Missió impossible: l’ambaixada republicana a Washington (1936-1949)

Abstract

When the Spanish Civil War broke out, the Spanish Republican intellectual and politician Fernando de los Ríos was sent to Washington as Spain’s ambassador. In this role, he worked to publicize the cause of the Spanish Republic to politicians and the American public, and involved people throughout the United States in fundraising for Spain. His ambition was to convince the American government to abandon their «non-intervention» policy and sell arms to the Spanish government. This was a very clear goal for de los Ríos, and it seemed logical that the United States —a democracy, after all— would eventually come to realize the error of «non-intervention». For three long years the ambassador thought he was on the verge of achieving a reversal in US policy towards Spain. It seemed that President Roosevelt and other American politicians sympathized with the Republic; it seemed that the news of German and Italian participation in the war against the Republic had shocked Americans. Even the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt berated her husband over his policy in Spain. During three years Fernando de los Ríos did his best to plead the Republican cause, and the American government’s consistent response was to be understanding, polite, and immovable. This article analyzes the obstacles de los Ríos faced, and situates them in the cultural and political context of the US in the 1930s.