ABSTRACT
Pere Ysàs examines the fortunes of the Spanish left during Francoism and the transition. Until the late 1950s, the left had little visibility due to the harsh repressive context. It was forced underground or to operate in exile. Republican parties disappeared from Spanish political life. A similar fate occurred with anarchism, which remained both deeply divided and unable to renew itself, whereas Spanish socialism was mostly invisible until the end of the regime. The PSOE successfully positioned itself for the new political context. During the Franco regime, the forces of Spain's left were re-constituted by Spanish and Catalan communist parties. Anarchist and socialist forces remained hostile to them, which in the case of the PSOE was accentuated by the Cold War. The communists demonstrated great organisational capacity and the ability to mobilise a variety of social sectors. Though it survived challenge by the new left, communists did not capitalise on the new democratic context and instead faced division, crisis and decline.
