Manuel Senante Martinez
| Manuel Senante Martinez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Manuel Senante Martinez 1873 Alicante, Spain |
| Died |
1959 Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Ethnicity | Spanish |
| Occupation | lawyer, politician, media manager |
| Known for | Editor |
Political party | Partido Conservador, Partido Integrista, Comunión Tradicionalista |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Manuel Senante Martínez (Alicante, 1873 – Madrid, 1959) was a Spanish Carlist/Traditionalist politician and editor.
Youth and professional career
Manuel Senante Martínez was born to Manuel Senante Llaudes, professor of history and director of Instituto de Alicante, a local scientific establishment. Manuel was raised at the family estate of Santa Rosa in San Juan, now a bedroom suburb of Alicante. As a youngster he moved out to Catalonia commencing law studies at the University of Barcelona, to continue them in Madrid later on. By the turn of the century he returned to the home city, launching his own career as a barrister in 1897. Representing his clients in cases ranging from private to commercial law he turned out to be fairly successful. Married to Joséfa Esplá Rizo, he fathered Manuel Senante Esplá and Immaculada Senante Esplá. Gradually grown to prominence, he got engaged in politically sensitive cases, like a dispute over a forcibly closed local parish cemetery, speaking for the Alicantine San Nicolás community before the Supreme Court. Eventually Senante became one of the Alicante municipal judges.
Early public activity
From the onset Senante was engaged in the local Alicantine public activities, having been driven principally by his profound religiosity. He associated with the Conservative Party, which at that time, following the assassinaion of Antonio Cánovas, was just being taken over by Francisco Silvela. Senante commenced his long editorial career by contributing to and also running the local party Andalusian daily, La Monarquía (1899-1900). Developed local structures of the then incipient Acción Católica, later presiding over the Círculo Obrero section of the organization, a rather futile attempt to broaden its social base. Became active in numerous local Catholic initiatives, e.g., he hosted the Junta Organizadora for erection of the Century Cross in Alicante (blown up in 1934 and reconstructed later).
Deputy to the Cortes
Throughout 16 years of his parliamentary career Senante was the key (at times the only) member of a tiny Integrist faction, occasionally assisted by Jose Sanchez; at this role he replaced Ramón Nocedal, who died in 1907, and the Integrist leader Juan Olazábal, who stayed out of the Cortes and pursued his career in the regional Vascongadas politics. Forming the ultra-conservative wing of the Cortes, Senante governed his activities by the principle of defending the sacrosanct Catholic religion; in general, he tended to vote with the Conservative Party against the Liberals, though at the later stages, especially after the assassination of José Canalejas, he even sided with the Liberals against the growing anarchist and socialist tide. By his liberal opponents he was described as an excessively passionate speaker but a good man inside.
After the parliamentarian break during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, Senante tried to resume his career in the Republican parliament. The massive Leftist tide of 1931 thwarted his ambitions; in the 1933 and 1936 elections he ran from his native Alicante, but was outmanouvred during the coalition talks and stood no chance as an independent candidate. It is not clear why the Traditionalist leadership allowed themselves to miss the most experienced deputy they could have presented (the most experienced Carlist in the Cortes in 1933, Esteban Bilbao, entered the parliament only in 1916, 1919, 1920 and 1927). After the Civil War Senante, as a firm opponent of the regime, stayed out of the Francoist quasi-parliament.
Regionalist
Himself being a Levantine and residing mostly in Madrid, Senante developed the adopted Vascongadas allegiances. This resulted partly from his long Gipuzkoan electoral ties and partly from the position of the Integrist party leader Olazábal, who early 20th century set up Liga Foral Autonomista de Guipúzcoa and in his La Constancia daily championed the cause of local fueros. As a legislator Senante defended the traditional Basque privileges and spoke in favor of the Basque autonomy, especially during the autonomist campaign in 1917-1919. He was active in the extra-parliamentary commission organized in 1918, taking turns with Manuel Chalbaud Errázquin. Entered the Academy of Basque Studies and promoted bilingualism.
During the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera he was appointed by the three Basque provinces as their informal representative in Madrid. Following the proclamation of the Republic Senante, much like Olazábal, was increasingly disappointed by the nationalist turn of the Basque campaign. On the fateful day of June 14, 1931 he preferred to take part in the Pamplona Carlist rally rather than in the Estella autonomous statute meeting. Facing an increasing feud between the once allies, the Basques and the Carlists, he decided to side with the latter.
El Siglo Futuro
Early 20th century Senante already had some experience as an editor, managing smaller local dailies; first the conservative La Monarquia and then the Integrist La Voz de Alicante. In 1907, following the death of Ramón Nocedal, he became editor-in-chief of the Madrid-based Integrist title El Siglo Futuro, set up in 1875 by Candidó Nocedal and already a prominent Traditionalist tribune. The newspaper remained under his leadership during the next 29 years and probably was the Senante’s lifetime achievement.
As head of El Siglo Futuro Senante was a strategic director, editor and manager rather than an author, though he did contribute as well. Key authors were the regular staff of Luis Ortiz y Estrada, Emilio Munoz (Fabio), Juan Marin del Campo (Chafarote) and Felipe Robles Delgano, with guest writers the key Traditionalist politicians like Conde Rodezno, José Lamamié or Manuel Fal Condé.
El Siglo Futuro remained an ultraconservative, vehemently antiliberal and then antidemocratic vehicle of pursuing traditional values centered on the Catholic faith. Under the guidance of Senante the daily pronounced on every issue faced by Spain of that time. It opposed militantly secular liberalism of the late Restauración, cautiously endorsed Catalan and Basque rights if framed in the traditional fueros, sympathized with the Central Powers in course of the First World War, despised the emerging anarchist and socialist Left, cheered the Primo de Rivera dictatorship to be disillusioned later, had few regrets about the fallen monarchy of Alfonso XIII but was almost explicitly hostile towards the Republic, welcomed the rise of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, to turn against the latter following the assassination of Dolfuss. The paper led the venomous campaign against the Jews and the freemasonry.
The last issue of El Siglo Futuro went to print on July 18, 1936; the premises of the newspaper were later ransacked and taken over by the anarchist CNT militiamen. During the Civil War the title was not re-created elsewhere in the Nationalist zone. Afterwards Senante was allegedly considering resuming his opus magnum, but afraid that it would be incorporated into the francoist propaganda machine he hesitated until finally abandoning the idea.
Carlist politician
Apart from a brief initial conservative spell before 1905, Senante was a Carlist for the rest of his life. In 1905-1932 he remained within the broad Traditionalist movement as a member of the Integrist Party, often joining forces with the Carlist/Jaimist/Mellist deputies in the Cortes. During the dictablanda period he worked towards rapprochement by issuing a joint Manifesto of 1930, published to defend Religion, Fatherland and Monarchy. Had no doubts when Olazábal led the Integrists back to the Carlist mainstream in 1932.
In the Junta Suprema Tradicionalista, the executive body of the new united Communión Tradicionalista, he represented Levante and Andalusia. In 1932 he publicly presented the doctrine of disobedience to the Republic, publishing his Cuestiones candentes de adhesión (on friendly terms with cardinal Segura, he earlier advised him intransigence, which cost the primate expulsion from the republican Spain). Though initially a leading figure in the Alfonsine-initiated Acción Popular, he later turned into an outspoken opponent of collaboration with the Alfonsists within TYRE, promoted by Rodezno. Together with Lamamie and Fernando Contreras he successfully launched the candidature of Manuel Fal Condé as a party leader in 1934. The same year he entered Consejo de Cultura de la Comunión, a body within the movement entrusted with diffusion of the ideology.
It is not clear to what extent Senante participated in the Carlist plot against the Republic, but he was certainly at least fully aware of it. During the coup of July 1936 Senante was in Valencia, where the rebels failed. He avoided almost certain incarceration (his Madrid house was ransacked) by seeking refuge in a foreign diplomatic mission and eventually made it to the Nationalist zone. Initially he settled in Burgos, nominated a member of the Junta Nacional Carlista de Guerra.
Following the expulsion of Fal Condé and forced amalgamation of the Carlist movement within the FET in 1937, Senante decided not to comply and moved out to Vitoria. According to some sources, in 1941 he could have been involved in a plot against Franco, which left him injured in a related car accident. In 1942 he entered Junta Auxiliar, a body loyal to the Carlist regent-claimant Don Javier, and issued a statement condemning the intruder and usurper regime. This declaration was followed in 1943 by Reclamación del poder, delivered to Franco by general Vigón (and ignored). During the clandestine monarchist meeting in Seville in 1944 he voted to support an attempt to overthrow Franco, a plan which has eventually came to naught.
By the end of his life Senante withdrew from politics, though remained within the ruling bodies of formally illegal Traditionalist structures and a member of Junta Central de Acción Católica. Remained loyal to Don Javier and did not join the Rodezno-led Carlists who switched their allegiances to the Alfonsist claimant, Don Juan. He was also counselor to the Banco de Crédito Local, a member of the Institute of Social Reforms, director of the National Institute of Forecasting and a lawyer of the Roman Rota.
Legacy
In 1954 Senante was nominated favorite son by the native city of Alicante, given his opposition to the regime an act of some courage in the Francoist Spain. Following the death in 1959 his name went into oblivion, which continued after the Spanish transition to democracy. Today no street is named after him in Alicante, though there is a very short street commemorating his father, carefully distinguished from son as catedratico Senante Llaudes. The official national Spanish digital archive summarizes El Siglo Futuro as most reactionary, promoting fanatic fundamentalism and dubbed a caveman. No biography has been published. Contemporary historiography highlights anti-Semitic and antidemocratic profile of El Siglo Futuro. The official website of the Alicante self-government does not mention Senante in the hijos predilectos section. Senante is neither mentioned by the contemporary Carlist website.
See also
References
- Martin Blinkhorn, Carlism and Crisis in Spain 1931-1939, Cambridge 1975, ISBN 9780521207294
- Jordi Canal, Banderas blancas, boinas rojas. Una historia política del carlismo, 1876-1939, Madrid 2006, ISBN 9788496467347
- Eduardo González Calleja, La prensa carlista y falangista durante la Segunda República y la Guerra Civil (1931-1937), [in:] El Argonauta Espanol 9/2012
- Cristina Barreiro Gordillo El Carlismo y su red de prensa en la Segunda República, Madrid 2003, ISBN 9788497390378
- Hemeroteca Digital, El Siglo Futuro
- J. Madiran, L`intégrisme. Histoire d`une histoire, Paris 1964
- Isabel Martin Sanchez, La campaña antimasónica en El Siglo Futuro, [in:] Historia y Communicación Social 1999
- J.N. Schumacher, Integrism. A Study in XIXth Century Spanish politico-religious Thought, "The Catholic Historical Review", XLVIII, 1962-1963, pp. 343–364
External links
- [http://www.congreso.es/portal/page/portal/Congreso/Congreso/SDocum/ArchCon/SDHistoDipu/SDIndHistDip?_piref73_1340024_73_1340023_1340023.next_page=/wc/servidorCGI&CMD=VERLST&BASE=DIPH&FMT=DIPHXLDA.fmt&DOCS=1-25&DOCORDER=FIFO&OPDEF=Y&QUERY=%28108200%29.NDIP. Historical Index of Deputies.]
- Carlist press during the Republic
- Manuel Senante in euskomedia
- Second Republic and religion
- sympathetic account
- anti-Jewish threads in El Siglo Futuro