L’Espagne en face de la situation internationale

L’Espagne en face de la situation internationale [Spain facing the international situation] is a pamphlet that was published by the Delegación de Propaganda, a Paris-based pro-Republican organization. It consists of a translation of a speech by Juan Negrín, the last premier of the Popular Front, which he gave on October 14th, 1938. In it he asserts that the international community needs to realize that the war is not a domestic affair, but an international conflict. He denounces the Non-Intervention Agreement as hypocritical and considers the Nationalists and their allies as no more than a foreign army on Spanish soil. He also states that ensuring a Republican victory would only benefit Britain and France, as a Spain in the hands of the Nationalists would inevitably support Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. 

By the fall of 1938, the situation was dire for the Republicans. The International Brigades had just disbanded, the Battle of the Ebro was taking a turn for the worst, and Negrín himself was in a difficult position, as he had a difficult relationship with the Anarchists and the POUM. Many in the Republican camp distrusted the centralizing measures he had taken and some even accused him of being too accommodating towards the PCE and Moscow’s NKVD agents. 

The Delegación was created in May 1937. Since the beginning of the war, the Republicans had suffered several setbacks on the diplomatic front, as the Nationalists had stronger networks abroad. This shortcoming led to the creation of a proper communication agency, located in a large venue at 12 boulevard de la Madeleine, where the Office Espagnol de Tourisme used to be. Luis Araquistáin, the Spanish ambassador to France, played a major part in providing resources for the budding Delegación. Initially, the office was headed by the composer Adolfo Salazar, whose tenure did not leave many traces. Juan Vicens, who succeeded him, in July 1937, complained about the mess the propaganda services were in at the time. This change was certainly controversial, as Vincens – whose reputation as “petty bourgeois apparatchik” preceded him – was a PCE member and applied the government’s new catch-all, anti-intellectualist stance to the Delegación. 

In addition to publishing brochures and having a presence in a central Parisian hub, the Delegación had an oficina cinematográfica, which was headed by none other than Luis Buñuel. It also actively collaborated with leftwing unions, parties, and organizations. With limited means and mixed results, it attempted to build networks in civil society and lobbied various institutions – even Catholic ones. 

The Delegación eventually fell short of Vicens’ ambitions. Editorial, financial and political issues greatly crippled the agency’s communication strategy. Vicens was sacked in January 1939 and succeeded by his assistant Eduardo Ugarte, whose tenure was very short, as the Delegación closed one month later. 

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