JULIÁN BESTEIRO FERNÁNDEZ: BIOGRAPHY AND OUTSTANDING WORKS - HISTORY - 2024

Julián Besteiro Fernández (Madrid, September 21, 1879 - Carmona, September 27, 1940), was a Spanish trade unionist, professor and deputy who became president of the Cortes Generales during the constituent elections during the Second Republic of Spain.

Besteiro was a student at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and studied at several major universities in various cities in Europe, such as Paris, Munich, Berlin and Leipzig. Thanks to the influence of Marxist ideals, he was part of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and the General Union of Workers (UGT) union.

He also served as a Madrid councilor and was a professor of Philosophy and Logic at the University of Madrid. After the start of the Civil War, he was jailed and sentenced to 30 years in prison in the Dueñas convent, Palencia. However, he could not comply with the time due to his deteriorating state of health, for which he died shortly after in 1940.

Biography

Julián Besteiro Fernández was born in Madrid on September 21, 1870, into a middle-class family. His parents were food merchants and died when Julian was just a teenager.

At the end of the s. XIX began his studies at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE), an educational center created by Francisco Giner de los Ríos. Thanks to his relationships with Giner de los Ríos, Besteiro was included in his closed circle of thinkers and intellectuals.

Due to the support he received from his teacher, he expanded his studies by studying Philosophy at the University of Madrid. Years later, he attended the most important universities in France and Germany, being there the place where he had the first contact with socialism.

In 1903 he returned to the country and settled in Toledo to begin his political career, standing out in the first place as a councilor for the Republican Union.

Chronology of Besteiro's public life

- In 1904 he appeared as a councilor for the Madrid city council, a position for which he was elected on several occasions.

- Eight years later he managed to obtain the chair of Fundamental Logic, and joined the Madrid Socialist Group and the General Union of Workers. He was also an important political actor for the PSOE.

- In 1916 he expressed the demands of the working class to the government of the day, which later served as a prelude to the protest on December 18.

- In September 1917 he was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released due to an amnesty, thus spending only time in the Cartagena Prison.

- From 1918 to 1923, Besteiro developed his career in parliament as a voice of the needs in areas such as education and health.

- At the same time he was able to consolidate his leadership within the party, for which, during the illness of Pablo Iglesias (its founder), he became the leader from the vice presidency.

- After the coup carried out by Primo de Rivera in 1923, Besterio's position was of a collaborationist type. He made statements in favor of the government, insisting that control of the country should be held by the bourgeoisie. However, according to some historians, Besteiro's objective was to improve the living conditions of the workers.

- In 1925 he assumed the leadership of the PSOE and became president of the party.

- In 1930 he resigned his functions in the PSOE due to the alliances he established with the government.

Second Republic and Civil War

After the establishment of the Second Republic, Besteiro appeared before the constituent elections and was elected as president of the Republican Courts. He assumed this position until 1933.

In this period he changed his ideals; he had a position that defended that it was not possible to carry out a dictatorship of the proletariat because it would be a resounding failure for the country.

According to some historians, this was due to the analysis by Besteiro and other Spanish socialists of the events that happened during the Bolshevik Revolution. Although he was enthusiastic at first, he hardened his criticism as time passed and according to the actions of the Bolsheviks.

By adopting a more conservative discourse, he was forced to leave the party and stay out of the more radical movements that manifested in the PSOE.

Relations with the party worsened, although he was elected as a deputy for the Popular Front during the 1936 elections. At that point, he was practically isolated from his colleagues and colleagues.

Outbreak of the Civil War

One of the figures who showed deep rejection of the war was Besteiro, who at that time was serving as president of the Reform, Reconstruction and Sanitation Committee.

During the time he was appointed by President Manuel Azaña as assistant for the coronation of George VI, to request the intervention of England in a peace process. Despite efforts, the main objective was not achieved.

Some relevant facts can be highlighted:

- Due to failed meetings with representatives of the governments of France and England, Besteiro returned to Spain to present the reports with Juan Negrín, the new head of government, who showed no interest in this regard. For this reason, a loosely related relationship developed between the two.

- Met clandestinely with members of the Falange to reach an agreement.

- Participated in the Defense Council (an initiative led by Colonel Segismundo Casado) to consolidate the agreements between those involved.

- During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco -and before the failure of the talks-, Besteiro was offered the possibility of fleeing abroad. This did not accept, reason why he remained in Madrid until the moment of his arrest.

- On March 29, 1939, Julián Besteiro was arrested by Franco's forces at the Ministry of Finance. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the Dueñas prison-convent, where he died a year later due to health complications as a result of the unhealthy state of the place.

Outstanding works

He is widely known for his Marxism and anti-Marxism discourse, in which he made a series of important criticisms of the party and the communist movement. Among his other important works, the following stand out:

• Volunteerism and individualism in contemporary philosophy.
• Class struggles as a social fact and as a theory.
• The problems of socialism.

References

1. Julián Besteiro Fernández. (sf). In Biographies and Lives. Retrieved: March 22, 2018. In Biographies and Lives at biografiasyvidas.com.
2. Julian Besteiro. (sf). In Search of Biographies. Retrieved: March 22, 2018. In Search Biographies of Buscabiografias.com.
3. Julián Besteiro Fernández. (sf). In Royal Academy of History. Retrieved: March 22, 2018. In the Royal Academy of History of rah.es.
4. Julian Besteiro. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 22, 2018. In Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org.
5. Julian Besteiro. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 22, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipediar.org.
6. Lamo de Espinosa, Emilio. (1990). The socialism of Julián Besteiro. In the country. Retrieved: March 22, 2018. In El País de elpais.com.