The Juventudes de Acción Popular (JAP) was the radicalised youth wing of the

CEDA The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA) was a Spanish right-wing political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined ...

, the main Catholic party during part of the

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

. The organization underwent a process of fascistization whereas their members (''japistas'') shared a camaraderie with the main fascist and reactionary organizations. The organisation was originally created as a branch of Acción Popular in 1933. Its founder and leader was José María Valiente Soriano. Expelled from CEDA and JAP in 1934 for his secret talks with

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

, he was replaced by José María Perez de Laborda. The JAP emphasized sporting and political activity. It had its own fortnightly paper, the first issue of which proclaimed: 'We want a new state.' The JAP's distaste for the principles of universal suffrage was such that internal decisions were never voted upon. As the thirteenth point of the JAP put it: 'Anti-parliamentarianism. Anti-dictatorship. The people participating in Government in an organic manner, not by degenerate democracy.' The line between Christian corporatism and fascist

statism In political science, statism or etatism (from French, ''état'' 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation ...

became very thin indeed. Conversely,

Stanley 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 ...

argues that JAP disliked fascist squadrism and denied that their focus on authority and leadership was to be interpreted as support for authoritarianism. The fascist tendencies of the JAP were vividly demonstrated in the series of rallies held by the CEDA youth movement during the course of 1934. Using the title ''jefe'' (boss), the JAP created an intense and often disturbing cult around the figure of CEDA leader Gil Robles. Robles himself had returned from the

Nuremberg rally The Nuremberg rallies ( , meaning ) were a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party and held in the German city of Nuremberg from 1923 to 1938. The first nationwide party convention took place in Munich in January 1923, but the ...

in 1933 and spoken of its "youthful enthusiasm, steeped in optimism, so different to the desolate and enervating scepticism of our defeatists and intellectuals." JAP members wore green shirts and employed a salute that mimicked the fascist salute by raising the arm partway up. Following the CEDA defeat at the 1936 election, the exalted JAP members fled to extreme right organizations such as

Falange Española Falange Española (FE; English: Spanish Phalanx) was a Spanish fascist political organization active from 1933 to 1934. History The Falange Española was created on 29 October 1933 as the successor of the Movimiento Español Sindicalista (M ...

and the Carlist militia ''

Requeté The Requeté (; , ) was a Carlist organization, at times with paramilitary units, that operated between the mid-1900s and the early 1970s, though exact dates are not clear. The Requeté formula differed over the decades, and according to its c ...

''. JAP ceased to exist in 1937, following the Unification Decree. A history of the JAP by

Sid Lowe Simon James "Sid" Lowe (born 21 June 1976) is an English columnist and journalist. Born in Archway, London, and based in Madrid, he covers Spanish football for many publications, websites, television channels, radio stations, and football-relate ...

has been published by

Sussex Academic Press Sussex Academic Press, founded in 1994, is a publishing company based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juventudes de Accion Popular 1933 establishments in Spain 1937 disestablishments in Spain Anti-communist organizations in Spain Catholic youth organizations Defunct Christian organizations Organisations of the Spanish Civil War Organizations disestablished in 1937 Second Spanish Republic Youth organizations established in 1933 Youth wings of political parties in Spain