Spanish anarchist who served in the Republican government
In November 1936 she accepted a cabinet post. Her dispute with Emma Goldman over government participation exposed strategic differences among anarchists supporting the same revolution.
Spanish anarchist and writer associated with the CNT. She served as minister of Health and Public Assistance from November 1936 to May 1937. Her participation in the Republican government raised a difficult question for an anti-statist movement: could taking state office defend the revolution without compromising its principles? Her exchanges with Emma Goldman reveal disagreements over the relationship between anti-fascist war and social revolution.
Activities and affiliations
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1936–1937
Spanish Republic state institutionsMinister of Health and Social AssistanceMain
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1921Publishes her first short novel, Horas trágicas, beginning her writing career at fifteen
- 1927Joins the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI)
- 1931Joins the anarcho-syndicalist union CNT and gains prominence as a speaker
- 1936After the July coup, serves on the FAI peninsular committee and the CNT national committee
- 1936Appointed minister of Health and Social Assistance in the Republican government in November
- 1937Leaves office in May when the anarchist ministers resign after the Barcelona May Days
- 1939Flees into exile in France; based in Toulouse, works to rebuild the CNT in exile and edits anarchist papers
Related historical events
- 1931–1941.11.06Sexual Reform in the Second Spanish Republic and the Francoist Reaction (1931–1941)Minister of Health of the Republic (1936–1937)The CNT’s Minister of Health, who sought to extend the abortion reform to the whole Republic.
- 1936–1939The Spanish Civil WarRepublican health and public assistance ministerAs minister from November 1936 to May 1937, she pursued wartime medical and relief policies.
Government participation and revolution
Montseny and Goldman both saw the Spanish Civil War as an opening for social revolution. They disagreed over whether joining the Republican government could protect that revolution. Goldman criticized Montseny’s ministerial role; Montseny considered such criticism insufficiently attentive to conditions in wartime Spain. Their exchange shows why anarchism cannot be treated as a single, uniform political position.
Her work in health and public assistance and the political consequences of accepting state office are related but distinct questions. Social reforms did not settle the argument over governmental participation, while criticism of participation did not mean opposition to anti-fascist resistance. Chapter 11 of Untold Stories of the Spanish Civil War examines this tension through the two women’s writings and exchanges.