Foundation and early years (1901-1931) After the foundation of the
PSOE on 2 May 1879, socialist groups were gradually organised in the main towns and cities of Asturias. Thus, in 1891, the
Gijón local group was set up, followed by the
Oviedo group in 1892 and those of
Mieres and
Sama de Langreo in 1897. Between 1899 and 1901, socialism took root in Asturias and finally, on 27 January 1901, the founding Congress of the Asturian Socialist Federation of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (FSA-PSOE) was held in Oviedo's Centro Obrero (Workers' Centre).
Manuel Vigil Montoto was elected president of the first Provincial Committee.
Second Republic and Civil War (1931-1939) In 1934, the FSA-PSOE formed part of the workers' alliance formalised in the
Uníos Hermanos Proletarios (UHP,
Unite Proletarian Brothers) and agreed with the pact signed between the socialist trade union
Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT,
General Union of Workers) and the Regional Confederation of Labour of Asturias, León and Palencia of the
anarcho-syndicalist organisation
CNT. The UHP - which was later joined by other workers' organisations - played a significant role in the
1934 Revolution. During the
Spanish Civil War, the Socialist
Belarmino Tomás presided over the
Interprovincial Council of Asturias and León, later transformed into the
Sovereign Council of Asturias and León.
Franco's dictatorship (1939-1975) Like all other left-wing and republican parties, the FSA was outlawed and its members persecuted and sometimes killed. While the UGT, the trade union linked to the party, maintained some activity during the dictatorship, especially during the labour conflicts in the region, the main opposition to the francoist regime was the
Communist Party of Asturias (PCA) and its allies in the region.
Transition and democracy (since 1975) After
Franco's regime and with the
advent of democracy, the FSA regained its leading role.
Rafael Luis Fernández Álvarez presided over the two governments of the
Regional Council of Asturias, the pre-autonomous body that would govern Asturias from 1978 to 1982, as well as the first pre-electoral
government of the Principality of Asturias. On Sunday, 14 May 1978,
Felipe González and
Enrique Tierno Galván gave a rally in the
El Molinón football stadium in Gijón attended by 25,000 people. The FSA-PSOE won the
Presidency of the Principality in the
first regional election in 1983 with
Pedro de Silva Cienfuegos-Jovellanos as leader. In 1991 he was succeeded by
Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil Rubio, who resigned after the
Petromocho scandal and was replaced by
Antonio Trevín Lombán in 1993. After a legislature in opposition, in 1999 the FSA, led by
Vicente Álvarez Areces, once again gained access to the regional government - thanks in part to the instability generated by regional president
Sergio Marqués' break with the
PP, founding the
Unión Renovadora Asturiana (URAS, Asturias Renewal Union) in 1998. The socialists later won the regional elections in 2003 and 2007. After six months in 2011 of minority government led by
Francisco Álvarez-Cascos, president of
Foro Asturias (FAC,
Asturian Forum), another PP's split, the FSA regained the presidency of Asturias in 2012 with
Javier Fernández Fernández. He was re-elected after the
May 2015 elections. In the
PSOE crisis of 2016, a new leadership emerged in the FSA-PSOE that led to the 32nd congress and the election of
Adrián Barbón as Secretary General on 1 October 2017. Barbón himself was the head of the list for the
regional elections on 26 May 2019, winning six more seats than those won by Javier Fernández in 2015. Adrián Barbón was sworn in as President of the Principality of Asturias on 20 July 2019. ==Electoral performance==