Note on Indalecio Prieto

              Note on Indalecio Prieto

As a boy he sold newspapers in the streets of Bilbao.  He attracted the attention of a wealthy banker and liberal/businessman, Horacio Echevarrieta to whom he became a sort of confidential business agent, advising him on his affairs and managing his newspaper El Liberal de Bilbao:  in the end Prieto became sole proprietor of his journal.  He entered the Cortes in 1919 and became a leading figure in the Socialist Party.  His life long rivalry with Caballero dates from this time.  .  .  . Prieto stood for the more Liberal and flexible trade unionism of Bilbao against the severe authoritarian spirit of Castille which Caballero represented.
Gerald Brenan - "Spanish Labyrinth" 

Frank Jellinek (Civil War in Spain) says that Prieto was a pedlar and a shorthand writer. He could dominate the Socialist Party for many years but hardly gained a footing in the U.G.T. He was never a manual worker like Caballero.