Jesús María José Dalmacio Iglesias García (1879–1933) was a Spanish Carlist politician, active almost exclusively in Catalonia. His career climaxed during one term in the Congress of Deputies (1910–1914) and one term in the Senate (1918–1919). He did not manage to build his personal following; in historiography he is considered a unique case of a right-wing revolutionary who strove to launch a Christian, violent, urban, working class, anti-establishment movement. The bid ultimately failed and in the 1920s Iglesias withdrew from active politics.
Family and youth
The ancestors of Dalmacio Iglesias were related to Galicia. His paternal family originated from Orense; his grandfather, Victorio Iglesias Fernández, served as oficial primero of Tesorería de Hacienda in the city.Xosé A. Fraga Vázquez, Luis Iglesias Pardo. Un especialista en Medicina naval, [in:] Consello de Cultura Gallega service 02.05.14,, available here He married Vicenta Pardosee Iglesias' birth certifice, available at the official website of the Spanish senate here and a copy of birth certificate available here and the couple had at least two sons; both of them studied medicine. The younger one, Luis Iglesias Pardo, served as physician in the Spanish navy; he gained some recognition in the maritime and local Galician realm as author of scientific works on medicine, sanitation and hygiene in the navy, all published in the 1870s and 1880s.for the list of Iglesias Pardo's works see Fraga Vázquez 2014 The older brother, Antonio Iglesias Pardo (1844–1902),for birth date see Dalmacio's birth certificates referenced above; in 1879 his father was 35 years old. For death date see El Noroeste 08.02.02, available here opted for a civilian career; in the 1870s he served in Cáceres, but in 1885 he left ExtremaduraBoletín oficial de la provincia de Cáceres 09.01.85, available here and returned to his native Orense. Until the mid-1890s he worked as surgeon in the city and in some neighboring locations, including these already in the Salamanca province.La Correspondencia de España 02.05.94, available here In 1898 he commenced practice in the Santiago de Compostela hospital,El Eco de Santiago 23.06.98, available here where he served until his premature death.El Eco de Santiago 15.11.98, available here
At unspecified time though probably prior to the mid-1870s Antonio Iglesias married María Asunción García Legond, a native of Santiago and member to another family related to military medical services.Semanario Farmaceutico VI/24 (1878), available here It is not clear how many children the couple had. Dalmacio was born during the Cáceres spell of his father, where he probably spent his childhood years. In the mid-1880s he moved with his parents to Orense, living at calle Cervantes 15.Boletín oficial de la provincia de Orense 30.11.94, available here It is there where in the local Insituto – the secular secondary school – he was rewarded with high grades upon his bachillerato.Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana, vol. 28, part I, Madrid 1925, p. 939 At an unspecified time yet most likely in the late 1890s he enrolled at the faculty of law at Universidad de Santiago, where his career was punctuated by a brief period of military service.El Eco de Santiago 31.08.98, available here As a university student he performed brilliantly; Iglesias obtained governmental prize in course of the curriculum, was rewarded for his study on legal rights of married woman and achieved when he graduated in 1902.El Eco de Santiago 01.10.02, available here
Upon passing entry exams in early 1903 Iglesias was admitted to Ministerio de HaciendaDiario de Burgos 09.02.03, available here, and El Eco de Santiago 29.04.03, available here and moved to Madrid,El Eco de Santiago 06.11.03, available here soon to be placed as the ministry delegate in Barcelona. In ciudad condal in 1907El Tradicionalista 16.06.07, available here he married Mercedes Janer Milá de la Roca (died 1963),Hoja oficial de la provincia de Barcelona 29.04.83, available here daughter to a Catalan Carlist leader and wealthy entrepreneur José Erasmo Janer Gironella.for genealogical tree of the Janer family see Gary Wray McDonogh, Good Families of Barcelona: A Social History of Power in the Industrial Era, Princeton 2014, , p. 160 Dalmacio and Mercedes settled in the Catalan capital.Javier Pérez-Roldán Suanzes-Carpegna, Janer y Milá de la Roca (María de los Ángeles de), [in:] Tradición Viva service 05.10.15, available here None of their descendants became a publicly recognized figure. They had one child, María de las Mercedes, who married a navy officer Federico Caso Montaner.La Vanguardia 19.10.35, available here Dalmacio Iglesias did not live to see his only grandson, Alberto Caso Iglesias,born 1935, died 2015; for date of birth see La Vanguardia 19.10.35, available here, for date of death see Albert María Caso Iglesias entry, [in:] Capgros service, available here who would later become a physician.La Vanguardia 20.10.60, available here Dalmacio's sister-in-law María gained name as a Carlist propagandist and activist,Pérez-Roldán Suanzes-Carpegna 2015 while his brother-in-law Ignacio became a locally known writer. Cousins of his wife Erasme and José Lasarte Janer turned recognized Catalan artists, respectively a painter and a writer. It is not clear whether a well-known singer Julio Iglesias, who also originated from Orense, was his distant relative.Julio Iglesias' paternal grandfather, Ulpiano Iglesias Sarria (born in Orense in 1877), was a military and a pharmacist. No information on Iglesias Sarria's ancerstors is readily available
Early public activity (before 1910)
The young Dalmacio has early developed a penchant for letters and already in 1893 he contributed to local periodicals.the local Galician dailies that Iglesias contributed to were El Eco de Orense, La Voz Católica, El Derecho and La Nueva Epoca; the weekly was La Bruja; all this information has been provided by Iglesias himself, Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana, vol. 28, part I, Madrid 1925, p. 939 During his academic period he kept publishingEl Noroeste, La Gaceta de Galicia and El Pensamiento Gallego, Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana, vol. 28, part I, Madrid 1925, p. 939 and founded an ephemeral literary weekly Santiago. He practiced his oratory skills in Ateneo Escolar Compostelano, where he became first the secretary and then the president, and in Ateneo Leon XIII.Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana, vol. 28, part I, Madrid 1925, p. 939 Inclined towards literature, he used to read out his own poetryEl Eco de Santiago 10.12.97, available here, also El Eco de Santiago 09.12.01, available here and wrote prosaic pieces in Gallego,El Eco de Santiago 24.02.98, available here his works were flavored with militant religious zeal. In 1902 he took part in the Catholic Congress in Santiago and presented a paper at a section dedicated to religious orders.El Eco de Santiago 14.07.02, available here It was during the academic period when Iglesias was fascinated by the personality of Juan Vázquez de Mella and got attracted to Carlism.Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana, vol. 28, part I, Madrid 1925, p. 939
It seems that upon arrival in Catalonia Iglesias engaged in Carlist youth structures; in 1904 he was noted as giving lectures in Círculo Tradicionalista of BarcelonaEl Eco de Santiago 17.10.94, available here and in late 1905 he became vice-president of Juventud Tradicionalista in the city,El Tradicionalista 04.11.05, available here delivering addresses also elsewhere in Catalonia, e.g. in Gerona.El Norte 10.12.16, available here At the time the Catalan Carlists were more than ever prepared to swallow their skepticism about alliance with other anti-governmental parties, especially the regionalists from La Lliga; the strategy produced a broad electoral alliance known as Solidaridad Catalana. Iglesias spoke vehemently against this "hermandad vulgo pisto rabioso pactada"; his highly emotional harangues earned him attention of the Liberal and Republican press, as already in early 1906 he featured as a negative point of reference.La Lucha 02.03.06, available here
Apart from his duties as a Ministry of Finance delegate Iglesias practiced also as a lawyer.El Tradicionalista 16.06.07, available here In 1908 he got involved in a controversial and widely discussed case known as "caso Rull". Rull was an undercover police operative who penetrated the world of Barcelona proletarian conspiracy but was himself charged with terrorism, perhaps related to some extreme party or organization.the explosives that Rull was associated with were planted in obscure and unfrequented passages apparently with little harm intended, which led some to suspect he was on service of an unidentified extreme party aiming at bringing police forces into disrepute, compare El Pais 09.04.08, available here, see also Eduardo González Calleja, La razón de la fuerza: orden público, subversión y violencia política en la España de la Restauración (1875–1917), Madrid 1998, , p. 401 Iglesias first represented some of the defendants in courtLa Correspondencia de España 26.03.08, available here and later defended Rull himself in an appeal case.El Bien Público 25.04.08, available here The two seemed to have developed sort of friendship yet the prosecutor had his way and Rull was eventually executed;Los Debates 10.08.08, available here during and after the affair Iglesias was widely quoted speaking on terrorism and related issues.La Correspondencia de Valencia 27.05.08, available here The Rull affair gained Iglesias a name in Barcelona, since in 1909 he emerged as expert on "antrolopología criminal".La Bandera Regional 27.11.09, available here
Once the city was rocked by riots known as Semana Trágica Iglesias voiced against "doctrinas positivistas" and secular teaching, identified as primary roots of urban unrest.La Bandera Ragional 27.11.09, available here In 1909 and in response to left-wing violence Iglesias engaged in Catholic social actionEl Social 03.04.09, available here and was among the founders of Carlism-related Comité de Defensa Social,Las Provincias 26.11.09, available here a hybrid organisation with characteristics of a cultural centre, a mutual help organization, a militia and a trade union. As a joint CdDS and Carlist representativeEl Norte 19.04.10, available here supported by other right-wing groupingsJuan Ramón de Andrés Martín, El cisma mellista. Historia de una ambición política, Madrid 2000, , p. 134 he ran in the Cortes elections from Gerona in 1910; riding the wave of anti-Left backlash which followed The Tragic Week he somewhat unexpectedly emerged triumphant.in 1910 Iglesias received 2,957 votes out of 8,653 votes cast and 11,344 voters entitled, compare the official Cortes service, available here Iglesias defeated a Republican Eduardo Fernández del Pozo and liberals, Jaime Roura and Pablo Bosch y Barrau
Political climax (1910-1914)