Pablo Iglesias Posse was born in 1850 in Ferrol into a humble family. After his father's death, his family moved to Madrid. There, his younger brother Manuel died shortly afterwards of tuberculosis. Arriving in the city without a home or relatives to take them in, his mother left them at the San Fernando hospice, where Pablo began working as a printing apprentice.
In 1863, Pablo Iglesias began working as a typographer. Self-taught and with a rebellious nature forged by the harsh conditions of the hospice, he suffered the consequences in his health throughout his life. He worked in several printing shops in Madrid and joined the labor movement, participating in strikes and congresses of the International Workers' Association, leaving his mark on trade unionism and the world of printing.
Together with 24 others, he founded the PSOE on May 2, 1879, and the UGT on August 12, 1888. From the outset, he was a prominent leader in politics and trade unionism. He was president of the PSOE from 1888 to 1925, the year of his death.
His commitment led him to prison on multiple occasions for his activism, from typographers' strikes to convictions for libel. His courage and dedication left an indelible legacy in the history of socialism in Spain.
Throughout his career, he wrote thousands of articles in El Socialista and contributed to various publications. He also oversaw the administration of the newspaper, devoting himself entirely to it until 1925.
He spent his last years confined to his home due to health problems, but continued to write and be a moral reference point for the labor movement. He died on December 9, 1925, and his funeral was the largest demonstration in Madrid in a long time. When he arrived at the Civil Cemetery, labor societies from all over Spain were still leaving the Casa del Pueblo to pay their last respects.
The year 2025 marks two celebrations: the 175th anniversary of his birth and the centenary of his death, two dates that mark a complete cycle, a century of his physical absence, but also a century of the validity of his thinking.
In a world that is changing at breakneck speed, his ideas have not lost their relevance; they resonate with unwavering force in the challenges of our present. The Pablo Iglesias Foundation, an institution that bears his name, wishes to keep his legacy alive.
To honor his memory, we pay tribute in the most symbolic way: through this commemorative stamp. Each of these small pieces of paper will be a reminder, a silent witness that will travel through time and space, carrying with it the echo of his ideas. It is our commitment that his vision of a more just, equal, and humane world will not be forgotten.
