The Spanish Revolution 1931-37

"The example of Spain shws what an inexhaustable reservoir of heroism and devotion is hidden in the proletariat. Through six years of revolution, the Spanish workers could have assured not one but ten victories. They lack a party which could utilise their heroism and respond to the objective demands of history."

Thus Trotsky wrote after the defeat of the May 1937 uprising of the Barcelona working class. Forty years on, the Spanish revolution remains rich in lessons - on the importance of leadership; and the catastrophic role of the Popular Front bloc between workers' and 'liberal' capitalist parties - that are of crucial relevance for the struggle of the working class to acheive socialism today.