Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist)

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PCE(m-l) symbol

Partido Comunista de España (marxista-leninista) (Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist), PCE (m-l)) was a communist political party in Spain, formed in 1964 through the merger of splinter groups of Communist Party of Spain (PCE). PCE(m-l) followed the line of the Communist Party of China and Maoism until 1976, when it PCE(m-l) took the side of the Party of Labour of Albania against the Chinese, during the events that led to the Sino-Albanian split.

At meeting in Paris (held in a house owned by American writer Arthur Miller, January 1971) PCE(m-l) launched the Coordinating Committee of FRAP (Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriota - the "Revolutionary Anti-fascist Patriotic Front"), which held its constituent conference in 1974, and was designed to carry out armed actions against the Francisco Franco dictatorial regime). Initially, the Front was led by Julio Álvarez del Vayo (a former member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). The execution of three FRAP members along with two members of Basque ETA on September 27 1975 brought world-wide condemnation of the regime.

Other fronts of PCE(m-l) were:

Convención Republicana de los Pueblos de España
Juventud Comunista de España (marxista-leninista)
Federación Universitaria Democrática Española
Unión Popular Antifascista

PCE(m-l) published Revolución Española. In 1977, during the Spanish transition to democracy, it started publishing Vanguardia obrera as the organ of the Central Committee of the party. A split surged in the party in 1981, with a dissident group forming a parallel PCE(m-l) and publishing its own version of Vanguardia obrera.

The sixth and last congress of PCE(m-l) was held in 1992, voting to dissolve the party. An agreement was made to form a new group, the Partido Comunista Democratico, but that was never carried out. The main leader of PCE(m-l), Raúl Marco, had broken away in 1991 to form the Colectivo Octubre, which evolved into Organización Comunista Octubre.