Julio Álvarez del Vayo: unravelling the ill repute of a loser

Abstract

The figure of the socialist politician Julio Álvarez del Vayo y Olloqui has been always surrounded by controversy. Throughout this article it will be shown how a reputation for dishonesty was woven into the fabric of his life that followed him even after death. He bore this stain of disloyalty after accusations of having been a Soviet or North American agent, an undercover communist or a traitor to Largo Caballero and to the Spanish Socialist Party. We will also try to clarify to what degree this reputation was the consequence of his ideological duality rather than evidence of actual betrayal.