The Transnational Imprint of Republican Spain in the Formation of the Global South. A Comparative History of Algeria, Cuba, and Vietnam

Abstract

The Global South did not emerge as a place but as a political and historical project shaped through multiple experiences during the Cold War. Among the most influential processes that contributed to its formation were the decolonization of Algeria, the Vietnamese struggle for independence, and the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. The impact of these developments helped spark a broader revolutionary wave that marked the beginning of the «Global Sixties» and the rise of the New Left. This article examines the little-known role played by a sector of the Spanish republican exile following the end of the Spanish Civil War within these transnational networks of solidarity. Drawing on the analysis of more than fifty biographical files and sources from national and international historical archives, the study identifies a significant number of former Spanish republicans who became involved in movements such as the National Liberation Front of Algeria (FLN), the Vi?t Minh in Vietnam, and the 26th of July Movement in Cuba. Through a comparative approach, the article reconstructs this mosaic of experiences and highlights an alternative memory of the republican exile connected to the historical formation of the Global South.