The Sindicato Español Universitario ("Spanish University Union"; SEU) was a

corporatist Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come together and negotiate contracts ...

students' union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...

in Spain, created in the 1930s during 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. ...

, by the

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 ...

(later the

Falange Española de las JONS The Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FE de las JONS) was a fascist political party founded in Spain in 1934 as merger of the Falange Española and the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista. FE de las JO ...

) under the leadership of

José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella GE (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish fascist politician who founded the Falan ...

. The SEU was inspired by students' unions linked to contemporary

fascist 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 soci ...

parties of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It was founded with the aim of crushing the then prevalent ("Academic University Federation"; FUE) and to introduce Falangist propaganda in the university circles. At the end of 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 ...

in 1939, the SEU was proclaimed the sole legal student organization by the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in ...

, now as part of the

FET y de las JONS 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 ...

(following the 1937 Unification Decree). Although all students were formally required to be members, it never succeeded in gaining a foothold in universities across the country, and by the mid-1960s democratically oriented students began to autonomously organize themselves in clandestine organizations, particularly in

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 ...

. In 1965, it was practically dismantled by the regime following its infiltration by an underground anti-Francoist group, the ("Spanish Democratic University Federation"; FUDE), which had succeeded in obtaining representatives on most

university council A university council may be the executive body of a university's governance system, an advisory body to the university president, or something in between in authority. In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the council is responsible for a ...

s. After 1965, the SEU disappeared from university life and was reorganized in 1977 within the Falangist party. The later splits gave rise to various regroupings which still claimed the historical union.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sindicato Español Universitario Falangism 20th century in Spain Fascism in Spain National syndicalism Francoist Spain Student political organizations Student organisations in Spain Student wings of political parties in Spain Students' unions Trade unions in Spain Organisations of the Spanish Civil War FET y de las JONS