Carloctavismo

Carloctavismo (Spanish: [karloktaˈβizmo]) is a branch of Carlism, particularly active in the 1943–1953 period. In terms of dynastical allegiances it advanced the claim to the Spanish throne of Carlos Pio de Habsburgo-Lorena y de Borbón, styled as Carlos VIII, and his relatives. In terms of political line it collaborated very closely with Francoism.

During a hundred years of its history Carlism was headed by six successive claimants with clear heritage rights; however, in the early 1930s it was evident that the dynasty would soon extinguish. The pretender, Don Alfonso Carlos, was 82 when assuming the claim in 1931 and had no issue. For the first time ever the Carlists were neither clear who would be their next king nor how the issue was to be tackled. Don Alfonso Carlos seemed leaning towards a compromise with the Alfonsists, engineered though not sealed by his predecessor, Don Jaime. Such a perspective triggered protests; the dissenting Carlists claimed that a compromise with the liberal Borbón branch would be an insult to generations of their forefathers, who fought and died to topple the hated dynasty.

A Madrid Jaimista weekly was since late 1931 among the most outspoken opponents of dynastical compromise. It advocated appointing an heir during Don Alfonso Carlos’ lifetime; initially the focus was on Renato de Borbón-Parma. Headed by an ex-combatant of the Third Carlist War Juan Pérez Nájera, in February 1932 the group presented their cause in a letter to the claimant, who received them at a meeting in Toulouse but refused to bow to any pressure. The Cruzadistas, as they were already known, changed their strategy; though initially they seemed to rely on their king for nominating his heir, they began to call for a grand Carlist assembly, which would settle the issue. They did not propone any specific candidate openly and in a pamphlet by a mid-age military lawyer Jesús Cora y Lira they merely laid out the basics of their reading of the succession law; however, they were already in touch with the oldest daughter of the charismatic Carlist king Carlos VII, Doña Blanca, setting their sights on her youngest son, Barcelona-resident Carlos Pio, referred to as Don Carlos. In 1933 the Cruzadistas suffered two major setbacks. Carlos Pio, following brief incarceration related to the Sanjurjo coup, moved from Spain to Vienna. Don Alfonso Carlos, tired of constant pressure, expulsed the Cruzadistas group and in 1934 convinced his grandnephew to acknowledge having no succession rights. Nevertheless, the expulsed were now free to act; having formed a group with a challenging name , in early 1935 they staged a meeting in Zaragoza. It was styled as a Magna Asamblea advocated earlier; though in private many Carlists might have sympathized with their goals, formally the gathering represented a minor offshoot grouping. It adopted a declaration that Doña Blanca was in position to transmit legitimate hereditary rights to her sons. She publicly distanced herself from the enterprise, but her position changed when in January 1936 Don Alfonso Carlos eventually decided to sort the succession issue by appointing a distant relative, Javier de Borbón-Parma, a future regent. In May 1936 Doña Blanca issued a non-compatible statement declaring that after the death of her uncle, she would accept her hereditary rights to transmit them to her youngest son.

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