PROPAGANDA

MOVEMENT
AND LA SOLIDARIDAD
Prepared by: Charles Cedricks G. Perez & John Carlo Constantino Nacino
&
 THE ARRIVAL OF RIZAL IN SPAIN
• Prior to the arrival of Rizal in Spain, many Filipino students were already
studying there like Pedro Paterno and Gregorio Sancianco who were both
active Filipino nationalists. When Rizal arrived in Spain in 1882, there
was an atmosphere of activism led mostly by students. Around this time,
Spain’s government was in disarray because the newly adopted 1876
constitution created a power vacuum. As political parties tried to
consolidate their power and politicians tried to secure their personal
agendas, shifting from one political bloc to another became common.
Corruption was prevalent in the Spanish government. Furthermore, a
series of government and cabinet reorganizations followed shortly after
every changed of party alignment.

The illustrados
 In addition, many people in Spain were illiterate because of the lack of
primary and secondary schools. Most importantly, the Church was still a
formidable force in almost every aspect of the Spanish society.

This was the situation in Spain that Rizal witnessed when he arrived. He
was also welcomed in an atmosphere of liberalism which exposed him to
ideas formerly foreign to him. This was when he became aware of the
concept of assimilation wherein the Philippines can be considered as a
province of Spain and not just a tributary colony. For Rizal, this meant that
Filipinos could be equal with the Spaniards.
 Shortly after arriving in Barcelona, Rizal started contributing to the short-
lived bilingual newspaper, Diariong Tagalog , together with Marcelo H. del
Pilar. Most of Rizal’s contribution were focused on the idea of national
regeneration through education. Likewise, Rizal also con-
tribute to other publications led by Graciano
Lopez Jaena. Jaena was the first to lead a series
of protests in writing against the injustices of
the Spaniards in the Philippines in the news-
paper Los Dos Mundos. Later on, Rizal found
himself writing side-by-side with Jaena’s
criticisms against the Spanish colonial regime.
Rizal the Reformist by Martino Abellana (1960)
In 1883, Rizal’s resentment against the Spaniards intensified when he
received a letter from his brother Paciano. The letter informed him about
the new Calamba parish priest, Father Villafranca, who was threatening
their father and demanding for advance rental payments.

In 1884, Jaena and Rizal delivered speeches at the Exposición de Bellas

Artes in Madrid where two Filipino painters were given recognition. Juan
Luna received an award for his Spoliarium and Felix Resurrección Hidalgo
for his Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho. In their speeches,
Jaena, condemned the abusesof the friars and the Spanish colonial
government in the Philippines, whereas Rizal encouraged the Filipino
youth to follow in the footsteps of Luna and Hidalgo.
Spoliarium by Juan Luna
 Rizal’s speech received various interpretation
both from Spain and the Philippines. In the
Philippines, Rizal’s speech was considered
seditious. Many believed that Rizal could never
return to the Philippines again as long as it was a
colony of Spain.
 It was in 1885 that Rizal became more active in contributing to various
newspapers. In 1888, Rizal joined an organization composed of Filipino
liberals exiled in Spain, the La Solidaridad. The organization aimed to
raise the awareness of Spain on the needs of its colony, the Philippines.
Galicano Apacible, Rizal’s cousin, issued a newspaper of the same name.
It was published in the Barcelona. Jaena and later on, del Pilar edited the
newspaper while Rizal was an active and significant contributor. It serve
as the principal organ of the reform movement. Most of the Articles
featured in La Solidaridad talked about the possibility of the Philippines
becoming a province of Spain with equal rights before the law, and
recognition of the freedom of speech and assembly.
La Solidaridad
 One of the Rizal’s most important contributions was the
Letter to the Young Women of Malolos published on February
22, 1889. It recognized the efforts and bravery of 20 women
from Malolos who wrote a petition letter to a Governor General
Valeriano Weyler to allow them to put up a night school where
they could study the spanish language under the tutelage of
Teodoro Sandiko. Though the petition was initially denied
because of the pressures and influence of the friars, the
perserverance of the women of Malolos prevailed.
 Jose Rizal also made a fearless forecast on the future of the
Philippines within a hundred years in his work, The
Philippines a Century Hence. It analyzes the various causes of
the miseries suffered by the Filipino people under the Spanish
colonizers. In connection to this, Rizal wrote another essay
published in La Solidaridad in Madrid in 1890 titled The
Indolence of the Filipino, as a response to the accusations of
the Spaniards that the Filipinos were indolent.
 Rizal argued that several factors can be
identified for such and most can be rooted in the
abuses commited by the Spaniards directed to the
Filipinos. Jose Rizal’s outstanding talent and
passion for writing, as evidenced by his
numerous works, greatly antagonized the friars
who were the usual target of his criticisms.
PROPAGANDISTS PEN NAMES
 After Jaena quit writing for the group , del Pilar assumed leadership. There were stories that
Rizal was offered the position of editor but rejected it as he thought it might create rift between the
two propagandistas. Soon, Rizal also stopped writing for the newspaper to dedicate his time in
addressing the calamba agrarian dispute that was further fueled by the eviction of the Mercado
family from the Dominican lands.