Indalecio Prieto : inter-departmental correspondence

              TRADES UNION CONGRESS.
INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE.
From: A. E. CARTHY. Department: INTERNATIONAL
To:  SIR WALTER CITRINE.  Date: 21ST DECEMBER, 1944.

SUBJECT: INDALECIO PRIETO.

The following is from the "International Who's Who":-
Indalecio Prieto; Spanish politician.   Former newspaper seller Bilbao; Socialist mem. Cortes 17-39; fmr. shorthand writer El liberal, later owner; Leader of the Socialist Party; Min. of Finance in Provisional Government April 31 and in Azana Govt. October 31; Min. of Public Works in Azana Cabinets Dec. 31 and Sept 33; Min. of Marine and Air in Caballero Cabinet Sept. 36; Min. of Defence in Negrin Cabinet May 37 - April 38; Min. without Portfolio April 38 - 39. Mexico City, D.F.
I spoke to Wm. Gillies who gave some important information. Prieto is at present the leader of the Spanish National Committee of Liberation which consists of all the Spanish political parties except the Communists and Basque Nationalists.    The U.G.T. are not represented on the Council, but they give it their support, and they are represented on the Technical Sub-Committee of the Committee of Liberation.
Wm. Gillies says that a Conference of members of the former Spanish Cortes will meet in Mexico on 10th January. There are about 250 Spanish M.Ps. abroad.    The Conference will proceed to elect a President.   The President will then appoint a Prime Minister who will, Gillies says, be Prieto. Those members of the Cortes who will be unable to attend will vote by proxy.   Gillies regards the whole proceedings as being most irregular.
By the way, according to Gillies, there are about 12,000 Spanish trade unionists in France, their leader being Gomez of the Transport Workers, who was here recently at an I.T.F. meeting. There are also about 6,000 Spanish Socialists in France, whose leader is Loquis.
Schevenels gives the following additional information. Prieto was originally and is mainly a journalist. His paper "El Liberal" was very influential. It was published in Bilbao, a strongly Catholic Centre where to be a Liberal
30 or 40 years ago was equivalent to being a Left Wing Socialist in some countries.
Schevenels adds that a previous attempt was made in 1939 to call a Cortes of refugee M.Ps. in France to discuss who was to

PTO.