiture vote, with 166 votes in favor and 165 opposed with 18 abstentions and one UP parliamentarian absent, therefore the government fell short of an absolute majority. On 7 January, the investiture motion, this time requiring only a simple majority, passed with 167 votes in favour and 165 against. PSOE, UP,
En Comú Podem En Comú Podem ( en, "In Common We Can", ECP) is an electoral coalition in Catalonia, originally formed in October 2015 by Unidas Podemos, Barcelona en Comú, Initiative for Catalonia Greens, United and Alternative Left, and Equo, and led by the Ma ...
, Grupo Común da Esquerda, PNV, Más País, Compromís, NCa, the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) and Teruel Existe (TE) voted in favor of the government, with PP, Vox, Cs, Together for Catalonia (JxCat), the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), NA+, CC, PRC and FAC voting against while ERC and EH Bildu both abstained. On 2021, PSOE started a podcast called Donde hay partido.


Political ideology


From Marxism to social democracy

The PSOE was founded with the purpose of representing and defending the interests of the
proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
formed during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. In its beginnings, the PSOE's main objective was the defense of worker's rights and the achievement of the ideals of socialism, emerging from contemporary philosophy and
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 ...
politics, by securing political power for the working class and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat in order to achieve social ownership of the means of production. The ideology of the PSOE has evolved throughout the 20th century according to relevant historical events and the evolution of Spanish society. In 1979, the party abandoned its definitive Marxist thesis at the hands of its Secretary-General Felipe González, not before overcoming great tensions and two party congresses, the first of which preferred to maintain Marxism. Before this situation, notable internal leaders such as Pablo Castellano and Luis Gómez Llorente founded the internal faction of Left Socialists which included the militants who would not renounce Marxism. This allowed for the consolidation of the leftist forces in the PSOE. From this moment, the diverse events both outside and within the party led to projects that resembled those of other European
social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
parties and acceptance of the defence of the market economy. The democratic socialist faction has been especially critical of the party's Third Way move to the centre starting in the 1980s for its economic liberal nature, denouncing the policies of
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
, cuts in social benefits, and
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
s. The PSOE defines itself as social democratic, left-wing and
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 ...
. It is grouped with other self-styled socialists, social democrats and labour parties in the Party of European Socialists, and supports pro-Europeanism. During his shift to the left in 2017, party leader Pedro Sánchez stood for a refoundation of social democracy in order to transition to a
post-capitalist Post-capitalism is a state in which the economic systems of the world can no longer be described as forms of capitalism. Various individuals and political ideologies have speculated on what would define such a world. According to classical Mar ...
society and end
neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
capitalism as well as for the indissoluble link between social democracy and Europe.


Federalism

During the Second Spanish Republic, the matter of the conception of the state was open within the party, with two different views connected in discourse to the interests of the working class competed against each other, namely a centralist view as well as a federal one. The late years of the Francoist dictatorship was a period in which the PSOE defended the right to "self-determination of the peoples of Spain" in that it was a reflection of both an ideological and a pragmatist approach. Ultimately, the party, while sticking to a preference for a federal system, gradually ceased to mention the notion of
self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
during the
Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. Postulates coming from peripheral nationalisms that have been assumed by elements of the party, bringing an understanding of Catalonia, the
Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...
and
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
as nations and thus deserving of a different treatment than the rest of regions, have been heavily criticised by other party elements as according to the latter they would undermine the principle of territorial equality among the autonomous communities.


Electoral performance


Restoration and Republican Cortes


Cortes Generales


European Parliament


Results timeline


Terms

* ''Baron'': unofficial term for the party's regional leaders. They can be very powerful, especially if they run an autonomous community. There have been conflicts between barons and the central directorate in the past. Some ''barons'' were Pasqual Maragall ( Catalonia), who did not run for re-election in 2006; Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra ( Extremadura), who did not run for re-election in 2007; Manuel Chaves ( Andalucia), who renounced Andalucia's presidency in 2009 to assume the Third Vice Presidency of the Spanish Government; and José Montilla ( Catalonia). The term ''baron'' is more colloquial than official, representing the great power regional leaders have in the party, but it has been falling out of use since 2008. * ''Compañero'' ("companion", "comrade"): a term of address among Socialists, analogous to the English '' comrade'' and the Russian ''tovarisch''. * There have been several currents or internal groups within the PSOE based on personal or ideological affinities. Some of them have ended with separation from the PSOE. The failed trial of
primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
s for PSOE candidates was an attempt to conciliate currents. Examples of currents are ''Guerristas'' (followers of
Alfonso Guerra Alfonso Guerra González (born 31 May 1940) is a Spanish politician. A leading member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served as vice president of the government (''vicepresidente del Gobierno'', i.e., equivalent to deputy pri ...
), '' Renovadores'' (Renewers, right-wing of the party) or ''Izquierda Socialista'' (Socialist Left).


Leaders

The Secretary General is the head of the party as well as its parliamentary chair.


Regional secretary-generals

* Andalusia: Juan Espadas Cejas (since 2021) *
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
: Javier Lambán Montañés (since 2012) * Asturias: Adrián Barbón Rodríguez (since 2017) *
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
: Francina Armengol i Socías (since 2012) *
Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...
: Eneko Andueza Lorenzo (since 2021) *
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
: Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez (since 2017) * Cantabria: Pablo Zuloaga Martínez (since 2017) *
Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
: Luis Tudanca Fernández (since 2014) * Castilla-La Mancha: Emiliano García-Page Sánchez (since 2012) * Catalonia: Salvador Illa Roca (since 2021) * Ceuta: Juan Gutiérrez Torres (since 2021) * Community of Madrid: Juan Lobato Gandarias (since 2021) * Extremadura: Guillermo Fernández Vara (since 2008) *
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
:
Valentín González Formoso Valentín González Formoso (born 1971) is a Spanish politician of the Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdeG). He is a city councillor (2003–) and mayor (2007–) of his hometown of As Pontes de García Rodríguez, the president of the Provincial ...
(since 2021) * La Rioja: Concha Andreu Rodríguez (since 2021) *
Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
: Gloria Rojas Ruiz (since 2017) * Murcia: José Vélez Fernández (since 2021) *
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
: María Chivite Navascués (since 2014) * Valencian Community: Ximo Puig Ferrer (since 2012)


Notable members


See also

* List of political parties in Spain * Politics of Spain


References

Informational notes Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Official website
{{authority control Political parties established in 1879 1879 establishments in Spain Full member parties of the Socialist International Members of the Labour and Socialist International Centre-left parties in Europe Party of European Socialists member parties Progressive Alliance Second International Social democratic parties in Europe Social democratic parties in Spain Pro-European political parties in Spain