Hunger and misery

“Hunger and Misery” is the title of this article written by Juan Molina which appeared in the anarchist weekly Tierra y Libertad [Land and Freedom] in 1933. It was an angry criticism of the circumstances of farm workers in Spain, the structure of landholding, and the landowners. Diatribes that were also directed at the government of the Republic, which he held responsible due to the timidity of its agrarian reforms.

In the 1930s, Spain was still a predominantly agricultural country, and this was something that had generated much tension, in the 19th century as well as the 20th. The structure of landholding distinguished north from south: small and medium properties in the formers versus huge estates – latifundia - in the latter. This structure had been reinforced by the ecclesiastical and civil disentailments that had taken place in the 19th century, the results of which caused the proletarianization of many farmers. Successive governments, including those of the period known as this Democratic Six Years (1868-1874) had failed to resolve this situation, and even worsened it. In the face of this lack of solutions and the end-of-the-century crisis which exacerbated it, an almost messianic republicanism that developed into anarchism spread among farmers and labourers.

The arrival of the Second Republic brought a moment of hope for many labourers and farmers, and for agrarian unions in general, but the pace of reform left everyone dissatisfied. With the creation of the Agrarian Reform Institute and the passage of the Law of the Principles of Agrarian Reform on 15 September 1932, the Republic tried to carry out a new distribution of land which had the effect of creating both concern among large landowners and smallholders and the feeling that things were moving too slowly among the landless. This sense that the problems were not being resolved only grew when the Radical-CEDA government came to power. It revoked some of the reforms, which contributed to the worsening of living conditions. In 1934, the Federation of Landworkers (FNTT) called a general strike that was harshly put down, with some 10,000 people arrested, unions closed, and local governments taken over by the state.

The victory of the Popular Front meant that the agrarian question was taken up again, but the outbreak of the Civil War prevented the continuation of reform, leaving the problems of the countryside in place.

FMP