Partido Galeguista (1931)
The Partido Galeguista (Galicianist Party) was a Galician nationalist party founded in December 1931. It achieved notoriety during the time of the Spanish Second Republic. The PG grouped a number of historical Galician intellectuals, and was fundamental in the elaboration of the Galician Statute of Autonomy. Origins In December 1931 the (Galicianist Party of Pontevedra), directed by Castelao and Alexandre Bóveda, called for a General Nationalist Assembly in order to create an all-Galician nationalist party. A total of 32 Galicianist organizations attended, including the Irmandades da Fala (Brotherhoods of the Language) and the Partido Nazonalista Republicán de Ourense (Republican Nationalist Party of Ourense), among others. The PG was a plural party hosting different political tendencies, and where internal tensions were not uncommon. The PG initially embraced: Right-wing conservatives, who rejected the idea of forming alliances with left-wing parties. These were individuals such as Vicente Risco, Vilar Ponte, Filgueira Valverde Liberals, such as Otero Pedrayo, Plácido Castro Left-wing sympathizers, such as Alexandre Bóveda, Castelao, Carvalho Calero, Suárez Picallo, Johán Vicente Viqueira, Álvaro das Casas, Ramón Vilar Ponte, Supporters of the Galician secession, such as Fuco Gómez or the Buenos Aires organization Sociedade Nazionalista Gallega Pondal Non-aligned: Álvaro Cunqueiro, López Cuevillas Political ideas The political programme of the PG revolved around the ideals established by the Irmandades da Fala, that is, considering Galicia as a cultural unit entitled to political self-determination. In order to achieve this the minimum required was forming a Galician Parliament and a Galician Government. It also aimed at eliminating clientelism, supporting anti-imperialism and equal rights for the women. Furthermore, the PG claimed for the suppression of the provincial governments (perceived as a redundant administrative structure) and the establishment of the parish as an official territorial tier. Official status for the Galician language and agrarian reform were also in the agenda. Independence was never a priority for the PG, as independentists were a minority within the party. It was thought that Galicia could operate within the framework of a Spanish federal republic. Yet, War and the impossibility to establish such a federal republic led to disappointment. In a later stage, around 1944, PG's president and intellectual leader, Castelao, began to consider the option of full independence. Members of the PG expressed a strong pro-Europeanism, situating the party ahead of its time on this issue. They also supported the strengthening of the League of Nations (predecessor of the UN) as a tool to solve international conflicts. In 1933, the PG successfully requested the admission of Galicia into the League as a stateless nation. Those negotiations were conducted by Plácido Castro. Consolidation In 1932 the PG works alongside the Partido Republicano Gallego (Galician Republican Party) and Acción Republicana (Republican Action) in the drafting and promotion of the Statute of Autonomy. The PG negotiates a number of pacts with local parties and in 1933 it takes part in the local elections, obtaining a single local deputy for Ourense. This issue opens the debate in the PG, as some wanted to seek alliances