Catalan publications in Buenos Aires and the impact of Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Abstract

The article analyzes the opinions of the two main Catalan publications in Buenos Aires, the magazines Ressorgiment and Catalunya, regarding the development of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The links between these media and the institutions of the Catalan community in the city and the role played by the first exiles who came to the country as a consequence of the war are also considered. Both magazines reflected the influence of Catalanism in the Río de la Plata region during the first half of the 20th century and vigorously defended the historical rights of Catalonia against the advance of Francoism. But while Ressorgiment assumed the positions in favor of secession with respect to Spain as their own and observed the war mainly as an external conflict, Catalunya combined firm opposition to the military rebellion with openness towards cooperation with the Spanish Second Republic in the anti-fascist struggle. This difference should also be reflected in the greater presence of exiles in the second magazine, both during the war and in the immediate post-war period.