Spain: the Last Time

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Another article in our Socialist Bookshelf s ANN DUGGAN introduces Felix Morrow's 'Revolution & counter-revolution in Spain'

'REVOLUTION and Counter Revolution in Spain', first published in 1938, was written by an American Trotskyist, Felix Morrow.

He was a leader of the American Socialist Workers Party and was on the editorial board of its weekly newspaper: 'Socialist Appeal, which carried extensive coverage of the Spanish Civil War at the time.

In addition to 'Revolution and Counter Revolution in Spain, he also wrote a pamphlet "The Civil War in Spain -towards Socialism or Fascism' which is included in current editions of Revolution and Counter Revolution in Spain.

This provides very good background, particularly for those who do not have a great deal of knowledge about Spanish society before the outbreak of the

civil war. It gives a good outline of the main economic and social problems of Spain, and the events of the early • 1930's before the coming to power of the popular front government in the elections of February 1936.

Revolution and Counter Revolution in Spain' itself was written as the events of the Spanish Civil War unfolded. It is, however, not just a description of the events of the Spanish Civil War, but an attack by Morrow on the futility of attempting to defeat Franco through the 'People's Front' coalition with the bourgeoisie. This was the central strategy of both the Stalinists and the Socialists in Spain after September 1935.

Turnabout

The idea of a popular front was put forward at the Seventh congress of the Comintern in 1935 - a complete turnabout from the previous Stalinist position of refusing to have anything to do with even social democratic parties.

The Comintern now advocated alliances not only with social democratic but also with openly bourgeois political parties - in order that the Soviet Union could win an alliance with England and France against Nazi Germany. The 'popular front' tactic was solely a means to achieve this end.

Morrow describes how in order to maintain the 'popular front' ', the workers parties in Spain subordinated their policies to those of the bourgeois parties in the Front.

When Franco staged his uprising in July 1936, his forces were met by armed militias of workers in many parts of Spain - mostiy under the influence of the CNT-FAI (anarchist organisations) and the much smaller POUM (workers party of Marxist unification, formed in September 1935 by the fusion of two other groups. Trotsky characterised them as a centrist party.)

Morrow vividly describes the way in which the Spanish workers organised themselves and reacted to the fascist uprising in the early part of the civil war.

Morrow criticized the leaders of the CNT and the POUM for their failure to build and organise independent workers' soviets on the basis of the numerous independent workers' and peasants' organisations which already existed in Spain.

As well as attacking the 'popular front' ' another major theme of Morrow's book is the role that & revel played in the should nave played In the events in Spain. Morrow predic. ted (and events proved him right) that by refusing to build Soviets ou the basis of the independent wor. kers' organisations that the CNT and the POUM would increasingly be drawn into the popular front.

Morrow describes how totally counter-revolutionary the policies of the Popular Front were. They did nothing to forward the aspirations of the Spanish workers and peasants.

The Popular Front government gradually dismantled the organisations which had been set up by workers. They disarmed the militias and recreated a 'bourgeois' army and police force.

They refused to grant the Moroccans independence (Morocco was then a colony of Spain) and so lost what could have been a valuable ally against Franco - instead Morocco became one of Franco's strongest.bases.

By providing no alternatives to these policies the POUM andCNT were in fact helping to make the rope which finally hung them. The popular front government, driven by the Stalinists, eventually turned their attention to ridding themselves of their radical supporters. Morrow describes how the Stalinists imported police agents, secret trials, torture, assassinations and other such methods from the Soviet Union to deal with the would-be revolutionaries in Spain.

Treacherous

Morrow's account of the role of the Stalinists in Spain is far removed from the Stalinist version of their 'glorious' past. (Their treacherous role was even commented upon by 'Homage to Catalonia.) policies of the Popular Front and the inability of the workers parties to build an independent working class movement and leadership, inevitably led to the demoralisation and defeat of the workers and peasants in Spain.

The very small Trotskyist International at the time tried to intervene in the events in Spain and reorientate the POUM. In the Spring of 1937 a small Trotskyist group split from the POUM and put forward a united front programme to the CNT and POUM workers - to unite to fight the persecution by the committee and peasants They were however small group, and events in Spain had already gone too far for them to have much impact.

Morrow's account remains to this day one of the best Marxist accounts of the Spanish Civil War. It is a very lively and exciting book to read, and very clear in its analysis of the often complex events and political ideas surrounding the Spanish Civil War.

Morrow's analyis clearly shows the need to develop an independent revolutionary leadership for the working class movement. The lack of this leadership in Spain had tragic consequences for the Spanish working class and peasants.

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