The Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España—PCE in Spanish) was the political force that dedicated its best cadres to the defense of the Second Republic in the army, in women’s organizations, and in the Popular Front government. This included the cultural and international solidarity fronts, thus assisting the reception of the International Brigades, like the Lincoln Brigade.

Historians recognize the fundamental role of the PCE in the resistance to the fascist coup d’état of July 18, 1936, and the indirect aid of European governments that under “non-intervention” allowed military aid to Hitler and Mussolini.

It was countries like the USSR and Mexico whose international solidarity supported the resistance of the Spanish people in the most dire circumstances.

After the victory of fascism, the PCE immediately began to organize the resistance to Ferdinand Franco’s military dictatorship. From 1939 to 1977, the PCE played a role as the main opposition force, initially organizing the guerrilla armed resistance and later through clandestinely organizing an opposition composed of workers, peasants, and cultural forces.

The PCE’s National Reconciliation and Freedom Pact policy led to the convergence of all clandestine political and trade union forces to break the grip of the  Franco regime. The dictator died in 1975, and general strikes and demonstrations continued until 1977.

Franco’s state apparatuses replied with extreme violence and resisted any change that questioned the continuity of the regime embodied in the figure of King Juan Carlos, who was put into power by Franco.

Despite not being able to make a breakthrough, the PCE actively participated in the electoral process to lay the foundation for building a democratic and socially advanced state.

In 1977 the PCE was legalized and since then has had representation in city councils,  autonomous provinces, the Congress of Deputies, and the European Parliament. The PCE has always been present in the Congress of Deputies. With the Izquierda Unida (United Left or IU),  the party has had as many as 21 seats. Currently, there are six  Communists  in Congress, two of whom are ministers (Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Ministry of Labor).

The United Left is a political and social movement created in 1986 as a result of the mobilizations against the presence of Spain in NATO. The Communist Party is part of the IU along with other organizations and independents. The United Left has established its unity of action through the collective elaboration of programs and operating regulations approved by our  general assemblies.

Currently, the PCE is also part of the Unidas Podemos (United We Can) coalition, an alliance of IU and Podemos. In the last general elections, United We Can presented a common program that made it possible to prevent the right and extreme right from coming to power.  We were able to establish a left-wing coalition government with the Socialist Workers Party of Spain. This is the first time Spain has had a left coalition government since the Popular Front in 1936.

Today, the Communists, together with our brothers and sisters in Podemos, are reversing the anti-people policies imposed by the last few right-wing governments. These include privatization of the public sector, cuts in social spending, limits on fundamental rights, and bailouts of the banking sector at the expense of workers’ wages.

We are also working in defense of truth and justice by granting reparations to Franco’s victims.

We oppose a centralist vision of the state which is incompatible with the true Spain of diverse nationalities and regional identities.

At the beginning of our new government, COVID-19 dramatically struck our nation, forcing a government response focused mainly on the control of the pandemic. Our main objective is the health of people and providing necessities to health personnel. Here we must address privatization by right-wing governments that left many hospitals without sufficient means.