'Gallo': commander in Spain and the Resistance, PCI secretary-general who endured Cominform self-criticism and succeeded Togliatti
When he succeeded Togliatti as PCI secretary-general in 1964, Longo declared: 'I am a secretary, not a boss.'
A founder of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) at the 1921 Livorno Congress, Longo fought as inspector-general of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War under the nom de guerre 'Gallo.' During World War II he commanded the communist Garibaldi Brigades in the Italian Resistance and afterwards served as PCI deputy secretary under Palmiro Togliatti. In September 1947 he attended the founding Cominform conference at Szklarska Poręba as the PCI's delegate alongside Eugenio Reale, where the PCI and the French Communist Party were subjected to harsh criticism and forced into a self-critical turn toward militant struggle. Succeeding Togliatti as secretary-general in 1964, Longo pursued the 'Italian road to socialism' with growing autonomy from Moscow and formally opposed the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1921Co-founder of the PCI at the Livorno Congress
- 1936–1939Inspector-General of the International Brigades in Spain, nom de guerre 'Gallo'
- 1943–1945Commander of the Garibaldi Brigades, Deputy Commander of the CVL
- 1945–1964Deputy Secretary of the PCI
- 1947.09PCI delegate to the Cominform founding conference (Szklarska Poręba)
- 1964–1972Secretary-General of the PCI
- 1972–1980Honorary President of the PCI
Related historical events
- 1934–1939The Comintern’s Popular Front turnInspector-general of the International BrigadesServed as inspector-general of the Brigades under the name “Gallo”.
- 1936–1939The Spanish Civil WarInspector-General of the International BrigadesFrom 1936 to 1939, he fought in the Spanish Civil War as Inspector-General of the International Brigades.
- 1947–1948The Marshall Plan and the Cold WarItalian delegate subjected to self-criticismHe attended the Szklarska Poręba conference as a delegate of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) alongside Eugenio Reale, and was forced into self-criticism like the French Communist Party.
- 1968The Prague SpringPCI secretary-general who supported the Prague SpringIn 1968, he supported the Prague Spring and formally opposed the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
"A secretary, not a boss": the mass-struggle line and Vie Nuove
Released from Ventotene in August 1943, Longo took the general command of the Garibaldi Brigades, the communist partisan formations, when the armistice was announced on 8 September, alongside Pietro Secchia, Gian Carlo Pajetta, Giorgio Amendola and Antonio Carini; he then became deputy commander of the Corps of Volunteers of Liberty and a close collaborator of Ferruccio Parri. Politically he stood, against Mauro Scoccimarro, for broad operational unity, while insisting that a popular government springing directly from the CLN committees must succeed the discredited Badoglio government; through the paper La nostra lotta he carried on the reorganization of communist cadres.
At the PCI's Fifth Congress in December 1945 he delivered the report on the prospect of a "single party of the working class" and was elected deputy secretary. Holding that post until 1964, he kept a political profile closer to his friend Secchia than to Togliatti, preferring a line grounded in struggle and the mobilization of the masses over primarily parliamentary action. Party historiography nonetheless treats him as never tempted by adventurism, extremism or dogmatism, and as always identifying with Togliatti's strategy. Among his initiatives was the magazine Vie Nuove, which he conceived and edited to reconcile mass media, leisure and popular culture with political analysis.