José García Viñas facts for kids

José García Viñas (born in Málaga, 1848 – died in Melilla, 1931) was a Spanish physician and an anarchist. Anarchism is a political idea that believes in societies without a government or rulers.

He was a member of the Spanish Regional Federation (FRE-AIT), which was part of the International Workingmen's Association. He also belonged to the International Alliance of Socialist Democracy.

Life and Work

Early Involvement in Anarchism

While studying medicine in Barcelona, José García Viñas joined a group called the International Workingmen's Association. This group started in 1869 after an Italian anarchist named Giuseppe Fanelli visited Spain.

García Viñas was a delegate at the 1870 Barcelona Workers' Congress. This meeting led to the creation of the FRE-AIT. He helped write some important documents for the group. He also joined the International Alliance of Socialist Democracy, which supported anarchist ideas.

He attended another FRE-AIT meeting, the Córdoba Congress, in late 1872 and early 1873. He was also one of three people representing the FRE-AIT at the Anarchist International Congress in Geneva in September 1873. After this congress, he visited Mikhail Bakunin, a famous anarchist thinker, in Bern.

Leading the Movement

In July 1874, García Viñas and Rafael Farga Pellicer joined the Federal Commission of the FRE-AIT. At this time, the group had to operate in secret because the International Workingmen's Association was banned in Spain. This ban happened after a coup d'état by Manuel Pavía, which ended the First Spanish Republic.

Because José García Viñas was a doctor and had more free time than workers, he became a central figure in the organization. He wrote many of the group's plans and reports during these secret years. He also took charge of La Revista Social, the newspaper of the FRE-AIT.

In 1876, he translated some important writings by the Swiss anarchist James Guillaume. He wrote the introduction for these works, using the pen name "D. G. Omblaga, doctor of science." That same year, he attended another Anarchist International Congress in Bern, using the name "Antonio Sánchez."

Later Years and Withdrawal

At the Verviers Congress of the Anarchist International in August 1877, he tried to restart the "Alliance" group with Peter Kropotkin and James Guillaume, but it didn't work out. When Kropotkin visited Barcelona the next year, he stayed with García Viñas.

Towards the end of 1880, there was a discussion about making the FRE-AIT a public and legal organization again. This was because the new government might allow the right of association. García Viñas believed that the group should continue to work in secret. When his idea was not chosen, he left the organization and stopped leading La Revista Social.

He explained that he thought a public organization would be bad for their goals. He believed that if the best activists were known to the police, they wouldn't be able to do secret work, which he felt was the only effective way to achieve their aims. After this, he returned to his hometown of Malaga and stopped his anarchist activities.

Life in Melilla

In 1902, José García Viñas moved to Melilla. There, he continued to work as a doctor. He became the director of a relief center and later a health center from 1923 to 1927. He passed away in Melilla in 1931, the same year the Second Spanish Republic was declared in Spain.

Works

• Breves nociones geográficas de Europa y en particular de España (1867)

See also

In Spanish: José García Viñas para niños