Pío Moa
| Pío Moa | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1948 Vigo, Galicia, Spain |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Subject | 20th century |
| Notable works | Myths of the Civil War |
Luis Pío Moa Rodríguez (Vigo, Galicia, 1948) better known as simply Pío Moa, is a Spanish writer and journalist. He has authored historical essays about the origins of the Spanish Civil War, the Second Republic in Spain, Francoism and the various political movements of that era.
Following the death of Franco and the reinstatement of a democratic regime in Spain, a slow process of opening of archives and publicizing of Civil War related documents began. In the face of this process Moa started rescuing the Francoist theses that the parties which formed the Popular Front were ultimately responsible for the Spanish Civil War and the rise of in Spain. Moa maintains that they have left a legacy of "moral, political and intellectual devastation", accusing the left of hypocrisy in regards to democracy and totalitarianism, as well as claims that the material aid provided by Stalin and the USSR to the Spanish Republic in the Civil War not only prolonged the war causing innumerable deaths but was also equivalent to the help provided by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to General Franco.
The polemical and politically incorrect nature of Moa's writings have gained him much public attention in Spain and a measure of controversy as a result; his best-selling book, Myths of the Civil War, with 150,000 units sold, was a best-seller for six consecutive months.
Born during 1948 in Vigo, Galicia, Spain. During his youth, Moa was a radical anti-Francoist agitator. He was a militant of the Communist Party of Spain (and its reconstituted version), as well as the clandestine Maoist, designated-terrorist organisation GRAPO. It was involved in violent clashes with the government's Movimiento Nacional. Moa was present at the murder of a policeman on 1 October 1975, carried out after the execution of two ETA and three FRAP members. Two other members of GRAPO, Enrique Cerdán Calixto and Abelardo Collazo Araújo, were also present; Cerdán shot the police officer. Moa was expelled from GRAPO in 1977, he later recalled this period of his life in About a time and a country, the violent Left. Following the transition of Spain to democracy, Moa dedicated himself to the study of contemporary Spanish history, evolving over time to a Francoist position.
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