SPAIN: On the Road to Madrid

SPAIN On the Road to Madrid

The feuding factions of Spain's opposition-in-exile, enormously heartened by the Big Three's slap at Franco (TIME, Aug.13), took a long stride down the road to Madrid. In Mexico City, now the capital of the Spanish emigration, all major parties last week agreed to recognize ex-Cortes President Diego Martinez Barrio as Provisional President of the Republic of Spain.

The Spanish emigrĺs are divided into some ten political groups. Their political hopes and hates are embodied in two juntas and three men:

¶Dr. Juan Negrin, Republican Spain's last Premier, who has heretofore claimed to be the head of the only legal Spanish Government. He is supported by the Communist-controlled Junta Suprema, de UniÍn National.

¶Indalecáo Prieto, Spain's Socialist ex-Defense Minister and Negrin's bitter enemy. Prieto is supported by the Junta Espaãola de Liberatián (moderate's and Socialists) whose President Alvaro de Al-bornoz calls Negrin "Russia's candidate."

¶Diego Martinez Barrio, who has always claimed that he is Spain's Provisional President (Negrin has denied it). In the past Barrio has worked with Prieto.

This week, it was expected that a special Cortes session would confirm Martinez Barrio. Then Dr. Negrin would resign his somewhat abstract office, and Barrio would ask a new premier to form a Cabinet.