LESSON 4 .
La Solidaridad
On February 15, 1889, the first issue of La
Solidaridad came out and its editorial expressed its
aim:
Our aspirations are modest, very modest.
Our program, aside from being simple, is clear:
to combat reaction, to stop all retrogressive
steps, to extol and adopt liberal ideas, to defend
progress; in a word, to be a propagandist, above
all, of democratic ideas in order to make these
supreme in all nations here and across the seas.
The aims, therefore, of La Solidaridad are
described as to collect, to gather, libertarian
ideas which are manifested daily in the field of
politics, science, art, literature, commerce,
agriculture and industry.
We shall also discuss all problems relating
to the general interest of the nation and seek
solutions to those problems in high-level and
democratic manner.
***
With regard to the Philippines, since she
needs the most help, not being represented in
the Cortes, we shall pay particular attention to
the defense of her democratic rights, the
accomplishment of which is our patriotic duty.
That nation of eight million souls should not,
must not be the exclusive preserve of theocracy
and traditionalism.
History of the Filipino People. Teodoro A. Agoncillo
The contributors of the La Solidaridad were mostly
Filipinos, such as
 Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel)
 Dr. Jose Rizal (Laon Laan)
 Mariano Ponce (Naning, Kalipulo, Tigbalang)
 Antonio Luna (Taga Ilog)
 Jose Ma. Panganiban (Jomapa)
 Dr. Pedro Paterno
 Antonio Ma. Regidor
 Isabelo delos Reyes
 Eduardo de Lete
The desire to form a purely Filipino organization was
fulfilled with the establishment in Barcelona on
December 13, 1888 if La Solidaridad. This
organization was a sort of rival of Morayta's Madrid
group although the two organizations joined
together in a petition addressed to the Minister of
the Colonies asking for representation in the Cortes,
abolition of censorship of the press, and prohibition
of the practice of deporting citizens merely through
administrative orders.
The president of La Solidaridad was Rizal's cousin,
Galicano Apacible. Among the other officers were
Graciano Lopez-Jaena, vice-president, and Mariano
Ponce, treasurer. Rizal, in London at the time, was
named Honorary President. Unfortunately, Apacible
could not hold the wrangling reformists together. It
took the prestige of Rizal and the political wisdom of
del Pilar to unite the Filipinos in Spain and to
coordinate their efforts.
But finally, in February 15, 1889, the Filipino
propagandists were able to get together behind a
new publication which they called La Solidaridad,
and which for its more than five years of its
existence became the principal organ of the
propaganda movement. It was founded on February
15, 1889 and existed up to November 15, 1895. Its
first editor was Graciano Lopez-Jaena but he was
soon succeeded by Marcelo H. del Pilar. La
Solidaridad was a political propaganda paper with a
liberal, reformist orientation dedicated to the task of
fighting reaction in all its forms.
Certainly an important factor limiting the influence of
the propagandists was the fact that they wrote in
Spanish, a language virtually unknown to the
masses. Furthermore, censorship seriously limited
the inflow of such reading matter and made
possession of it very risky.
But despite all the foregoing, the influence of the
Propaganda on the revolution cannot be discounted.
True, La Solidaridad itself, Rizal's novels, and other
propaganda material had limited circulation, but
these reached the local ilustrados who in most
instances came to lead the revolutionary forces in
their provinces. The fund-raising efforts of local
committees and masonic lodges and the clandestine
attempts to distribute these materials involved more
individuals in the campaign for reforms. The very
attempts of the government to stop the entry of La
Solidaridad and prevent its distribution highlighted
the lack of freedoms that the propagandists were
condemning.
  Jose Alejandrino
Some friends of the Propaganda Movement also
contributed, notably Professor Blumentritt ( Austrian
ethnologist ) and Dr. Morayta ( Spanish Historian,
university professor and statesman ).
In the last issue of La Solidaridad (November 15,
1895), M.H. del Pilar wrote his farewell editorial
saying :
If readership was small, seepage of information to
other groups certainly occurred. And because what
the propagandists wrote were accurate reflections of
reality, a feeling of empathy developed wherever
news of their work was heard. The articulation of
their own feelings of oppression heightened the
ferment of the people and herein lay the continuity
between reformism and revolution despite their
diametrically opposed means and goals.

We are persuaded that no sacrifices are too

little to win the rights and the liberty of a nation The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Renato
that is oppressed by slavery. Constantino

The Philippines: A Unique Nation. Dr. Sonia M.

Zaide
La Solidaridad (The Solidarity) was an organization created in Spain on December 13, 1888.
Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the
organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony, the Philippines, and to
propagate a closer relationship between the Philippines and Spain. [1]
Headed by José Rizal's cousin, Galicano Apacible, it also issued a newspaper of the same name
which was published in Barcelona, Spain on February 15, 1889. It was edited by Graciano López
Jaena and later on by Marcelo H. del Pilar.[2] The social, cultural, and economic conditions of the
colonial Philippines were published in La Solidaridad. Speeches of the Spanish liberals about the
Philippines were also featured in the newspaper.

Contents

 1Members
o 1.1Other members
o 1.2International members
 2History
 3Notable contributors
 4See also
 5Notes
 6References
 7External links

Members

 Dr. José Rizal (Laong Laan and Dimasalang)

 Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel)
 Graciano Lopez Jaena (Diego Laura)
 Antonio Luna (Taga-Ilog)
 Mariano Ponce (Tignalang, Kalipulako, Naning)
 Jose Maria Panganiban (Jomapa)
 Dominador Gomez (Ramiro Franco)

Staff of La Solidaridad

Other members
 Dr. Pedro Paterno
 Antonio Maria Regidor
 Isabelo de los Reyes
 Eduardo de Lete
 José Alejandrino
 Juan Luna
 Miguel Moran
 Felix Hidalgo
 Pedro Serrano
 Haris Rataban
International members
 Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt (Austrian ethnologist)
 Dr. Miguel Morayta Sagrario (Spanish historian, university professor and statesman)
Note: Some friends of the Propaganda Movement also contributed.

History
La Solidaridad was established to express the goal of the Propaganda Movement towards achieving
assimilation with Spain.[3] The first issue of La Solidaridad came out on February 15, 1889. A
fortnightly and a bi-weekly newspaper, La Solidaridad serves as the principal organ of the Reform
Movement in Spain.[2]
Comite de Propaganda in the Philippines funded the publication of the La Solidaridad. The editorship
for the newspaper was first offered to Rizal. However, he refused because during that time he was
annotating Antonio de Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas in London. After Rizal, Graciano López
Jaena was offered the editorship of La Solidaridad and he accepted.[2]
On April 25, 1889, La Solidaridad published the letter entitled "The aspirations of the Filipinos",
which was written by the Asociación Hispano-Filipina de Madrid (English: Hispanic Filipino
Association of Madrid).[3] It pursued desires for:[4]

 Representation in the Cortes
 Abolition of censure
 An expressed and definite prohibition of the existing practices of exiling residents by purely
administrative order, and without a writ of execution from the courts of justice.
On December 15, 1889, Marcelo H. del Pilar replaced Graciano López Jaena as the editor of La
Solidaridad.[2][3] Under his editorship, the aims of the newspaper expanded. His articles caught the
attention of Spanish leaders and ministers.[3] Using propaganda, it pursued desires for:

 That the Philippines be a province of Spain

 Representation Filipino priests instead of Spanish friars — Augustinians, Dominicans,
and Franciscans — in parishes and remote sitios
 Freedom of assembly and speech
 Equal rights before the law (for both Filipino and Spanish plaintiffs)
After years of publication from 1889 to 1895, funding of the La Solidaridad became scarce. Comite
de Propaganda's contribution to the newspaper stopped and del Pilar funded the newspaper almost
on his own. Penniless in Spain, del Pilar stopped the publication of La Solidaridad on November 15,
1895, with 7 volumes and 160 issues. In del Pilar's farewell editorial, he said :
We are persuaded that no sacrifices are too little to win the rights and the liberty of a nation that is
oppressed by slavery.[5]

Notable contributors
Several writers contributed to La Solidaridad over its six years of existence, like Antonio
Luna, Anastacio Carpio, Mariano Ponce, Antonio María Regidor, José María Panganiban, Isabelo de
los Reyes, Eduardo de Lete, José Alejandrino, and Pedro Paterno. One of the most prolific
contributors though was Rizal's confidant Ferdinand Blumentritt, whose impassioned defense of the
Filipino interests was said to have been inspirational to the other writers and the readers of the
newspaper alike.[3]