Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)
Name	Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)
Native name	Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
Founded	1910 (formalized 1911)
Type	Confederation of trade unions
Headquarters	Barcelona, Spain
Key people	Santiago Salvador, Buenaventura Durruti, Francisco Ascaso, Federica Montseny
Ideology	Anarcho-syndicalism, anarchism
Affiliates	Federación Anarquista Ibérica, Solidaridad Obrera

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions with roots in the early 20th century labor movement in Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Málaga. It has been influential in struggles involving workers in Catalonia, Andalusia, Aragon and the Basque Country, engaging with groups such as the Federación Anarquista Ibérica, Federación Obrera, Unión General de Trabajadores and the Partido Socialista Obrero Español in periods of alliance and conflict. The CNT's history intersects with major events including the Tragic Week, the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, the Second Spanish Republic, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Transition to democracy.

History

The CNT emerged from the trade union activism in Barcelona, influenced by figures like Santiago Salvador, Anselmo Lorenzo, and Ángel Pestaña, and organizations such as the Federación Local de Sociedades Obreras, Sociedad de Resistencia, and the Federación Regional de Trabajadores de la Región Española. Early decades saw confrontations during the Tragic Week, the Rif War protests, and repressions under the Primo de Rivera regime and later under the Miguel Primo de Rivera dictatorship and the Second Spanish Republic. During the 1930s CNT membership swelled alongside the Partido Comunista de España, Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, Unión General de Trabajadores and Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas conflicts. The CNT played a central role in the revolutionary wave that overlapped with general strikes in Catalonia and Andalusia, and with militias led by Buenaventura Durruti and Francisco Ascaso during the Spanish Civil War. After Nationalist victory under Francisco Franco, the CNT was proscribed, forcing leaders into exile in Mexico, France, and Argentina and prompting clandestine resistance akin to the Maquis and international anarchist networks. During the late Franco era and the Transition, splits produced the CNT (interior) and the CNT (reunified tendencies), relating to movements such as Comisiones Obreras, Sindicato Vertical opposition, and the Federación Anarquista Ibérica.

Ideology and Principles

CNT ideology centers on anarcho-syndicalism, drawing on theorists and activists like Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Errico Malatesta and Rudolf Rocker, and interacting with currents in social anarchism and libertarian socialism. Core principles include direct action, workers' self-management, federalism, anti-authoritarianism, and the rejection of electoral participation favored by social-democratic and communist organizations such as the Partido Comunista de España and Unión General de Trabajadores. CNT discourse engaged with contemporary debates involving the Russian Revolution, Bolshevism, the Comintern, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, and syndicalist currents in France, Italy, Germany and Britain. Influential CNT militants like Federica Montseny advocated anarchist perspectives on education, healthcare and social reform, contrasting with policies of the Second Spanish Republic, Falangist institutions, and conservative churches such as the Catholic Church.

Organization and Structure

CNT structure is federative and federalist, organized into unions, local federations, regional federations, and a national congress, reflecting practices similar to the International Workers' Association and other syndicalist federations in Europe. Local bases in Barcelona, Madrid, Zaragoza, Seville, Valencia and Bilbao coordinated through regional bodies and sectoral unions in rail, CNT-affiliated press like Solidaridad Obrera, industry cells in metallurgy and agriculture, and neighborhood assemblies. Decision-making relied on delegate mandates, recallability, and collective assemblies, contrasted with hierarchical models used by the Partido Comunista de España, Unión General de Trabajadores and Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Internal debates produced currents such as the Treintistas, who clashed with insurrectionary wings, and produced splits mirrored in exile networks across Paris, London, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City.

Role in the Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War CNT militias and collectives were pivotal in Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia and Valencia, collaborating and contesting with the Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, Partido Comunista de España, Juventudes Socialistas, and Republican institutions of the Second Spanish Republic. Under leaders like Buenaventura Durruti and Francisco Ascaso, CNT militias participated in the defense of Madrid, the Aragon front, and the collectivization of industry and agriculture in collectivist projects alongside the Federación Anarquista Ibérica. CNT involvement included the Barcelona May Days conflicts with Partido Comunista de España and Unión General de Trabajadores and engagement with international volunteers such as the International Brigades and figures like George Orwell who documented internecine struggles. Decisions to enter ministries in Republican governments provoked controversy within CNT ranks, involving debates over pragmatism versus purist anarcho-syndicalist tactics, and interactions with foreign powers including the Soviet Union and French Republic.

Post-war Repression and Exile

Following Nationalist victory under Francisco Franco, CNT leaders and members faced execution, imprisonment in penitentiary institutions, forced labor, and exile to Mexico, France, Argentina and Uruguay. Exiled CNT networks in Paris, Toulouse, Marseille and London maintained links with the Federación Anarquista Ibérica, Solidaridad Obrera, and international anarchist groups, while clandestine resistance inside Spain connected with the Maquis, Basque nationalist movements, and dissident labor currents. Repression under Franco's Dirección General de Seguridad and police apparatus dissolved open CNT activity, prompting internal splits between collaborationist and intransigent factions and leading to legal re-registration debates during the Transition alongside Comisiones Obreras and Unión General de Trabajadores.

Contemporary Activities and Influence

In the contemporary period CNT has engaged in labor struggles, anti-austerity protests, okupación movements, and campaigns around workplace self-management in Barcelona, Madrid, Zaragoza and other cities, interacting with contemporary movements such as the 15-M, Podemos, Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca, and international solidarity networks. CNT-affiliated unions and collectives have organized strikes in logistics, transport, education, and health sectors, and have produced publishing projects, cultural centers and cooperatives linked to mutual aid traditions found in anarchist milieus including Federación Anarquista Ibérica and Iberian exile communities. The CNT continues to influence debates in European syndicalism, Latin American labor movements, and global anarchist theory, collaborating and competing with organizations such as the International Workers' Association, Industrial Workers of the World, Confederación General del Trabajo, and various grassroots social movements.

Category:Anarcho-syndicalist organizations Category:History of Spain Category:Trade unions in Spain