LARGO CABALLERO, FRANCISCO

fränthēsˈkō lärˈgō käbälyāˈrō, 1869–1946, Spanish Socialist leader and politician. A trade union leader, he initially followed opportunistic policies and even collaborated with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–30). After the overthrow of the monarchy he began to move in a more radical direction, first as minister of labor (1931–33) and then in the opposition. He was leader of the Socialists who broke up the electoral coalition with the progressive Republicans in Nov., 1933, and who organized the revolution of Oct., 1934, against the rightward draft of the new governments. His radical propaganda early in 1936 is considered an important factor in bringing the civil war of 1936–39. He was premier (1936–37) of a leftist coalition cabinet, but was ousted under Communist pressure by his colleagues for alleged inefficiency in prosecuting the war effort. He fled to France in 1939. After four years of imprisonment by the Germans, he died in Paris.

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