Propaganda Movement

Filipino expatriates in Europe formed the Propaganda Movement. Photographed in Madrid, Spain in 1890.

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The Propaganda Movement was a period of time when native Filipinos were calling for reforms, lasting approximately from 1880 to 1886 ^[1] with the most activity between 1880 and 1895.^[2]

The word "propaganda" in English has acquired a pejorative connotation that is absent from the original Latin word. One can see its true meaning in the Roman institution called "Congregatio de propaganda fide" - the Secretariate for the Spread of the Faith (or, as the modern translation has it, For the Evangelization of Peoples). It was in the latter sense that the word was used by the Filipino group that sent Marcelo H. del Pilar to Spain to continue the "propaganda" on behalf of the Philippines. It was essentially a campaign of information, as well as a bid for sympathy. Dr. Domingo Abella, the learned Director of the National Archives, has made the suggestion that the so-called Propaganda Movement was misnamed. It should have been called the Counterpropaganda Movement because its essential task was to counteract the campaign of misinformation that certain Spanish groups were disseminating in Spain and later in Rome.^[3]

Prominent members included José Rizal, author of Noli Me Tangere (novel) and El Filibusterismo, Graciano López Jaena, publisher of La Solidaridad, the movement's principal organ, Mariano Ponce, the organization's secretary^[4] and Marcelo H. del Pilar.

Specifically, the Propagandists aims were the following:

• Representation in the Philippines in the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament
• Secularization of the clergy
• Legalization of Spanish and Filipino equality
• Creation of a public school system independent of Catholic friars
• Abolition of polo y servicios (labor service) and the bandala (forced sale of local products to the government)
• Guarantee of basic freedoms
• Equal opportunity for Filipinos and Spanish to enter government service

References

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