Joan Peiró i Belis was a Catalan anarchist activist, writer, editor of the anarchist newspaper Solidaridad Obrera, two-time Secretary General of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo and Minister of Industry of the Spanish government during the Spanish Civil War.
Background
Though he was born in the Sants neighborhood of Barcelona, Peiró spent a large portion of his life in Mataró, just outside Barcelona, where he worked as a glass worker all his life in the cooperative glass factory Cristalleries de Mataró.
Career
Contrary to most anarchists" principles, in 1930, during the reign of Alfonso XIII of Spain, Peiró signed the "Manifesto of the Catalan Intelligentsia", which called for the establishment of a republic. Later, in 1931, Peiró signed Ángel Pestaña"s Manifiesto de los Treinta ("Manifesto of the Thirty"), which was critical of the more radical Federación Anarquista Ibérica influence on the CNT, which would have him temporarily removed from the CNT. In 1937, he drafted a piece of legislation that would have collectivized all of Spain"s industries, but after several redrafts, the final legislation provided virtually nothing of the original intent. Peiró was removed from his position on May 17, 1937, but returned to the government under Juan Negrín as Commissioner of Electricity.
Following the fall of the republic in 1939, Peiró fled to France, where he was turned over to Nazi Germany by the Vichy Regime in France, and was executed, after being turned over to the Franco government in Spain.
In Barcelona, a plaza adjacent to the main transportation terminal was named for Peiró. In 2002, on the 60th anniversary of Peiró"s death, a group in Mataró organized a celebration in honor of Peiró.
A red and black flag was laid on Peiró"s tomb, while the anthem of the CNT, To the Barricades was sung. Peiró"s son Josep, like his father, went on to be a leader of the CNT in exile, after having fought in the Civil War as part of the Ascaso Column.
Politics
A short time later, Peiró was stripped of his position of speaking for the CNT at a rally in Barcelona, but Peiró announced that he had removed his signature from the manifesto, and held his faith in anarcho-syndicalism.
Membership
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo]
On November 4, 1936, Peiró, and three other members of the CNT leadership, were appointed to ministerial positions in the Spanish government by Largo Caballero.