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The phrase is priceless. It has been used by deputies, journalists, writers and, in general, anyone who is jaded with the politics and society of our country. «Gentlemen, I’ll be frank with you, I’m up to the balls of all of us». Few more words are needed to show the disagreement and the tiredness than those pronounced by the one who was the first president of the First Spanish Republic, Estanislao Figueras and Moragas, in June 1873. At least, that has spread over the decades, since the reality is that there is no documentary reference of the time that proves that the majestic statement was from Catalan. Do youHoax or reality? According to experts consulted by ABC, it is difficult to know.
What cannot be denied is that that mythical “I’m up to the hilt” that has been invoked in recent years perfectly defines the chaos that was experienced during that first republican experiment. And they were murky moments for politics and for the president. As an example, in just four months since the arrival of the First Republic in February 1873, the good old Figueras had to face the internal division of his own party, the recurrent stabs that were thrown by federal and unionists, the unilateral declaration of the Catalan State and even a series of attempts to return to the old regime. What seems strange, in fact, is that he did not go into exile earlier …
One another
Don Estanislao’s nightmare, the last at least – the man already had his previous troubles – began in the summer of 1873. May left anemic elections in which apathy and high abstention prevailed. In Madrid, 28% of those summoned went to the polls; in Catalonia, barely 25%. The feds won, but the cloud of tension was chewed. On June 1, the former president of the Executive Branch made it clear in the opening speech of the Constituent Courts, although he also insisted time and again on his hopes for the Republic: “Yesterday we were still slaves […] Let us try with a true political spirit to establish this freedom of conscience ».
Alejandro Nieto, professor of law, former president of the CSIC (Higher Council for Scientific Research) and author of ‘The First Spanish Republic‘–One of the few works on this period written in the last century–, understands this rejection of the elections by the Spanish. In declarations to ABC he affirms that “the differences between unitary republicans and federals did not permeate the people because, to society, that sounded like heavenly music.” And he is not without reason. «90% of the citizens did not know what was one and another thing. Why go vote for that if they didn’t know what they were being asked? In the end they stayed at home, “he says.
To top it off, how his replacement was chosen Francisco Pi and Margall, with whom Don Estanislao harbored strong differences. This is what the historian María de los Ángeles Pérez Samper affirms in a dossier on this character prepared for the Royal Academy of History. The author is in favor of the fact that the changes in the political leadership ended up causing “a crisis that in the Assembly spread to the streets and forced Figueras to stay until the afternoon of June 10 at the head of the Government.” It was then that the Catalan reported that he would leave the country to avoid being an obstacle for him and for the country. On returning to the Cortes, he presented his resignation, but it was not accepted.
The legend
Behold, the famous phrase would have happened. The legend affirms that it was that same day 10 when the first president of the Republic, fed up with stabbing friends and enemies, exploded in anger during a meeting of the Council of Ministers and gave the expletive: «Gentlemen, I am going to be frank, I am up to the balls of all of us. Although it seems that he did it in Catalan, his mother tongue: «Gentlemen, I’ll be honest: I’m up to our necks». The myth varies, but the most widespread version is that later he stated that he was going to take a walk through the Retreat to relax. He actually went to the station, where he got on a train that took him to France.
As stated by our colleague Cesar Cervera In ‘Los Borbones y sus locuras’, Don Estanislao also left Spain with one goal in mind: to clear the way for the next president. In short, avoid being a stumbling block for your successor. “I knowingly sacrificed my reputation to the party, throwing my public life of more than thirty years out on the street,” he justified himself shortly after.
The episode of his exile was even picked up by Benito Pérez Galdós in his famous’National Episodes‘. In the volume dedicated to the First Republic, the writer explains that “Estanislao Figueras, angered by the coldness of Pi i Margall in an interview that they both had, caught the train without saying anything to anyone, and suddenly he planted himself in France” . Nobody explained what happened in those days. For the author, it was a real “disappointment” that “that man so knowledgeable, witty, friendly and a good speaker” left. Always according to his writing, until after twenty-four hours there was no certain news of the escape. “From the astonishment I felt at such a serious event, which was the greatest discredit of the Cause, I became ill,” he explains.
And the happy phrase
What is truth in the legend? Nieto, speaking to ABC, is in favor of the fact that this is one of the many phrases attributed to famous people without knowing for sure if they came out of his mouth or not. «It is possible that he said it, but it cannot be proven because we lack direct witnesses“, Add. In his words, no newspaper of the time reported the news. The digital archives of the National Library prove him right: not a single result. Neither in Spanish nor in Catalan. «It does not appear in the newspapers, nor is there any reference to it. It could be generalized in the political dinners of the time, but we don’t know where it comes from », he completes.
In return, what is known for sure is that Don Estanislao left for France jaded, among other things, by the recent death of his wife. «It was recorded that he bought the tickets because he entrusted it to his private secretary, from whom he requested absolute secrecy. He was the one who came to the station to acquire them. It became known later because the secretary made a record of it, “Nieto sentence. The Spanish expert is also sure that Don Estanislao was exhausted from politics. And rightly so, for he had fought for years for the advent of a disunited and knife-flying First Republic.
Of course he was fed up. He had been the Republican who had fought the hardest for the new political system to arrive. He made a lot of effort for it. That is why they made him president immediately. But later they divided and prevented him from ruling. His were the ones that hindered him the most, and that is why he was tired. The curious thing is that the enemies of the First Republic left him in peace and did not attack him during the first months; the monarchists, for example, “the author completes ABC. And the former president of the CSIC says even more: «It was the Republic that destroyed itself».
Sad oblivion
How is it possible that a marginal phrase in this guise was extended to unsuspected limits despite the fact that its origin was unknown? Nieto is clear: «It is very graphic and explicit. If I had said ‘I’m one of my people to the crown’ it would not have become popular “. The author also does not believe that the expletive has elevated Don Estanislao to the altars, although he does agree that it has allowed him to earn a small niche in the pages of history. “Another key is that he voluntarily retired when he got tired of everything, and that usually makes a character like him,” he concludes. In fact, it is not usually explained what happened to him after his departure to France. Beyond those words, it matters little to the Spanish.
But his story did not end in the neighboring country. It is true that, in principle, the politician did not intend to return to Spain. However, he did not take long to return from his exile to try to alleviate the problems that the new system was going through. His adventure was as short as the previous exile. In 1874, after the monarchical restoration, Don Estanislao was forced to leave the country. He left politics for months, although in 1875 he wanted to participate in conspiracies to proclaim a “republic without qualifications” in Spain.
«In 1880 he tried to create the Organic Federal Republican Party, against the pactist federalism of Pi and Margall, although also in order to work in favor of achieving a republican union, “adds, in this case, Samper.
In those he was run over by the Grim Reaper. Estanislao i Figueras, the man who had brought the First Republic to Spain, fell ill and had to relax his desire to become the leader of the new opposition to the Monarchy. Death came on November 11, 1882. According to Nieto, that phrase made him famous, although he failed to make known, more than a century later, the time in which he lived. «They are a long forgotten years. It surprises me that no one remembers the First Republic and that so much is written about the Second. I don’t know if it is good or bad, but that so much is written », he completes.
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