Óscar Pérez Solís facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Óscar Pérez Solís
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![]() Óscar Pérez Solís in 1912
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Born | Cabañaquinta, Asturias, Spain
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24 August 1882
Died | 26 October 1951 Valladolid, Spain
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(aged 69)
Nationality | Spanish |
Occupation | Soldier, engineer, journalist |
Known for | Founder of Spanish Communist Party |
Óscar Pérez Solís (born August 24, 1882 – died October 26, 1951) was a Spanish soldier, engineer, journalist, and politician. He started his career in the army but became interested in ideas about making society fairer. He left the army in 1912 and joined the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Later, in 1921, he helped start the Communist Party of Spain and became its leader.
However, his beliefs changed a lot. While in prison, he became a Catholic. After he was released, he stopped supporting his previous left-wing ideas and joined the right-wing Falangists, a group with very different views.
Contents
Early Life and Military Career (1882–1912)
Óscar Pérez Solís was born in Cabañaquinta, a town in Asturias, Spain, on August 24, 1882. His father was a captain in the military, so Óscar's family moved around a lot, including to Ferrol, Galicia and Valladolid. People expected Óscar to follow in his father's footsteps and join the military.
In 1898, he finished high school and entered the Artillery Academy in Segovia. He studied to become a mechanical engineer and graduated in 1904 as a lieutenant.
Óscar Pérez Solís worked in the artillery in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, from 1904 to 1907. There, he met an anarchist soldier who introduced him to new ideas about social change. From 1908 to 1911, Pérez Solís was stationed in Valladolid. In 1910, he joined a socialist group and started writing for socialist newspapers using a pen name. In 1911, he became a captain. He also edited a socialist newspaper. Because of his socialist views, he was advised to move, but he chose to leave the army instead after being involved in a disagreement with a local councilor.
Becoming a Socialist (1912–1921)
Pérez Solís left the army in June 1912. He became a representative for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) at their meetings from 1912 to 1921. He also ran as a candidate for the PSOE in several elections for Valladolid. In 1915, he was elected as a deputy mayor in Valladolid.
At first, he was a more moderate member of the PSOE. He supported working with other groups like the Republicans. But later, he started to criticize some of their ideas, especially their strong opposition to the monarchy (the system of having a king or queen). During World War I (1914–18), Pérez Solís supported the Allies, but he wasn't very involved in international politics.
In 1917, the socialists in Valladolid called for a general strike (when many workers stop working to protest) to protest against the arrest of labor leaders. The strike didn't get much support in other parts of Spain and ended quickly. Pérez Solís was blamed for its failure, even though he probably wasn't the one who started it. He temporarily left the PSOE in April 1917. After the strike, he spent some time in Lisbon before returning to Valladolid.
In 1917, Pérez Solís began writing for a national newspaper. He rejoined the PSOE in 1918 and ran in the elections again. By 1918, he was becoming an important figure in national politics. He was a good speaker who could connect with many people. He believed the Socialist Party had gone in the wrong direction by focusing on a republic and revolution. He thought a revolution would cause chaos and that a republic wouldn't have enough support. He felt that socialists should focus on social reforms that Spain truly needed, like changes in farming and helping industries grow.
In 1919, Pérez Solís was elected as a provincial deputy for Valladolid. At a PSOE meeting in 1919, he supported the Socialist International (a group of socialist parties) and was against the Russian Revolution. In 1920, he was accused of speaking badly about another politician and was sent away to the Basque Country. There, he started to move towards more extreme left-wing ideas. He was arrested and held in prison until March 1921.
Becoming a Communist (1921–1927)
In April 1921, Pérez Solís attended a PSOE meeting in Madrid. He argued that the PSOE should join the Communist International (Comintern), a worldwide organization of communist parties. The members voted, and most decided to join a different international group. However, Pérez Solís and another leader decided to split from the PSOE.
Pérez Solís announced the creation of a new group called the Spanish Communist Workers' Party (PCOE). Soon after, following instructions from Moscow, the PCOE joined with another communist party to form the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). Pérez Solís became the editor of the party's newspaper, La Bandera Roja (The Red Flag).
In the Basque Country, there was a struggle between socialists and communists led by Pérez Solís. He later wrote that the communists didn't succeed there partly because they lacked good leaders and had too many young members who wanted quick, violent actions. These actions often led to badly timed strikes with impossible demands, which scared away new members and helped the socialists.
In 1923, Pérez Solís ran as a PCE candidate for Madrid in the general elections. At a PCE meeting in July 1923, he became a member of the Central Committee. He was offered the position of general secretary, but he refused. Even so, he was seen as a very important leader in the party. He wrote the main plan for the party, which focused on fighting against the military dictatorship that was expected to start soon.
In August 1923, Pérez Solís tried to start a general strike in Bilbao at the same time as a rebellion by Basque soldiers. This event might have made the army speed up their plans for a dictatorship.
Pérez Solís continued his work in Spain during the dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera, which began in September 1923. He wrote articles for a communist newspaper. He was seriously injured in August 1923 during a general strike in Bilbao. He was arrested for being involved in protests against sending troops to Morocco and for trying to bomb a socialist newspaper. While he was in prison, his sister arranged for him to meet a priest. This meeting was the first step in a big change in his religious and political beliefs.
After finishing his prison sentence in January 1924, Pérez Solís left Spain to avoid another trial. He went to France and then represented Spain at a Comintern meeting in Moscow. He returned to Spain later that year. The PCE continued to struggle, and many of its leaders were arrested. Pérez Solís became the PCE's general secretary. In February 1925, he was arrested again in Barcelona. While in jail, he was visited by a Dominican priest, and they exchanged many letters.
Later Years and New Beliefs (1927–1951)
When Pérez Solís was released from prison in August 1927, his beliefs had changed completely. He said he needed to recover his health and moved to Valladolid, stepping away from politics. Soon, rumors spread that he had left the Communist Party, become a Catholic again, and accepted a management job at a large oil company called CAMPSA. It was said that he knew about the oil business from secret deals to supply Russian oil to Spain during the dictatorship.
In March 1928, a newspaper published a letter where he publicly said he no longer believed in his former ideas. In June 1928, he became the head of CAMPSA in Santander.
At first, Pérez Solís openly supported Catholic labor unions. He was transferred to Valladolid, where he edited a local newspaper and wrote for other conservative newspapers. He became close to the Spanish Falange, a right-wing political group, and its founder José Antonio Primo de Rivera. In 1933, he officially joined the Falange.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), which started with a revolt in July 1936, Pérez Solís played an important role for the Nationalist rebels. He was arrested in Oviedo and put in prison. After two days, he was released when the local military supported the Nationalists. He then joined the defense of the city against the Republicans. During the Siege of Oviedo, he wrote many articles against communists in a daily newspaper.
Under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Pérez Solís was appointed Civil Governor of Valladolid.
Óscar Pérez Solís died in Valladolid on October 26, 1951.
See also
In Spanish: Óscar Pérez Solís para niños