Spanish Civil War: Republicans Dossier Chair: Zachary Diamond Crisis Director: Pascal Hensel
Dear Delegates, It is an honor to invite you to the 21st Virginia International Crisis Simulation, the University of Virginia s annual collegiate Model United Nations conference. VICS XXI will be held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from March 31 to April 3, 2016. VICS offers nineteen innovative and interactive crisis committees, both historical and contemporary. We are committed to expanding the scope of what a crisis committee can do. As I write this letter in early November, our chairs are crafting their committees around topics ranging from the Space Race of the 1950s to a Summit of the American Gun Lobby. We are committed to expanding the scope of what a crisis committee can do, especially in our famous ad-hoc, the Secretary General s Good Offices, and in our pilot ad-hoc, the Directors General's Good Offices. I can think of no better setting for the conference than the Grounds of the University of Virginia. VICS provides you with opportunities to interact with the University s rich history and with the many resources it has to offer. For example, on Friday morning, VICS encourages delegates to explore Charlottesville. VICS offers a series of tours of the city's attractions. These events extend discussion outside of committee and they give you the chance to meet members of the International Relations Organization and of the university community. We also invite you to explore Charlottesville, one of the country s most exciting college towns. VICS hosts four social events in the city, which take you beyond a typical Model UN experience and provide opportunities to get to know delegates outside of committee. I look forward to welcoming you to the University of Virginia and Charlottesville in March. If you have any questions, please reach out to me or the Chargé d Affaires, Leah Day, atvics.charge@gmail.com or by phone at (703) 344-4275. Sincerely, Michael Treves Secretary General VICS XXI
1. Francisco Largo Caballero - Prime Minister Francisco Largo Caballero, the current Prime Minister, is a Marxist politician and leader of the radical wings of the PSOE and the UGT. Over the years, he transitioned from a moderate unionist to a passionate communist. During his more moderate years, he favored limited cooperation with Primo de Rivera s dictatorial regime, which led to a dispute between him and Indalecio Prieto, who opposed any cooperation at all. Though he and Prieto are no longer on bad terms, Caballero is much more radical than Prieto and questions his willingness to fight. 2. Manuel Azaña Díaz - President Manuel Azaña is the current president of the Popular Front. A member of the Republican Left, he has long had an anti-catholic Church and anti-monarchist stance. He served as Prime Minister of the Republic before becoming President of the Republican coalition. During his time as Prime Minister, he was instrumental in minimizing Catholic and monarchist influences. However, unlike many of his colleagues, he is a middle-class republican, not a socialist. He is concerned of the fracturing of the coalition into independent radical groups. 3. José Miaja - Minister of War/Commander of the Junta de Defensa de Madrid José Miaja is a military commander in charge of the Republican Forces of Defense. Despite his conservative leanings, he serves as Minister of War under Caballero s government. From his first post in Asturias and later in Morocco after graduating from the Infantry Academy at Toledo, he has risen to the rank of General. He is ready to work closely with Modesto, Prieto, and Lluch to bring about a crushing defeat to the Nationalists. 4. Julio Álvarez del Vayo - Foreign Minister Julio Álvarez is a socialist politician who boasts a strong educational and professional background. He studied law in Spain and continued postdoctoral work at the London School of Economics. He has worked as a journalist, writing for many renowned journals across Spain and Great Britain. Having joined the PSOE when he was young, he opposed Primo de Rivera s dictatorship and helped to orchestrate the uprising against him. During the early years of the Second Spanish Republic, he served as ambassador to Mexico and the Soviet Union, where he retains many personal contacts. 5. Juan Modesto - Commander of the 5th Regiment Juan Modesto is the commander of the Republican Armed Force s 5th regiment, an elite corps of MAOC (Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias) fighters affiliated with the PCE. The 5th regiment is the most developed and fastest growing unit within the Republican Armed Forces. Juan Modesto is a fairly charismatic leader and is prepared to mobilize his troops, at the top leadership s command, in defense of Madrid and wherever his forces can beat the Nationalists.
6. Indalecio Prieto - Minister of Air and Marine Indalecio Prieto is a leading member of the PSOE and is Minister of Marine and Air. Like Juan Negrín, he is more moderate than Caballero, disagreeing with his revolutionary radicalism. Nevertheless, he now works as part of Caballero s coalition and prioritizes victory over the Nationalists over his disagreements with the more radical branches of the coalition. He is a principled man and wants to fight fair battles, steering clear of atrocities and war crimes. 7. Juan Negrín - Minister of Finance Juan Negrín is a socialist politician and member of the PSOE. He is well educated in medicine and is multilingual, speaking French, German, English, and Russian. Though he had opposed Caballero s left-wing radicalism, he was named Finance Minister under Caballero s government. He brings a slightly more moderate stance to the coalition, though he has stashed the republic s reserves in the Soviet Union where he thought the money to be safer, and he is willing to play all his cards against the Nationalists. 8. Joaquín Chapaprieta - Minister of the Treasury Joaquín Chapaprieta is an independent who leans center-right. He is a skilled businessman and is responsible for managing Spain s budget. He works closely with Juan Negrín and Julio Carabias, but disagreements they may have among each other can risk putting Spain s financial system in gridlock. Chapaprieta makes the policy based on the budget, Negrín enacts the policy or tries to add on, and Carabias handles the money. 9. Julio Carabias - 1st Governor of the Bank of Spain Julio Carabias is head of the central bank and was responsible for the transfer of Spain s gold to Moscow under the direction of Juan Negrin. Carabias is a skilled banker and businessman, boasting a strong educational background in finance. He holds no obligations to any party, but he is very loyal to the republic and sympathizes with the communist cause. 10. Juan López Sanchez - Minister of Commerce Juan López Sanchez is an anarchist-syndicalist politician and member of the CNT. During the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, he fought underground along with Durruti and other anarchist figures. However, he currently prioritizes syndicalism over anarchism and wants to expand the CNT s base and make it more moderate. He was named Minister of Commerce under Caballero s government and advocates for a unified effort. 11. Joan Peiró - Minister of Industry Joan Peiró is an anarchist activist and member of the CNT from Catalonia. Unlike many of his anarchist counterparts, he had always favored the formation of the Republic. He was very recently named Minister of Industry under Caballero and is still figuring out how to do his job. He is uncertain to what extent he should distract himself from the fight against the fascists with furthering his anarchist cause.
12. Ángel Galarza Gago - Minister of the Interior Ángel Galarza is a socialist politician and member of the PSOE. He is a well-trained lawyer and specializes in criminal justice. He was appointed Minister of the Interior under Caballero s government in September. He considers it a necessity to maintain order and minimize distracting violence among civilians. Gago has no tolerance for traitors and will do whatever is necessary to maintain civilian trust and support. 13. Giuseppe Di Vittorio - Chief Political Commissar of the International Brigades Giuseppe Vittorio is an Italian communist and a leader of the European labor movement. He is a comintern member and the chief political commissar of the International Brigades. He is responsible for the creation and distribution of international propaganda in favor of the Spanish Republic. He is militantly antifascist and wants to form an international front against fascism. 14. Luigi Longo - Italian Correspondent on International Brigades Luigi Longo is an Italian communist who is working with the government to set up the International Brigades. French and Italian communist groups, with the help of Comintern are seeking to create a series of international volunteer units. Currently, Luigi Longo is in charge of working with the Spanish government to organize these units and otherwise help obtain support abroad. 15. Juan García Oliver - Minister of Justice Juan García Oliver is an anarcho-syndicalist and current leader of the CNT s FAI. He has a long history of anarchist activity, including membership in one of Durruti s anarchist gangs. A close friend of Durruti s, Garcia Oliver is connected to several anarchist paramilitary groups. Some question why he was appointed Minister of Justice given his anarchist background. As Minister of Justice, he wields executive responsibility for the enforcement of the law. 16. Lluís Companys - President of Catalonia Lluís Companys is a Catalonian nationalist and left-wing politician. He has been jailed countless times for his radical behavior when he was young, but also once for orchestrating an attempted coup against the democratically elected center-right government in 1934, during which he declared the Catalan State. After the 1936 elections, he was set free and remains president. He supports the Republican cause against the fascists and is well connected with POUM and the CNT. 17. José Antonio Aguirre - President of Basque Autonomous Community José Antonio Aguirre is a Basque nationalist politician and is currently the Basque President. He is educated in Law and started his own law firm through which he fought for workers rights under Primo de Rivera s dictatorship. He also is passionate about his family s growing chocolate company, protecting workers and Basque refugees rights, and football (soccer, of course). He loves his country, but the Basque region is very vulnerable now and he is in the process of quickly putting together a Basque Army to protect the region from the fascists.
18. Buenaventura Durruti - Anarchist Resistance Leader Buenaventura Durruti is an anarcho-syndicalist with several ties to the CNT and FAI. Throughout his life, he has founded and/or cofounded several anarchist paramilitary groups, one of which was responsible for an assassination attempt against King Alfonso XIII. Though he has not formal ties to the current Republican government, he is the current hero of anarchism, having already mobilized thousands of armed anarchists against fascist forces. The current government is seeking to keep him close and in-check while also working with him to mobilize anarchists against the fascists. 19. Julio Just - Minister of Public Works Julio Just is a Republican politician and member of Barrio s Republican Union Party. Although he studied engineering, he spent most of his adult life as a republican activist and a writer. Nevertheless, due to his educational background, he was appointed Minister of Public Works under Caballero s government in September. He hopes he can use his grip on Republican Spain s infrastructural capacity to destroy the fascist threat. 20. Jesús Hernández Tomás - Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Jesús Hernández Tomás is a communist politician and member of the PCE. Having studied at the Leninist School in Moscow, Jesus is a well-trained communist thinker who despises the Catholic Church and its influence on education. Nevertheless, he considers maintaining the Republic in these difficult times as more important than creating a communist utopia. In other words, he is willing to work with others. 21. Josep Tomàs i Piera - Minister of Labor, Health, and Social Welfare Josep Tomàs i Piera is a Catalonian politician representing the Catalan Republican Party in the Popular Front. He is educated in law and has a strong background in Catalonian left-wing politics, having been part of several regional parties and their executive committees. Although he is not a Catalonian ultra-nationalist, he does care about his region very much but also is willing to serve the greater Republic. 22. Vicente Rojo Lluch - General Staff of the Forces of Defense Vincente Rojo Lluch is a lieutenant colonel and head of the General Staff of General Jose Miaja s Forces of Defense. Though a Catholic with a moderately conservative leaning, he has joined the fight against the Nationalists. A veteran of academy, he is well trained and is well known for his skills in tactics and logistics. He is ready to work closely with General Miaja to ensure operations go smoothly. 23. Santiago José Carrillo Solares - Councillor of Public Order Santiago Carrillo is a communist politician and current Councillor of Public Order of Madrid. He is a PCE member and has a strong pro-soviet stance, favoring the dominance of the state over all matters to ensure the protection of a communist society. He is passionate about defeating fascism and will do anything to enforce order and prevent instability in Madrid.
24. Diego Martínez Barrio - Republican Union Party Leader/President of Cortes Diego Martínez Barrio is the founder and leader of the Republican Union Party and is currently the Speaker of the Cortes. He had been involved in the Radical Republican Party, a radical centrist party known for its strong anti-clericalism. He remains centrist, though more on the left, given that he left the Radical Republican Party to form his own party. He is skilled at playing politics and is struggling to keep the fragmented Republic together in the Cortes. 25. José Díaz - PCE Party Leader José Díaz is a communist politician and the current leader of the PCE. He has high aspirations for the communist cause and has many Comintern connections, especially in Russia. Though dedicated to his party, he is known to conduct party business with his Comintern partners without the knowledge of his party. Although he holds no official position in the government, he is skilled at playing politics and has a firm grip over his party, with whom he is dedicated to mobilize against the fascists. 26. Dolores Ibárruri - PCE Party Leader Dolores Ibárruri, aka. La Pasionaria (the Passionflower) is a communist politician of Basque origin co-leading the PCE with Jose Diaz. She is known for her anti- Catholic/religion position and is a star in the growing communist atmosphere. She is a skilled propagandist and is known for delivering speeches to large crowds in Madrid, inciting anger in them against the fascist danger. She is one of Spain s earliest female mainstream politicians and enjoys the support of many communists throughout Spain. 27. Andrés Nin - POUM Secretary General Andrés Nin is a communist politician currently working as regional Minister of Justice under Lluis Companys. Throughout his life, he has been involved with and or/cofounded several leftist parties such as the PSOE, the PCE, and the small and forgotten Communist Left of Spain (ICE). Though communist, he is anti-stalinist and formed the Worker s Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) in 1935 as an alternative to the PCE. 28. Julián Basteiro - Member of the Cortes Julián Basteiro is a member of the Cortes and a member of Madrid s town council. Though he holds no cabinet position or party leadership position, he has served as President of both the PSOE and the UGT and was also President of the Cortes a few years ago. He is a popular figure, enjoying widespread support for his membership in the Cortes, and he is also a popular philosophy professor. Because of his political experience, he is one of Azana s main diplomats at this time.
29. Karol Wacław Świerczewski - Chief of International Brigades Recruitment Karol Świerczewski is a Soviet colonel of Polish origin who is overseeing the development of the International Brigades recruitment center in Paris. He is working with the Spanish government to identify the ideal targets and tactics for recruiting international volunteers. Proud of his position, he wants to go down in the history books as pivotal to communist victory. He is a die-hard communist who sees the civil war as a vital and vulnerable moment for the global communist movement. 30. Vicente Uribe - Minister of Agriculture Vicente Uribe is a PCE member with a history as a metalworker. He embodies the communist spirit and is aggressively anti-fascist. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture under Caballero s government in September. He wants to secure support from agricultural areas so as to guarantee the Republic s support in those areas but also to guarantee that the Republic won t run out of food. He is pragmatic and a realist, ready to punish those who remove their support from the Republic. 31. Antonio Mije - PCE Member Antonio Mije is a Spanish communist politician and member of the PCE. He currently represents his party in Spain s War Ministery, which is led by Jose Miaja. He is more of a politician than a tactician. He considers himself a small dog with a big fight in him, and he is known to be very persistent to get his way. He is currently a lieutenant colonel, but wants to use the conflict and his political skills to acquire a name for himself. 32. Alfonso Castelao - President of Galacianist Party Alfonso Daniel Rodriguez Castelao is a Galacian nationalist. Educated in medicine, but also with an artistic flair as a writer and painter, Alfonso Castelao is cultured and sophisticated. He is also an internationalist and wants to see Galacia as distinct but also in federation with other Iberian regions. Although he despises violence, he is willing to use his strong influence in Galacia to mobilize militias as part of a unified cause against the Nationalist threat. 33. Juan Astigarrabía - Basque Minister of Public Works Juan Astigarrabía is a Basque communist politician. He is currently Minister of Public Works of Aguirre s Basque government. He is known for his history as a sailor and for the fishermen s marches he would lead as PCE member and later a leader of the Basque Communist Party. He is very involved in local Basque politics and finds his priorities there, though he recognizes the existential threat of the fascists and is willing to be a team player with the rest of Spain.
34. Francisco Barnés Salinas - Chief Adviser to the Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Francisco Barnés Salinas passion for education comes from his educational background in philosophy and literature and his extensive experience as a teacher and pedagogical or. He is passionate about educating and modernizing the rural areas, and he played a large role in barring Roman Catholic-run education systems in favor of purely secular education when he served as Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. He now serves as Chief Adviser to Jesús Hernández Tomás, the current Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. 35. Frederica Montseny - CNT Chief Recruiter Frederica Montseny is a female anarchist politician and writer. Although she has no official position in the current government, she is a prominent member of the CNT and plays an instrumental role in the CNT s propaganda and outreach campaigns. She hates violence and wants women to be a larger part of the political arena.
CONTACT US We would appreciate hearing your feedback about out conference. Please direct all inquiries and comments to our Secretary-General. Michael Treves Secretary-General vicssg@gmail.com You can also contact us at the mailing address below: IRO c/o The International Relations Organization at the University of Virginia PO Box 400435 Newcomb Hall Station Charlottesville, VA 22904-4435 Non-Affiliation Statement Although this organization has members who are University of Virginia students and may have University employees associated or engaged in its activities and affairs, the organization is not a part of or an agency of the University. It is a separate and independent organization which is responsible for and manages its own activities and affairs. The University does not direct, supervise or control the organization and is not responsible for the organizations contracts, acts, or omissions.