Workers of the world, Unite! The Monarchy has been disestablished! The capitalists arrested! The fascists defeated! In the wake of the civil war between the loyalists and proto-fascists against the communists and democrats, the ideals of Communism have once and for all solidified in Spain. The new nation, the Spanish People's Union, has formed out of the struggle not of that of the traditionalist feudal nobility, nor the reactionary bourgeoisie, or even that of the despicable fascists. Instead, Spain has been newly forged on the basis of equality, freedom, and justice. Across the nation, the working class have taken control of the factories, stores, and railways. Money has transformed into but a temporary item that will eventually be abolished once the transition to Communism is complete. The new regime has guaranteed education, healthcare, food, and various freedoms to the people of Spain, and for the first time ever in Spain, free and open public discussions, fair trials, and an armed and increasingly literate working class has taken hold. The revolution in Spain has been complete, and now the leaders are looking to export it to foreign nations.
The military has been reorganized into an almost purely defensive force, stationed heavily amongst the Pyrenees and along the Spanish-Portuguese border. Officially declared as the Spanish People’s Military, the new military has pledged loyalty not to the State nor any political party, but to the ideals of Communism itself. Massive fortification efforts have begun along the French, Portuguese, and the borders of the various puppet states that were previously Spanish colonies. The Saharan Republic, the Tangier Free Republic, the Guinean Socialist Republic, and the Revolutionary Moroccan Union have all been proclaimed, and declared independent States, each with a constitutional alliance to Spain and each other. However, each of these states have virtually no military, and rely completely on Spain for defense. In addition, the Spanish oversee the political and economic affairs of each country. Ultimately, the African countries have simply passed from Spanish colonies to Spanish puppet states.
The revolution has come with a cost. Infrastructure has been horrifically damaged, massive chunks of the navy and army are disorganized or completely gone. Starvation has still been an issue in the more underdeveloped parts of Spain, however strides have been made in improving food production, and Albenz Bestairo has announced he would soon propose a new economic strategy to the Congress to ensure industrialization and food production take place. The enemies of the Revolution though have been largely destroyed. While no purges or mass killings occurred, vast swathes of the politicians and military officers that sided with the Monarchy have been put in prison, fled, committed suicide, or were sent into exile.
A new dawn has started. With the worker revolts in Spain, Germany, and Italy becoming successful, a true worker's International has been formed. The proletariat are disgruntled, overworked, and hungry. The imperialists wish to stomp on these new Republics before Revolutionary thinking can spread. This will not happen. By the grace of not god nor Caesar, but by liberty and the working class itself, the Revolution will spread. The Revolution will be triumphant! There will be a day in which all the workers of the world can abolish their chains, destroy their nations, and form a classless, stateless, moneyless society in which all are equal and free. Workers of the world, unite!
"
...
Agrupémonos todos,
en la lucha final.
¡El género humano
es la internacional!"There was a ruckus of applauds, cheering, even laughter and tears of happiness with the end of the song. Since 1931, it was tradition for the Spanish Congress to sing
La internacional before every official mass get together to discuss the issues of Spain. Last year Albenz Bestairo and his various comrades amongst the Spanish Socialist Party, mainly economic advisors, publicity politicians, and the like consulted with him and developed a new plan in order to get Spain's economy off the ground. The plan would be controversial, would definitely face strong resistance, and may not be passed by the Congress and worker councils. However Albenz Bestairo, a very respected man widely considered to be the father of the Revolution, espousing the idea may get more people on board. Furthermore, the plan would appeals to Marxism and the various stages of the development that the world must go through.
Albenz Bestairo walked up to a podium in front of the Congress, beginning to state what would be discussed. "My friends, comrades, fellow brothers and sisters," he started "today has been the fifth year of our revolution, a change in system as, if not,
more radical than that of the French, English, and American revolutions. A revolution destined around the ideal that it should not be exploiter and exploitee, that should not be slave-owner and slave, but that all people of the world are equal and free! That all of the Proletariat can enjoy the fruits of their labor, and decide their own destiny!"
There were a few cheers here and there. The congress hasn't officially adopted any rules preventing the type of thing during an introductory speech, and no one complained.
"It must then also be in our interests that we defend the Revolution here at home, but also export it abroad! Specifically, to our neighbors to the west, Portugal. As we speak, they could potentially be conspiring with the French against us! We have to safeguard Iberia; we have to safe guard our people. I therefore propose firstly that we begin to divert funds and military equipment towards arming Communist insurgents in Portugal, the ultimate aim of them forming a worker's republic like ours and creating an alliance. Furthermore, how can we as a people survive if the rest of the world is opposed against us? The revolution
must spread to all corners of the globe, or it will stagnate and whither away! For all that support the funding of the Portuguese Communists, please stand or raise up your hand. For those that oppose, please remain seated."
The vote was counted, and decided upon. It was not very close.
"Very well, with majority support from the Congress, the act has been approved! Beginning today, we will be sending guns, ammunition, money, and other supplies to Portuguese Communists. One day we will be able to welcome them into the International! However, in order to this sufficiently, we will need to improve the industrial base of Spain. This leads us to the most pressing question, and that is how do we industrialize and maximize food production? At present, we use a combination of state and worker enterprises for the economy. This is working decently, but our neighbors around us are militarizing, and they are far ahead of us! How can we even defend ourselves, much less liberate other nations, if we can barely produce tanks? Or planes?"
The Congress remained silent.
"As theorized by that of the thinkers before us, society must go through developmental stages. From the hunter-gathering societies, to the ancient agricultural states, to feudalism, and from there to capitalism. The last two stages involve an overthrow of the capitalist one, the worker's seizing the means of production, and forming a Socialist State. The very last stage is one in which the State whithers away over time, and what is left is a stateless, moneyless, classless society in which all are equal and free. Communism. However, we only have to look around us to see that Spain has not completed the capitalist phase of development. The workers are illiterate and poor, famine and disease are still somewhat commonplace, our technological and industrial strength lags behind both our German comrades and our French and English enemies. In order to catch up, I'm here to propose an economic strategy that will carry us through the capitalist phase of development, and will be only temporary. Not permanent."
Some in the Congress grew skeptical. The Revolution was founded for Socialism! How could we possibly revert back to possible Capitalism?! But how could such a notable, dedicated, and intelligent man as Albenz Bestairo propose something akin to Capitalism? Is he a traitor to the Revolution? Perhaps he was right; perhaps Spain needed more capital development and investment.
"The Plan will ultimately divide the economy into three separate parts. There will be state-controlled business, such as education, healthcare, and some heavy industry. The point of this is to ensure education and healthcare remain accessible, and that our heavy industry can grow quickly and planned well. The second part of the economy will consist of private, capital enterprise taking control of the rest of the heavy industry and various consumer services, and some sectors of farming."
The Congress broke out into an uproar. People shouted, arguing with one another. Traitor to the revolution, a red capitalist, and various other insults thrown as Bestairo and his supporters.
"Are you all doubting my commitment to our ideals?!" Bestairo boomed, with clear, obvious anger. "I was one of the founders of the Revolution! I was one of the officers who helped lead it, and I was one of the first to declare the King an enemy! And you, those that oppose the Plan, you are the real traitors to the Revolution! You are ignoring the words of Marx and Engels, two men who wrote that there
must be a capitalist stage of development! That we must industrialize fully before transitioning our entire economy over to Socialism! If you oppose the Plan, you oppose me, you oppose Marx and Engels, and you oppose the ideals our Revolution were founded on! You oppose us being able to defend or even feed ourselves, for the whole point of private enterprise is to allow private investment and rapid industrialization seen in the capitalist countries. We need to be able to make guns and tanks to defend ourselves. We need to be able to make tractors and large boats so we can feed our people."
The Congress was once more silent.
"And lastly, we have the third part of the economy. The Proletariat. Worker Councils and Worker Unions will still have massive authority, and there will still be some Socialist enterprise for the time being. With various freedoms guaranteed, worker unions fighting for our workers rights, we still have the working class as a top priority. Even the farmers themselves will be able to keep or sell their surplus crops. Furthermore, if this plan is approved, we can propose it to our German and Italian friends in the International and further strengthen our collective militaries. For those that support the Plan, please stand up or raise your hand. For those that oppose it, please remain seated."
It was extremely close, the vote being decided by a handful of voters in the Congress.
"We have counted the votes. The Plan has been approved by a narrow margin! Starting today, we will begin to put our economy and military ahead of our rivals. We shall also see what our comrades in the International feel about it. Today we will have to let some concessions to the capitalists if we are to survive. But tomorrow it will be capitalists conceding to us!"
Albenz Bestairo walked off and sat down. Another speaker walked up and begun talking about military production and the continued fortification of the Pyrenees.