11. The Dismissal of Largo Caballero¶
Core Argument¶
Chapter 11: The Dismissal of Largo Caballero¶
The defeat of the Catalonian proletariat provided the bourgeois-Stalinist bloc with the opportunity to dispense with its centrist allies, following the familiar pattern whereby the suppression of the left strengthens the right, which then turns upon its erstwhile collaborators. The Stalinists’ first demand was the complete suppression of the POUM. Caballero refused to preside over the repression of other workers’ organisations. When Federica Montseny produced evidence of a Stalinist plot to frame the POUM and the CNT, the Stalinist and bourgeois ministers walked out, bringing the Caballero cabinet to an end.
The fundamental difference between Caballero and the bourgeois-Stalinist bloc lay in their divergent conceptions of the state. Caballero sought a bourgeois democratic republic in which some measure of workers’ control could coexist with private property. His opponents, by contrast, were prepared to accept a stabilised bourgeois regime anchored to Anglo-French imperialism. Caballero could not bring himself to smash the workers’ control of the factories, for the UGT masses would never surrender it. The Stalinists needed the War Ministry to break the workers’ hold on strategic industries, and they required the removal of Galarza from the Interior Ministry to gain control of the police and the press. Caballero also resisted the Prieto-Stalinist programme for conciliation with the Catholic Church.
The Stalinists demanded that the Premier confine himself to the Presidency, leaving the War Ministry to be run separately; that Galarza be removed for his leniency on public order; and that the key posts of War and Interior pass to persons enjoying the support of all government parties—that is, to the Prieto-Stalinist bloc. The CNT and UGT declared they would support only a government headed by Caballero as both Premier and Minister of War. Azaña delegated Caballero to form a cabinet. Caballero offered the CNT only two ministries (Justice and Sanitation), the Prieto group two combined ministries, and the Stalinists Education and Labour; the bourgeoisie received Public Works, Propaganda, Communications, and portfolios without portfolio. This proposed government was decidedly to the right of its predecessor. The Stalinists rejected it; the Prieto group and the bourgeois parties followed suit. Caballero could then have formed a UGT-CNT government or surrendered. He kept the masses in the dark, made no attempt to rally the workers, and assured the CNT he was ready for a UGT-CNT government before backing off, citing UGT opposition. The FAI later stated that the UGT played a double game, paralysing its revolutionary sector. Azaña, wielding Bonapartist powers under the 1931 constitution, had the authority to reject cabinets. Caballero informed Azaña that he had failed, and Azaña designated Negrín to form a government of the bourgeoisie, the Prieto group, and the Stalinists.