Against Franco and against Europe: The Communist Party of Spain and European Community Integration (1957-1972)

Authors

  • Salvador Forner Universidad de Alicante
  • Heidy-Cristina Senante Universidad de Alicante

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.177.06

Keywords:

Communist Party of Spain, Spanish Communism, European Communism, European Integration, Franco Dictatorship.

Abstract

During the final years of the Franco dictatorship, the politics of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) with regard to the European communities was characterized by different attitudes towards the process of European integration. This paper analyzes the various external and internal factors explaining these attitudes and traces their evolution. Initially, there was an absolute rejection of the European communities based on the total alignment of the PCE with the international politics of the USSR. This evolved into a less severe, but still very critical interpretation, in which the common market was understood as an instrument of an antisocial nature that was harmful to Spanish interests. Finally, this transformed into a flexible attitude to the common market, which entailed a complete change in the European politics of the Spanish Communist Party by the end of the 1960s.

Issue

Section

ARTICLES