Acción Española (, ''Spanish Action'') or AE was a Spanish cultural association active during the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

, meeting point of the ultraconservative and far right intellectual figures that endorsed the restoration of the Monarchy. It was also a political magazine of the same name. The group was heavily influenced by ''

Action Française Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

'' both in its name and its

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

Stanley G. Payne Stanley George Payne (born September 9, 1934) is an American historian of modern Spain and European Fascism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He retired from full-time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Department ...

, ''Spain's First Democracy: The Second Republic, 1931-1936'', 1993, p. 171 Constituted in October 1931, the cultural association was inaugurated on 5 February 1932,

Eduardo González Calleja Eduardo González Calleja (born 1962) is a Spanish historian, professor of Contemporary History at the Charles III University of Madrid (UC3M). He is the author of a long list of scholar works dealing with political violence. Biography He was b ...

, ''Contrarrevolucionarios. Radicalización violenta de las derechas durante la Segunda República, 1931-1936'', 2011, pp. 51-52 following the founding of the journal on 15 December 1931.

Formation

AE began life in December 1931 as a journal organised by doctrinaire monarchists. It was edited by

Ramiro de Maeztu Ramiro de Maeztu y Whitney (May 4, 1875 – October 29, 1936) was a prolific Spanish essayist, journalist and publicist. His early literary work adscribes him to the Generation of '98. Adept to Nietzschean and Social Darwinist ideas in his youth, ...

. Drawing in followers of the former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, and studied law in Madrid. In 1878, Maura married Consta ...

and the

ultraconservative Ultraconservatism refers to extreme conservative views in politics or religious practice. In modern politics, the term "ultraconservative" usually refers to conservatives of the far-right on the political spectrum, comprising groups or indivi ...

wings of Social Catholicism and

Carlism Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French ...

, the group that developed around this journal promised to revive a strong

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

monarchy. AE soon adopted an antisemitic discourse in imitation of similar movements in Europe. It soon built up contacts abroad, notably with ''

'', the '' Integralismo Lusitano'' and

National Syndicalist National syndicalism is a far-right adaptation of syndicalism to suit the broader agenda of integral nationalism. National syndicalism developed in France in the early 20th century, and then spread to Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It is general ...

movements in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, and individual members of the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

of Italy. The group's close links with Portuguese groups were driven by a strong belief in

Hispanidad ''Hispanidad'' (, en, Hispanicity,) is a Spanish term alluding to the group of people, countries, and communities that share the Spanish language and Hispanic culture. The term can have various, different implications and meanings depending on ...

and a desire to see a return to the values of ''

La Raza The Spanish expression ('the people' or 'the community'; literal translation: 'the race') has historically been used to refer to the Hispanophone populations (primarily though not always exclusively in the Western Hemisphere), considered a ...

'', which they felt had been abandoned in Spain. They also established a front political party, ''

Renovación Española Spanish Renovation ( es, Renovación Española, RE) was a Spanish monarchist political party active during the Second Spanish Republic, advocating the restoration of Alfonso XIII of Spain as opposed to Carlism. Associated with the Acción Españo ...

'', in March 1933.

Development

The group committed itself to a new Catholic monarchy based on the principle of ''instauración'' or installation, where the new monarchy would be strongly

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...

and

corporatist Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

in nature. It has been argued that the ideas of AE, rather than the

Falange The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

, had the strongest influence on

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

, as his eventual state featured a corporatist

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...

, a reliance on the military and the continuation of existing elites as promoted by the AE. AE attracted some leading figures in Spanish society, with members of the group including the poet

José María Pemán José María Pemán y Pemartín (8 May 1897 in Cadiz – 19 July 1981, Ibid.) was a Spanish journalist, poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, and monarchist intellectual. Biography Originally a student of law, he entered the literary world with ...

, the militarist Jorge Vigón Suero-Díaz and the film-maker

Ernesto Giménez Caballero Ernesto Giménez Caballero (2 August 1899 in Madrid – 14 May 1988 in Madrid), also known as Gecé, was a Spanish writer, diplomat, and pioneer of Fascism in Spain. His work has been categorized as being part of the Surrealist movement, while Stan ...

. Members of AE set up a 'conspiratorial committee' in late 1932, meeting at the regularly at the

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spa ...

home of

Juan Antonio Ansaldo Juan Antonio Ansaldo y Vejarano (24 June 1901 – 29 April 1958) was a Spanish monarchist and aviator. He was a lifelong friend and supporter of José Sanjurjo, the senior of the three generals who launched the coup of July 1936, which started th ...

to plan a restoration coup. A substantial amount of money was spent stockpiling arms, whilst Lieutenant-Colonel

Valentín Galarza Morante ''Valentín'' is a 2002 Argentine- French-Italian drama film written and directed by Alejandro Agresti. The film features Rodrigo Noya as Valentín and Carmen Maura as the grandmother. Director Alejandro Agresti also stars as Valentín's father ...

was given responsibility for building up subversive cells in the army. However, despite continuous plotting, no coup was ever launched by the group. The organization's co-founder, the famed political theorist

was summarily executed by a Republican death squad in the early days of the Spanish Civil War. The cultural association was shut down since 6 August 1932 until 3 May 1934.

, Víctor Pradera, , Pedro Sainz Rodríguez,

, the , José Calvo Sotelo, José Ibáñez Martín, Agustín González de Amezúa,

, the , Manuel Pombo Polanco,

Eugenio Vegas Latapie Eugenio Vegas Latapie (1907–1985) was a Spanish monarchist writer, activist and conspirator who was noted for the extremism of his monarchism. A native of Irun, he was a leading member of the Acción Española. In his later years, Vegas La ...

and the were among the members of its late (following the 1934 reopening of the cultural association) executive board.

In Francoist Spain

Because the AE was not a political party, it was not absorbed into the

Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...

, although it was closely associated with that movement and AE members held leading positions within the group. A conflict broke out in April 1938 when leading AE member

was deprived of his seat on the FET y de las JONS National Council, leading to less co-operation between the AE and the Francoist State. Vegas Latapie and Ansaldo were involved in plotting against Franco around 1940 and 1941, although the AE as a group was not involved.Payne, ''The Franco Regime'', p. 295

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Accion Espanola 1931 establishments in Spain Magazines established in 1931 Defunct political magazines published in Spain Monarchist organizations Organisations of the Spanish Civil War Alfonsists Antisemitic publications Monarchism in Spain Spanish-language magazines Magazines with year of disestablishment missing