Editing POUM (section)

==Transition era==
[[File:POUM demonstration.jpg|thumb|left|POUM demonstration on the 19th anniversary of the [[October Revolution]], 1936]]
During the [[Spanish transition to democracy]], the POUM was legalized in 1977. This led to a split in the party, with one faction opposing formal legalization, calling for a boycott of the [[1977 Spanish general election|1977 general election]] and demanding the immediate restoration of the republic. The legalized party participated in the election as part of the [[Front for Workers' Unity]] (FUT), a coalition of parties and organisations to the left of the PCE which won 0.22% of the nationwide vote. The election result led to a crisis for the POUM as well as for most parties to the left of the PCE, from which it was not able to recover.<ref>Pelai Pagès, [http://www.fundanin.org/pelai1.htm El POUM durant la transició democràtica (1974–1981)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609170428/http://www.fundanin.org/pelai1.htm|date=2023-06-09}}. Retrieved 15 January 2016</ref>

The POUM continued to exist as a small party with an office in Barcelona and a monthly newspaper, ''La Batalla'', calling for cooperation among the various far-left parties, but an attempted merger with [[Communist Action]] and the Collective for Marxist Unification failed during a "Unification Congress" in 1978. After this setback, the POUM decided not to participate in the [[1979 Spanish general election|1979 elections]]. POUM branches in several cities became part of local coalitions and unification attempts with various far-left groups. In 1980, the POUM made its last electoral efforts, supporting [[Herri Batasuna]] in the Basque country and participating in the [[Left Bloc for National Liberation]] (BEAN - Unitat Popular) coalition in the Catalan parliamentary election, but the party was disintegrating. ''La Batalla'' ceased publication in May 1980, marking the end of the POUM as an organized party, though it was never officially dissolved. As a last remnant, the [[Valencia]] branch remained active until 1981. Former members of the POUM formed the Fundación Andreu Nin (Andreu Nin Foundation) to preserve the heritage of their party and ideological current.