Exiliados españoles en la encrucijada de la Guerra Fría. Prieto, Esplá, Araquistáin y Llopis

Abstract

Personal attitudes were a determining factor in the position of Spanish Republican exiles regarding the question of restoring democracy in Spain at the beginning of the Cold War. After the Second World War had ended, many exiles came cherish a hope that such a development might be possible with the help of the victorious democracies, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom. They failed, however, to reach agreement as to which tactic to use in order to enlist this help, with some arguing in favour of giving the leading role to the government in exile, while others felt it was preferable to strike an agreement between all Spanish anti-Francoist groups in order to present a united democratic front to the new international institutions which had emerged in the post-war climate. The subtleties of both positions may be examined through a study of influential figures such as Indalecio Prieto, Carlos Espla, Rodolfo Llopis and Luis Araquistan, of whom we now have a greater knowledge thanks to recent biographies, which form the basis of this work.