Calle de Julián Besteiro

Julián Besteiro (Madrid, 1870–1940) taught logic and philosophy at the Universidad Central before becoming one of the voices of Spanish socialism. He led the PSOE and the UGT after the death of Pablo Iglesias, and presided over the parliament that gave birth to the Second Republic in 1931. He embodied the moderate wing, wary of revolution and committed to the parliamentary path. In the final days of the Civil War he joined the Madrid Defence Council that sought a negotiated surrender. It did him no good: Franco’s troops arrested him and a court martial sentenced him to thirty years. He died in Carmona prison a year and a half later. Between 1953 and 2017 the street was called calle del General Varela, after an officer who rose up in 1936; the change came with the fifty-two streets renamed under historical memory.