View source for Communist Party of Spain

{{Short description|Political party in Spain}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Communist Party of Spain
| abbreviation     = PCE
| logo             = Pce 2014.svg
| colorcode        = {{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}
| president        = [[José Luis Centella]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Enrique Santiago, elegido nuevo secretario general del PCE |url=https://www.eldiario.es/politica/enrique-santiago-secretario-general-pce_1_2183371.html |access-date=7 March 2022 |work=ElDiario.es |date=8 April 2018 |language=es}}</ref>
| general_secretary = [[Enrique Santiago]]
| foundation       = {{start date and age|1921|11|14|df=y}}
| ideology         = {{ubl|
 |[[Communism]]<ref name="albavictor">{{cite book |last=Alba |first=Victor |date=1983 |title=The Communist Party in Spain |publisher= Transaction Books |isbn=9780878554645}}</ref>
|[[Marxism–Leninism]] (until 1978; since 2017)<ref name="cuartopoder">{{cite web|title=El PCE recupera el leninismo al cumplirse el centenario de la Revolución de Octubre|url=https://www.cuartopoder.es/espana/2017/12/03/pce-leninismo-xx-congreso/|website=cuartopoder|date=3 December 2017|access-date=26 April 2018}}</ref>
 |[[Feminism]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pce.es/descarga/20131115_17_docpce_xix_cong_estatutos_def.pdf |title=Archived copy |website=pce.es |access-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428105145/http://www.pce.es/descarga/20131115_17_docpce_xix_cong_estatutos_def.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 |[[Republicanism in Spain|Republicanism]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/spanish-communists-demonstrate-third-republic-90th-anniversary-second|title=Spanish communists demonstrate for a third republic on 90th anniversary of the second|date=April 2021|publisher=Morning Star|website=morningstaronline.co.uk}}</ref>
 |[[Proletarian internationalism|Internationalism]]<ref name="albavictor"/>
 |[[Federalism]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2008/04/22/actualidad/1208852248_850215.html|title=Julio Anguita llama a la refundación de Izquierda Unida|date=22 April 2008|publisher=El Pais|newspaper=El País|language=es}}</ref>}}
| position         = {{Nowrap|[[Far-left politics|Far-left]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.academia.edu/46932240 |title= From stability to change? The evolution of the party system in Spain |last= Teruel |first= Juan |date= 2018 |website= Academia |access-date= 8 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Fischer |first= Ivan |date= 13 May 2021 |title= Spain's delivers employee status to food delivery riders |url= https://brusselsmorning.com/spains-delivers-employee-status-to-food-delivery-riders/13739/ |work= Brussels Morning |access-date= 8 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Gray |first= Caroline |author-link= |date= 21 May 2020 |title= Territorial Politics and the Party System in Spain: Continuity and change since the financial crisis |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tOrkDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22far-left+Communist+Party+of+Spain%22&pg=PT17 |location= London |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 9781000062588}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-first1= Marco |editor-last1= Lisi |date= 6 August 2018 |title= Party System Change, the European Crisis and the State of Democracy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IGFoDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22far-left+Communist+Party+of+Spain%22&pg=PT236 |location= London |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 9781351377645}}</ref>}}
| headquarters     = C/Olimpo, 35<br />28043 {{allcaps|Madrid}}
| international    = [[International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties|IMCWP]]<br/>[[International Peoples' Assembly|IPA]]
| website          = {{Political party data|website}}
| country          = Spain
| native_name      = Partido Comunista de España
| leader1_title    = Honorary President
| leader1_name     = [[Dolores Ibárruri]]<br />(eternal title)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elreferente.es/actualidad/roban-a-la-pasionaria-18570|title=El Referente|work=elreferente.es|access-date=2012-04-18|archive-date=2015-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923235722/http://www.elreferente.es/actualidad/roban-a-la-pasionaria-18570|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| dissolution      = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| merger           = [[Spanish Communist Party]]<br />[[Spanish Communist Workers' Party (1921)|Spanish Communist Workers' Party]]
| newspaper        = ''[[Mundo Obrero]]''<br />''Nuestra Bandera''
| youth_wing       = [[Communist Youth Union of Spain]] (UJCE)
| womens_wing      = [[Movimiento Democrático de Mujeres]] (MDM)
| wing1_title      = Trade union
| wing1            = [[Comisiones Obreras|Workers' Commissions]] (CCOO)
| membership_year  = 2022
| membership       = 7,713<ref>{{cite web | url=https://elcomun.es/2022/06/06/la-militancia-del-pce-se-reduce-a-7-713-militantes-a-las-puertas-del-xxi-congreso/ | title=La militancia del PCE se reduce a 7.713 afiliados a las puertas del XXI Congreso | date=6 June 2022}}</ref>
| national         = [[Popular Front (Spain)|Popular Front]] (1936–1939) <br /> [[United Left (Spain)|United Left]] (1986–present)
| european         = [[Party of the European Left]]
| europarl         = <!-- Values obtained from Wikidata; to edit, see https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q478811 -->
| seats1_title     = [[Congress of Deputies]]
| seats1           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-lower-house|bar-color={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}<small>Inside [[Sumar (electoral platform)|Sumar]]</small>
| seats2_title     = [[Senate of Spain|Senate]]
| seats2           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-upper-house|bar-color={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| seats3_title     = [[European Parliament]]
| seats3           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|EP|bar-color={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colours          = {{Color box|{{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}|border=darkgray}} [[Red (color)|Red]]
}}

The '''Communist Party of Spain''' ({{langx|es|Partido Comunista de España}}; '''PCE''') is a [[Communism|communist]] party that, since 1986, has been part of the [[United Left (Spain)|United Left]] coalition, which is currently part of [[Sumar (electoral platform)|Sumar]]. Two of its politicians are [[Spanish government]] ministers: [[Yolanda Díaz]] [[Ministry of Labour (Spain)|(Minister of Labour and Social Economy)]] and [[Sira Rego]] [[Ministry of Youth and Children|(Minister of Youth and Children)]].

The PCE was founded by 1921, after a split in the [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] ({{langx|es|Partido Socialista Obrero Español}}; PSOE). The PCE was founded by those who opposed the [[social democracy|social democratic]] wing of the PSOE, because the social democrat wing did not support the PSOE's integration in the [[Communist International]] founded by [[Vladimir Lenin]] two years prior. The PCE was a merger of the [[Spanish Communist Party]] ({{langx|es|Partido Comunista Español}}) and the [[Spanish Communist Workers' Party (1921)|Spanish Communist Workers' Party]] ({{langx|es|Partido Comunista Obrero Español}}). The PCE was first legalized after the proclamation of the [[Second Spanish Republic]] in April 1931. The republic was the first democratic regime in the [[history of Spain]]. The PCE gained much support in the months before the [[Spanish coup of July 1936]], which marked the beginning of the [[Spanish Civil War]], and it was a major force during the war as well. The Republicans lost, and Franco established a [[Francoist Spain|military dictatorship]], under which the PCE was one of the most heavily repressed parties, with specific laws banning communist parties,<ref>{{cite act |title=Ley de 1 de marzo de 1940, sobre represión de la masonería y del comunismo|language=es|date=1 March 1940|article=1 and 2|articletype=Articles|page=1|url=https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE/1940/062/A01537-01539.pdf|access-date=16 January 2018}}</ref> among others.

Under the dictatorship, the PCE was the main opposition to the Francoist dictatorship. In the early years of the dictatorship, many PCE members joined the [[Spanish Maquis]], a group of [[guerrilla]]s who fought against the regime. Years later, the Maquis' power declined, and the PCE abandoned the military strategy. Instead, it chose to interfere in the only legal syndicate (which was part of the Francoist apparatus), the [[Vertical Syndicate]].

Franco died on 20 November 1975, and two days later, [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Juan Carlos I]] was crowned. Juan Carlos I would lead the [[Spanish transition to democracy]], a time when the PCE became also extremely relevant, due to Franco's anti-communist legacy. Prime Minister [[Adolfo Suárez]] legalized the PCE on 9 April 1977, a decision which was particularly controversial, but ended peacefully. The PCE largely contributed to the restoration of democracy in Spain during the lead of Secretary-General [[Santiago Carrillo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.es/20120918/espana/rc-santiago-carrillo-alma-transicion-201209181836.html|title=Santiago Carrillo, el alma de la transición española|language=es|date=18 September 2012|publisher=[[ABC (newspaper)|ABC]]}}</ref>

Since 1986, it is part of the [[United Left (Spain)|United Left]] coalition. In its [[statute]]s, the PCE defines its goals as "democratically participate in a revolutionary transformation of society and its political structures, overcoming the capitalist system and constructing [[socialism]] in the Spanish State, as a contribution to the transition to socialism worldwide, with our goals set in the realization of the emancipating ideal of [[communism]]".<ref name="statutes">{{Citation|date=30 January 2014|title=Estatutos del Partido Comunista de España|publisher=Communist Party of Spain|page=1|url=http://www.pce.es/descarga/20131115_17_docpce_xix_cong_estatutos_def.pdf|language=es|access-date=16 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428105145/http://www.pce.es/descarga/20131115_17_docpce_xix_cong_estatutos_def.pdf|archive-date=28 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> It defines itself as [[revolutionary]], [[internationalism (politics)|internationalist]], [[solidarity]], [[republicanism in Spain|republican]], [[feminism|feminist]], and [[secularism|secularist]],<ref name="statutes"/> specifically, of the [[laïcité]] variety.

The youth organization of PCE is the [[Communist Youth Union of Spain]]. PCE publishes ''[[Mundo Obrero]]'' (Workers World) monthly.

==History==

===Establishment and pre-republican era===
{{PCE}}

The PCE was the result of a merger between two organizations: the original Spanish Communist Party (''[[Partido Comunista Español]]'' or PCE) and the Spanish Communist Workers' Party (''[[Spanish Communist Workers' Party (1921)|Partido Comunista Obrero Español]]'' or PCOE). The former was created in April 1920 from portions of the [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|Socialists]]' youth organization (''Federación de Juventudes Socialistas'' or FJS) while the latter had been formed from a union of dissident Socialists (''terceristas'') and members of the General Union of Workers (''[[Unión General de Trabajadores]]'' or UGT) who regarded the original PCE as not properly representative of the working class.<ref name=Payne12>S.G. Payne,''The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism.'' New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004; pg. 12.</ref>

The two parties joined in the new Partido Comunista de España on 14 November 1921. The unified PCE became a member of the [[Comintern|Third International]] and held its first congress in [[Sevilla]] in March 1922. In May, [[Jules Humbert-Droz]], the top [[Comintern]] official in Western Europe, arrived in Spain to supervise the still fractious party and would continue to do so until the establishment of the republic.<ref name=Payne12 />

By the end of 1922, the party had approximately 5,000 members.<ref name=Payne15>Payne,''The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism,'' pg. 15.</ref> The PCE's left-wing engaged in political violence, especially in [[Bilbao]], largely directed against other leftists. A party leader's bodyguard shot and killed a Socialist in November 1922 and organized party militants attempted a general strike in August 1923 that ended in a shootout at the barricaded party headquarters, resulting in twenty communists dead or injured and another seventy arrested.<ref name=Payne15 />

With the advent of the dictatorship of [[Miguel Primo de Rivera]] in September 1923, political parties, including the PCE, were repressed and rendered largely powerless though not dissolved. The party continued to publish its weekly newspaper ''[[La Antorcha]]'' until 1927. In November 1925, PCE leaders joined with Comintern officials and leaders of the Catalan-separatist [[Estat Català]] in endorsing a revolutionary program calling for the following:
:* Abolition of [[dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera|Primo de Rivera's dictatorship]] and of the monarchy,
:* Creation of a ''república federativa popular'' (federal popular republic),
:* Recognition of independence for [[Catalonia]], the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]], and [[Morocco]],
:* Total freedom of association,
:* Expropriation of large estates and distribution of land to peasants,
:* Organization of workers' councils in industry,
:* Formation of a central committee for revolution consisting of representatives from several parties as well as a military committee, and
:* A planned insurrection in Madrid.<ref>Payne,''The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism'', pp. 18–19.</ref>

However, Moscow urged a cautious approach, and the [[Confederación Nacional del Trabajo|CNT]] and Basque nationalists were reluctant to cooperate with communists, so the plans were never carried out.<ref>Payne,''The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism,'' pg. 19.</ref> The PCE continued to suffer from repression and dissension. The party's second secretary general, José Bullejos, purged the party of politically suspect members, and was himself arrested in 1928. In 1930, the arguments over doctrine led the [[Catalan-Balearic Communist Federation]] (FCCB) to break from the party and associate with the [[International Right Opposition]]. Amid this infighting, Comintern official [[Dmitry Manuilsky]] reportedly stated that, while Spain had "an excellent [[proletariat]]", it had only "a few little groups, but not a communist party".<ref>Payne,''The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism'', pp. 20–21.</ref>

Thus, the PCE was in a very debilitated state when the [[Second Spanish Republic]] was proclaimed in 1931. On 3 December 1933 the first PCE parliamentarian, Cayetano Bolívar Escribano, was elected. Bolívar was jailed at the time of elections and left imprisonment to occupy his post in the parliament.

===Popular Front and Civil War===
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2018}}
[[Image:Pce2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Spanish Civil War|Civil War]] poster: "Workers, peasants, soldiers, intellectuals: Reinforce the ranks of the Communist Party by [[Josep Renau]]]]

PCE was a small party during the initial years of the Republic, until it began to grow due to the victory of the [[Popular Front (Spain)|Popular Front]] (of which the Communists had been a constituent part) in February 1936 and the beginning of the [[Spanish Civil War]] in July of that year. The PCE, directed by [[José Díaz (Spanish politician)|José Díaz]] and [[Dolores Ibárruri]] (known popularly as ''La Pasionaria''), worked consistently for the victory of the Republican forces and the Popular Front government, but was wary of the [[Spanish Revolution of 1936|social revolution]] that was being waged by Spanish workers.

The PCE leadership judged that while progressive laws could be passed, an attempt at a full-scale socialist revolution would needlessly divide the forces of the Republic. It would cause massive conflict behind republican lines, thus diverting military forces from the battle against Franco and driving many democratic republicans who were prepared to fight against [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|the rebels]] into the arms of the rebels.

Being a well-knit and highly disciplined organization, the PCE could in spite of its numerical weakness play an important part in the war. In the first five months of the war, PCE grew from 30,000 members to 100,000. It also founded a Spanish branch of the [[Socorro Rojo Internacional|International Red Aid]], which assisted the Republican cause considerably.

In 1936, due to the special political situation in [[Catalonia]], [[Communist Party of Catalonia|Partit Comunista de Catalunya]] (the Catalan branch of PCE) was separated from the party to fuse with other socialists to form [[Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia|Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya]]. Since then the PCE does not have an organization in Catalonia, but relies on a regional referent party. This set-up has been imitated by many of the communist splinter groups in Spain.

The PCE clashed with anarchists in Barcelona during the [[May Days]] of 1937.

===Resistance and reorientation===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B0121-0010-064, Berlin, VI. SED-Parteitag, 6.Tag.jpg|thumb|right|[[Santiago Carrillo]] in 1963 during the 6th party convention of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]].]]

After the Republican defeat in April 1939, the PCE was persecuted by the [[Francoist Spain|Nationales]] of [[caudillo]] [[Francisco Franco]] (1939–1975), although maintained the best organization among the opposition parties inside Spain. During the initial years of the Francoist State, PCE organized guerrilla struggles in some parts of the country.

A large part of the party membership was forced into exile. Some PCE members went to the Soviet Union and fought as volunteers for the [[Red Army]] during the Second World War, such as General [[Enrique Líster]]. A large section of PCE members were based in France, where a major party organization was set up, although the French government forced them to leave in 1950 during the rising ideological tension of the [[Cold War]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. |title=The Franco regime, 1936-1975 |date=1987 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |isbn=978-0-299-11070-3 |location=Madison, Wis |pages=397}}</ref> During the latter half of the Franco years, PCE changed its strategy and started organizing [[Workers' Commissions]] (CC.OO.) within the official trade union apparatus. CC.OO. and PCE gained strength and became the backbone of the opposition forces in the country.

Dolores Ibárruri, "La Pasionaria", a dedicated follower of consequent Comintern policies, replaced Jose Diaz as General Secretary in 1944, and held the position until 1960. [[Santiago Carrillo]] was General Secretary from 1960 to 1982. In 1963, after the Communist Party of Spain abandoned the armed struggle, hard-line Communists, led by [[Julio Álvarez del Vayo]], founded the [[Spanish National Liberation Front]] (FELN), a small splinter group.<ref>[http://www.frap.es/delVayo.html Biografias y Vidas – Julio Álvarez del Vayo] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213002100/http://www.frap.es/delVayo.html|date=2012-02-13}}</ref>

Carrillo put the party on a [[eurocommunist]] course, distancing it from its [[Leninism|Leninist]] origins. Carrillo accepted concessions to the "[[bourgeoisie]]", accepting the restoration of a [[liberal democracy]] and constitutional monarchy. This was regarded by many Party members as treason, for these concessions were made to classes the Party's doctrine called "exploiters".

Communists played a fundamental role in the [[Asturian miners' strike of 1962|1962 miners' strike]], the first large-scale social movement since the end of the civil war, by putting their informal networks at its service, but also by involving their exiled activists to organize international solidarity. At the peak of the mobilization, more than 60,000 workers stopped work. A first breach in the edifice of Franco's dictatorship, which had ruled the country for more than twenty years.

===Transition to democracy===
[[File:Fiesta del PCE 003.jpg|thumb|right|Party celebration in the [[Casa de Campo]] of Madrid.]]

The Party was legalized after the January [[1977 Atocha Massacre|1977 Atocha massacre]], on 9 April 1977, as one of the last steps in the [[Spanish transition to democracy]]. Only weeks after the legalization, PCE had over 200,000 card-holding members.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} But the concessions made by Carrillo (labelled "revisionist" by his orthodox communist opponents) and the social democratization of the party under his leadership provoked dissent amongst party ranks. Several party members left the party. [[Enrique Líster]] broke away in 1973 and formed the [[Partido Comunista Obrero Español]]. Other more radical left-wing groups that broke away were [[Partido Comunista de los Trabajadores]] (formed by the Left Opposition of PCE in 1977) and [[PCE (VIII-IX Congresos)]] (formed in 1971).

In the first elections after the transition in 1977, the PCE obtained 9% of the votes, and in 1979 it increased its vote share to 11%. By this time, however, the party had become increasingly divided into three currents.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Angel|title=Historical Dictionary of Spain|date=2017|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-81085-849-7|page=142|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6y1BDwAAQBAJ&q=Gerardo+Iglesias+pce+communist&pg=PA142|access-date=26 April 2018}}</ref> Carrillo's supporters were squeezed between, on the one hand, pro-Soviet communists who had remained within the party and felt his Eurocommunist course took the party too far on a social democratic path and, on the other hand, "renovators" who advocated for democratizing the party and opening it up towards more collaboration with other groups on the left. In the midst of successive waves of expulsions of members who belonged to the minority currents, the PCE suffered an electoral defeat in 1982, getting just 4% of the vote.

===Divisions in the party, collaboration with other groups in the United Left===
After the 1982 elections, Carrillo was removed as general secretary, and the new party leader [[Gerardo Iglesias]] pursued a strategy of leftist convergence and collaboration with non-communist parties and social movements. Over the objections of Carrillo, who was expelled in 1985 and went on to found [[Workers' Party of Spain–Communist Unity|a new party]] and warn that supporting IU was tantamount to "burying communism",<ref>{{cite news|title=Apoyar a IU supone enterrar el comunismo, declara Carrillo|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1986/06/02/espana/518047201_850215.html|website=EL PAÍS|date=June 1986|access-date=26 April 2018|last1=García|first1=Rocío}}</ref> the PCE developed the "United Left" alliance [[Izquierda Unida (Spain)|Izquierda Unida]] (IU). This broad coalition initially encompassed parties ranging from the pro-Soviet PCPE to the socialist [[Socialist Action Party (Spain)|PASOC]], the [[Progressive Federation]], and the [[Carlist Party (1970)|Carlist Party]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gillespie|first1=Richard|title=Izquierda Unida: The first test|journal=Journal of Communist Studies|volume=2|issue=4|pages=441–444|doi=10.1080/13523278608414840|year=1986}}</ref>

Despite its role in the anti-[[NATO]] protests of 1986, IU fared weakly in the 1986 elections, and by 1988, the Communist Party elected [[Julio Anguita]] as new General Secretary, which he remained until 1998. Under Anguita, the party took a turn towards the left and fundamental opposition to both PSOE and PP, and many of the members who had previously been expelled for pro-Soviet views returned to the party. By 1991, the party had 70,000 members, and IU rebounded in the 1989 elections, winning 9.1% of the vote that year and slightly increasing it to 9.6% in 1993 and 10.5% in 1996.

[[File:PacoFrutos (cropped).JPG|thumb|right|Paco Frutos in 2005]]

Notably, PSUC, the Catalan referent of PCE, did not reverse its eurocommunist course in the late 1980s, as the PCE had done, and gradually, PSUC and PCE grew apart. Finally, PSUC decided to dissolve itself into [[Iniciativa per Catalunya]], and cease to function as a communist party. This provoked a 45% minority to break away and form [[PSUC viu]] (Living PSUC). Since 1998, PSUC viu ([[United and Alternative Left]]) is the referent of PCE in [[Catalonia]].

In 2008 the party was referred to as left-wing by various academic political writers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schofield|first=Norman J.|year=2008|title=Political Economy of Democracy and Tyranny|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH|isbn=9783486588262|page=215|oclc=440296586}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Colomer|first=Joseph M.|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|title=Comparative European Politics|isbn=9781134073542|page=184|oclc=246186751}}</ref> After the [[2008 Spanish general election|2008 election]], Llamazares resigned as IU coordinator, and later that year, PCE politician Cayo Lara was elected to replace him on the platform "For an anti-capitalist, republican, federal, and alternative United Left". IU shifted back towards a more confrontational attitude towards the PSOE, and [[José Luis Centella]] succeeded Frutos as PCE general secretary the next year. For the 2015 elections, IU joined up with further partners in the [[Popular Unity (Spain)|Popular Unity]] (UP) alliance, led by PCE politician [[Alberto Garzón]]. It received 4% of the vote, and was eclipsed by the new left-wing party [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|Podemos]]. UP subsequently joined with Podemos in the [[Unidos Podemos]] alliance, which received 21% of the vote in the 2016 election. The PCE, meanwhile, moved in its XX Congress in 2017 to explicitly embrace Marxism–Leninism again, marking a break with the previous forty years.<ref name="cuartopoder">{{cite web|title=El PCE recupera el leninismo al cumplirse el centenario de la Revolución de Octubre|url=https://www.cuartopoder.es/espana/2017/12/03/pce-leninismo-xx-congreso/|website=cuartopoder|date=3 December 2017|access-date=26 April 2018}}</ref>

==List of secretaries-general==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Name
! class="unsortable"|Time in office
|-
| 1921
| [[Antonio García Quejido]]
| 1921–1923
|-
| 1923
| [[César Rodríguez González]]
| 1923–1925
|-
| 1925
| [[José Bullejos]]
| 1925–1932
|-
| 1932
| [[José Díaz (Spanish politician)|José Díaz]]
| 1932–1942
|-
| 1942
| [[Dolores Ibárruri]]
| 1942–1960
|-
| 1960
| [[Santiago Carrillo]]
| 1960–1982
|-
| 1982
| [[Gerardo Iglesias]]
| 1982–1988
|-
| 1988
| [[Julio Anguita]]
| 1988–1998
|-
| 1998
| [[Francisco Frutos]]
| 1998–2009
|-
| 2009
| [[José Luis Centella]]
| 2009–2017
|-
|2017
|Vacant (Provisional Committee)
|2017–2018
|-
|2018
|[[Enrique Santiago]]
|2018–present
|-
|}

==Federations of the PCE==
The PCE consists of 15 federations:
* [[Communist Party of Andalusia]]
* [[Communist Party of Aragon]]
* [[Communist Party of Asturias]]
* Communist Party of the Balearic Islands
* [[Communist Party of the Canaries]]
* [[Communist Party of Cantabria]]
* [[Communist Party of Castile-La Mancha]]
* [[Communist Party of Castile–León|Communist Party of Castile-León]]
* [[Communist Party of the Basque Country]]
* [[Communist Party of Extremadura]]
* [[Communist Party of Galicia]]
* [[Communist Party of Madrid]]
* [[Communist Party of the Region of Murcia]]
* [[Communist Party of La Rioja]]
* [[Communist Party of the Valencian Country]]

[[PSUC viu]] participates in PCE congresses, etc., as a PCE federation.

==Electoral performance==

===[[Cortes Generales#Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939)|Second Spanish Republic]]===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|-
| colspan="9" align="center"| [[Cortes republicanas]]
|-
! width="75"| Election
! Leading candidate
! width="70"| Coalition
! width="70"| %
! Seats
! width="35"| +/–
! Government
|-
! [[1931 Spanish general election|1931]]
| [[José Bullejos]]
| ''None''
| 0.8 (#21)
| {{Composition bar|0|470|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| ''New''
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[1933 Spanish general election|1933]]
| rowspan="3"| [[José Díaz Ramos]]
| ''None''
| 1.9 (#14)
| {{Composition bar|1|472|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| [[File:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg|10px]]1
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! rowspan="2"| [[1936 Spanish general election|1936]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Popular Front (Spain)|Popular Front]]
| rowspan="2"| 2.5 (#13)
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|17|473|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg|10px]]16
| style="background:#ffff8c;"| Confidence and supply (1936)
|-
| style="background:#cfc;" align="center"| Coalition (1936–1938)
|}

=== Cortes Generales ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|-
| colspan="9" align="center"| [[Cortes Generales]]
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:75px;"| Election
! rowspan="2"| Leading candidate
! colspan="3"| Congress
! colspan="3"| Senate
! rowspan="2"| {{abbr|Gov.|Government}}
|-
! style="width:70px;"| Votes
! style="width:60px;"| %
! Seats
! style="width:70px;"| Votes
! style="width:60px;"| %
! Seats
|-
! [[1977 Spanish general election|1977]]
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:left;"| [[Santiago Carrillo]]
| 1,709,890
| 9.3 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|20|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| 1,014,272
| 2.0 (#10)
| {{Composition bar|0|207|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[1979 Spanish general election|1979]]
| 1,938,487
| 10.8 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|23|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| 4,407,905
| 8.8 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[1982 Spanish general election|1982]]
| 865,272
| 4.1 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|4|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| 2,687,352
| 4.6 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[1986 Spanish general election|1986]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Gerardo Iglesias]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|4|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[1989 Spanish general election|1989]]
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:left;"| [[Julio Anguita]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|13|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|1|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[1993 Spanish general election|1993]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|13|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[1996 Spanish general election|1996]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|14|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[2000 Spanish general election|2000]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Francisco Frutos]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|8|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[2004 Spanish general election|2004]]
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| [[Gaspar Llamazares]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|3|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{okay|{{Mby}}{{efn|Confidence and supply.}}}}
|-
! [[2008 Spanish general election|2008]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|1|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[2011 Spanish general election|2011]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Cayo Lara]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Plural Left (Spain, 2011)|IU–LV]]
| {{Composition bar|5|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Plural Left (Spain, 2011)|IU–LV]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}
|-
! [[2015 Spanish general election|2015]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Alberto Garzón]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Popular Unity (Spain)|IU–UPeC]]
| {{Composition bar|1|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Popular Unity (Spain)|IU–UPeC]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
! rowspan="2"| [[2016 Spanish general election|2016]]
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:left;"| [[Pablo Iglesias Turrión|Pablo Iglesias]]
| rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Unidos Podemos]]
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|5|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Unidos Podemos]]
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|1|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{na}}{{efn|2016–2018.}}
|-
| {{okay|{{Mby}}{{efn|Confidence and supply (2018–2019).}}}}
|-
! [[April 2019 Spanish general election|Apr. 2019]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Unidas Podemos]]
| {{Composition bar|4|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Unidas Podemos]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|-
! [[November 2019 Spanish general election|Nov. 2019]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Unidas Podemos]]
| {{Composition bar|5|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Unidas Podemos]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{ya}}
|-
! [[2023 Spanish general election|2023]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Yolanda Díaz]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Sumar (electoral platform)|Sumar]]
| {{Composition bar|5|350|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Sumar (electoral platform)|Sumar]]
| {{Composition bar|0|208|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| {{ya}}
|}

=== European Parliament ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|-
| colspan="6" align="center"| [[European Parliament]]
|-
! style="width:75px;"| Election
! Leading candidate
! style="width:70px;"| Votes
! style="width:60px;"| %
! Seats
! EP Group
|-
! [[1987 European Parliament election in Spain|1987]]
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| [[Fernando Pérez Royo]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|1|60|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Communist and Allies Group|COM]]
|-
! [[1989 European Parliament election in Spain|1989]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|2|60|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[European United Left (1989–1993)|EUL]]
|-
! [[1994 European Parliament election in Spain|1994]]
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| [[Alonso Puerta]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|7|64|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[European United Left (1994–1995)|EUL]]
|-
! [[1999 European Parliament election in Spain|1999]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU–EUiA]]
| {{Composition bar|3|64|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| [[European United Left–Nordic Green Left|GUE/NGL]]
|-
! [[2004 European Parliament election in Spain|2004]]
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:left;"| [[Willy Meyer]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU–ICV–EUiA]]
| {{Composition bar|1|54|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
|-
! [[2009 European Parliament election in Spain|2009]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[United Left (Spain)|IU]]
| {{Composition bar|1|54|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
|-
! [[2014 European Parliament election in Spain|2014]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Plural Left (Spain, 2014)|IP]]
| {{Composition bar|3|54|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
|-
! [[2019 European Parliament election in Spain|2019]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Unidas Podemos]]
| {{Composition bar|2|59|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
|-
! [[2024 European Parliament election in Spain|2024]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Estrella Galán]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Within [[Sumar (electoral platform)|Sumar]]
| {{composition bar|0|61|hex={{party color|Communist Party of Spain}}}}
| style="text-align:center;"| —
|}

==See also==
* [[Valentín González]]
* [[Juan Modesto]]
* [[Jorge Semprún]]
* [[Marcelino Camacho]]
* [[Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias]] (MAOC)

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Tim Rees, "The Highpoint of Comintern Influence? The Communist Party and the Civil War in Spain," in Tim Rees and Andrew Thorpe (eds.), ''International Communism and the Communist International, 1919–43''. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998.

==External links==
* {{official website|http://www.pce.es}} {{in lang|es}}

{{Spanish political parties}}
{{Party of the European Left}}
{{Communist Party of Spain}}
{{Communism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Communist Party of Spain| ]]
[[Category:Far-left politics in Spain]]
[[Category:Communist parties in Spain]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1921]]
[[Category:International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties]]
[[Category:Anti-anarchism in Spain]]