PSUC foundation poster
The
PSUC (Partit Socialista Unificat de
Catalunya, Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia),
was formed on July 23 1936 through the unification of four left-wing groups, namely the Catalan
Federation
of PSOE, Partit Comunista de Catalunya
(Communist Party of Catalonia, the Catalan branch of Communist Party of Spain, PCE),
Unió Socialista de
Catalunya (Socialist Union of Catalonia) and Partit Català Proletari
(Proletarian Catalan Party).
The PSUC played a major role during the days of the
Second Spanish Republic and the
Spanish Civil War, and was the
only regional party affiliated to
Comintern. The PCE did not organize in Catalonia,
but saw PSUC as its Catalan referent. This setup has been
replicated by other Catalan communist groups.
The setup is somewhat
similar to the relation between the German
CDU and CSU.
During the
Francisco Franco regime (see
Spain under
Franco
), PSUC was outlawed and remained active
clandestinely and in exile. PSUC was the largest opposition
party in Catalonia and upon the fall of the regime it became a mass
party.
In
1977, during the
Spanish transition to
democracy, PSUC was legalized. Gradually, PCE and PSUC started
going in separate directions: PSUC became involved in
Iniciativa per Catalunya (IC), and
gradually ceased functioning as a separate party. When PSUC was
completely submerged into IC in
1997, a group
of hardliners refounded the party as
PSUC
viu (Living PSUC). PSUC viu became the new referent of PCE
in Catalonia.
See also
References
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