Miguel Junyent Rovira

Miguel Junyent Rovira
Born	1871 Catalonia, Spain
Died	1936
Occupation(s)	Publisher, politician, lawyer
Years active	1890s–1933
Known for	Director and proprietor of El Correo Catalán; regional leader of Catalan Carlism; member of Spanish Cortes and Senate

Miguel Junyent Rovira () (1871–1936) was a Spanish Catalan publisher and political figure, primarily recognized for his role as director and occasional proprietor of El Correo Catalán from 1903 until 1933. In politics, he was deeply involved with Carlism, acting as the regional leader of the Catalan branch during 1915–1916 and again from 1919 to 1933. He served two terms in the Cortes: between 1907 and 1910 in the Congress of Deputies and from 1918 to 1919 in the Senate. Junyent represented a moderate faction of Carlists who supported collaboration with conservative Catalanists and rejected militant tendencies.

Family background and early years

The Junyent family from Catalonia traces its origins back to the 13th century, although Miguel’s immediate lineage is not well documented. His father, Salvador Junyent Bovés (1836–1900), was a landowner in Piera and part of the local bourgeoisie, possessing the estate known as Can Perevells. Salvador was married to Prudencia Rovira Oller (1837–1914), presumably from an industrialist family native to the area. Miguel had at least one sister.

Miguel pursued legal studies at Barcelona University, graduating approximately in 1895. By 1897, he had joined the Barcelona bar association and worked as a civil law lawyer, holding the position of fiscal in Sant Gervasi de Cassoles by 1901.

Prior to 1898, Junyent wed Joaquína Quintana Padró (1874–1912), with whom he had three children. After becoming widowed, he remarried Mercedes Canalías Vintró before 1916; this second marriage produced no offspring. Their eldest daughter passed away at a young age. His son José María Junyent Quintana (1901–1982) became an influential Carlist politician and journalist, active in Barcelona’s political landscape during the 1930s and postwar years. His daughter María de Montserrat Junyent Quintana (1905–1985) married Juan Baptista Roca Caball, a significant figure in Catalan Christian-democratic politics during the late Franco era.

Among his grandchildren, Miguel Roca Junyent stood out as a major political personality in early post-Franco Spain, acknowledged as one of the key architects of the 1978 constitution. Another grandchild, Miguel Junyent Armenteras, held executive positions within Catalan commercial finance sectors, including leadership at Banco General del Comercio y la Industria during the 1970s.

Initial public involvement (1894–1906)

Miguel Junyent’s early political engagement was rooted in conservative Catholic groups, participating actively in Juventud Carlista and religious initiatives throughout Barcelona in the 1890s. His oratory at local Carlist meetings attracted notice from regional leader Luis de Llauder y Dalmases, proprietor of El Correo Catalán. Junyent began contributing articles to this influential Traditionalist newspaper and was appointed its director in 1903 following Llauder’s death by Fomento de la Prensa Tradicionalista under president duque de Solferino.

As director of El Correo Catalán, Junyent became a prominent figure within Catalan Carlism and one of its foremost national propagandists. He allied himself with party leaders such as Erasmo Janer and Mariano Fortuny, advocating Catholic principles and Traditionalist ideology while expressing opposition to Jewish and Masonic influences. Despite Integrist suspicions accusing him of liberal leanings and negotiations with Maurista Conservatives, Junyent retained significant standing within the party.

In 1906, Junyent acted as a Traditionalist representative in creating a coalition opposing the Ley de Jurisdicciones, which was viewed in Catalonia as an assault on regional autonomy. He emerged as a key figure alongside Francesc Cambó, coordinating efforts with dissenting deputies in Madrid. That year, he was the only Carlist to sign the founding pact of Solidaritat Catalana, a wide-ranging alliance opposing the legislation. Along with Cambó and José Roca y Roca, Junyent formed part of an informal triumvirate managing Solidaritat and served on its Comité Executiu, representing Carlist interests within this coalition.

Opposition to catalanismo and pistolerismo (1907–1915)

Prior to the 1907 elections, Catalan Carlists were split over whether to join forces with republicans and nationalists on a combined Solidaritat electoral list. Junyent played a pivotal role in advocating for this alliance, ultimately convincing regional leader Janer to approve the coalition. Following discussions with the La Lliga, Junyent ran in Vic and secured a commanding victory, obtaining 97.49% of the votes and surpassing both republican and conservative contenders. The Carlists managed to capture six parliamentary seats within Catalonia. Junyent emerged as a prominent Traditionalist figure locally and entered the national political arena as part of Solidaritat's Comité Directivo. During his tenure in parliament, he concentrated on issues related to Catalan identity and religious matters.

By 1908–1909, internal divisions began to weaken Solidaritat due to divergent party objectives. Among Carlists, suspicion grew regarding partnerships with groups perceived as separatist; although Junyent initially supported the alliance, describing Catalonia as "a sister province" within Spain, his rhetoric grew more critical of Catalan nationalists by 1909, with editorials branding them "cowards and scoundrels". By the time of the 1910 elections, Solidaritat had disintegrated; Junyent arranged only a localized pact with La Lliga but narrowly lost his seat in Vic to a Liberal candidate amid accusations of electoral malpractice.

In the early years of the 1910s, Junyent led a moderate faction within Catalan Carlism alongside provincial chief Duque de Solferino. Their opponents, under the leadership of Dalmacio Iglesias, advocated for urban violence through the paramilitary Requeté, culminating in the violent episode at Sant Feliú de Llobregat in 1911. Junyent and Solferino envisioned the Requeté as a voluntary civil guard aimed at protecting citizens' rights rather than promoting conflict. Although their authority over this faction was fragile, it was reinforced by close connections to Carlist claimant Don Jaime. Junyent traveled to Venice to welcome Don Jaime's claim and later visited Viareggio in 1914 for propaganda instructions following the outbreak of World War I. As a former deputy and party official, he remained actively engaged in political rallies throughout Catalonia and beyond.

Towards Catalan party leadership (1915–1919)

Burdened by internal disputes, Solferino stepped down as Catalan party leader in 1915. His closest ally and staunch supporter of Don Jaime, Junyent, was appointed to succeed him. Upon assuming leadership, Junyent encountered resistance from three overlapping groups: militant radicals who accused him of conciliating with the "regionalismo conservador," anti-Catalan factions who criticized his perceived alignment with the "derecha nacionalista," and Mellistas dissatisfied with his allegiance to Don Jaime, despite El Correo Catalán’s pro-German stance over the Entente. These groups united behind Iglesias; when the national party chief Marqués de Cerralbo backed Iglesias in the 1916 general elections in Lerida, a crisis ensued. Eventually, the entire Provincial Board, including Junyent as its head, resigned, leading to Solferino’s reinstatement as Catalan leader.

Efforts to change local leadership did not prevent the increasing disintegration of Catalan Carlism during the late 1910s. By 1917, the party had divided into two factions: one led by Junyent and Lluís Argemí, and another by Miguel Salellas and Teodoro Más. By 1919, three distinct groups had formed: Jaimistas under Junyent, Bartolomé Trías, and Juan María Roma; the Ateneo faction headed by Pablo Vives; and Mellistas led by Iglesias. Furthermore, trade unions influenced by Carlism emerged to serve urban laborers; Junyent endorsed the establishment of Sindicato Libre Regional in Barcelona in 1919, although it soon distanced itself from Traditionalist origins.

Junyent pursued a careful equilibrium among violent insurrectionism, Catalan separatism, alliances with Mellista ultra-right groups, and the erosion of Traditionalist doctrine within bourgeois coalitions. While he criticized nationalist claims of representing Catalonia, he maintained connections with La Lliga; their backing enabled him to secure a Senate seat representing Barcelona in 1918. His Senate tenure coincided with the Mellista schism in early 1919 when de Mella and his followers formed a separate faction that fractured Carlism across Spain. Remaining loyal to Don Jaime, Junyent took part in the Magna Junta de Biarritz to determine party strategy and was reappointed as Catalan leader. Unlike his earlier short-lived term, this appointment lasted fourteen years.

Senate, Mancomunitat and city council (1919–1923)

During his time in the Senate, Junyent was mostly inactive but became significantly involved in discussions between the Cortes and the newly established Catalan quasi-government known as the Mancomunitat. In 1918, he joined the editorial board of Bases d’Autonomia de Catalunya, appointed by Mancomunitat authorities, and participated in a Cortes commission tasked with negotiating Catalan autonomy statutes. Junyent favored a unilateral declaration of autonomy over parliamentary negotiation, concerned that legislative processes might weaken the initiative. In 1919, alongside Cambó and Lerroux, he formed part of a Catalan triumvirate spearheading the autonomy project and helped edit the autonomy proposal for a popular plebiscite. Nonetheless, due to widespread social turmoil, they halted the campaign in spring 1919. His Senate mandate concluded that year without renewal.

Representing Carlists loyal to Don Jaime amid internal party divisions, Junyent presided over Traditionalist assemblies and remained engaged with the increasingly ineffective Mancomunitat through 1921. During this period, he voiced concerns about Spain’s escalating social and political instability; El Correo condemned mounting disorder following Junyent’s narrow escape from a bomb attack targeting the civil governor. By then, El Correo Catalán was likely under his ownership; he also served as chairman of Banco Catalán’s Consejo de Administración.

In early 1922, Junyent secured election to Barcelona’s ayuntamiento on a Traditionalist platform representing distrito cuarto and was appointed teniente de alcalde (deputy mayor), a position reaffirmed in 1923. He maintained cooperative relations with moderate Catalanists from La Lliga, endorsing some policies of its late leader Prat de la Riba while expressing cautious reservations. Demonstrating a conciliatory approach during an internal ayuntamiento crisis in June 1923, he offered to resign his deputy mayor role. Additionally, he supported Traditionalist trade unionists from Sindicatos Libres amid conflicts with authorities. As a city councillor, he hosted Don Jaime during the claimant’s five-day visit to Barcelona in July 1923.

Dictatorship (1923-1931)

At first, Junyent endorsed Primo de Rivera's authoritarian regime, considering the prevailing political instability. However, his support diminished following the initial measures enacted by the government. By the end of 1923, he was dismissed from his position in the Barcelona city council, bringing his brief municipal role to a close after less than two years. In 1924, he opposed the prohibition of Catalan within public offices by signing a petition advocating for its unrestricted use. That same year, he faced a retroactive trial related to a 1918 article wherein he urged Spanish neutrality during World War I; accused of inciting rebellion, the verdict of this proceeding remains undocumented.

Maintaining a close association with King Don Jaime, Junyent made several trips to Paris between 1923 and 1924 to seek Carlist guidance regarding the dictatorship. Serving as Catalonia’s regional leader, he transitioned the party's approach from cautious endorsement to abstention and critique of the regime. He issued instructions discouraging party participation in governmental bodies and enforced unity within Carlist publications, leveraging his position as director of El Correo Catalán to propagate this policy within the constraints of censorship. Publicly, Junyent concentrated on Traditionalist and religious observances, notably leading a major Carlist pilgrimage to Rome in 1925. In 1926, he engaged in a meeting with the interior minister; however, the details of this encounter are unknown.

Throughout the late 1920s, Junyent remained a prominent Carlist figure in Catalonia, receiving distinctions and attending national party assemblies alongside Don Jaime at Frohsdorf. Known for his cautious approach, he played a role in preventing a planned youth-led uprising in Seu d’Urgell. Following the shift to the dictablanda, he renewed advocacy for Catalan self-government. In 1930, amid efforts to reinstate the Mancomunitat, Junyent called upon El Correo to endorse a "solución integral y definitiva" that would acknowledge Catalonia’s political and administrative distinctiveness while reaffirming its Spanish identity through language, legal frameworks, symbols, and spirit. By February 1931, he participated in an extraparliamentary commission assigned to draft an autonomy statute.

Republic (1931-1933)

Junyent greeted the establishment of the Republic with pronounced skepticism, condemning the new Cortes as "politically, socially and religiously extremist and dictatorial" and opposing laws that conflicted with traditional principles. Although he did not promote violence, he was detained following disturbances involving Carlist youth in Barcelona and remained imprisoned until his release in December 1931. He declined involvement in the 1932 Sanjurjo uprising due to insufficient support, which led to further short-term arrests.

Despite reservations about the secular nature of the 1932 Catalan autonomy statute, Junyent endorsed it during the referendum as an authentic yet limited expression of Catalonia’s identity. He quelled dissent within Carlist youth—including opposition from his own son—and ensured party propaganda highlighted regional Catalan distinctiveness. Nevertheless, he remained concerned about the statute’s secularism and feared that Anarcho-Syndicalism might dominate Catalonia’s political landscape at Carlism’s expense. To counteract this threat, he advanced Traditionalist propaganda efforts such as the 1932 Gran Setmana Tradicionalista and joined conservative organizations like Propaganda Cultural Católica. Attempts to rekindle an alliance with the bourgeois La Lliga based on shared defense of religion and order were unsuccessful; during the 1932 regional elections, La Lliga allied with Radicals while Junyent’s electoral results were disappointing.

Junyent’s moderate loyalist approach—supporting autonomy and seeking cooperation with La Lliga—sparked controversy within Catalan Carlism. His willingness to consider uniting "ramas borbónicas," aligning with views held by claimants Don Jaime and Don Alfonso Carlos, further estranged some party members. Although maintaining strong relations with Don Alfonso Carlos and advising on dynastic affairs, Junyent faced growing opposition from figures such as Conde de Valdellano and José María Cunill Postius, who accused him of collaborating with liberal factions and criticized his electoral performance. The organized campaign against him included appeals directed at the claimant abroad. Weary from internal conflicts, Junyent tendered multiple resignations; his final resignation was accepted in June 1933, concluding his role as Catalan jefé.

Retirement Years (1933-1936)

By the end of the 1920s, Junyent's worsening health compelled him to lessen his public involvement and gradually retreat from active political life. His final recorded participation in a regional party executive session occurred in late 1934. During his retirement, he assumed advisory positions; in 1933, Don Alfonso Carlos appointed him as president of the Junta Consultiva de la Regional de Cataluña, an entity that seemingly never assembled, and in 1934 he became a member of the Consejo de Cultura Tradicionalista, responsible for maintaining ideological integrity. His limited public engagements were primarily ceremonial or connected to right-wing activities, including attending the 1933 electoral campaign and honoring Carlists who perished in the Asturias Rebellion.

After nearly three decades at the helm of El Correo Catalán, Junyent resigned as director in 1933, although the specifics surrounding his exit remain unclear. He continued to lead Banco Catalán Hipotecario—often referred to as "el banc dels carlins" due to its political affiliations—and oversaw his estate at Can Perevells in Piera, which experienced labor unrest. Furthermore, he remained involved with organizations such as the Societat Econòmica Barcelonesa d’Amics del País and the Institut Agrícola Català de Sant Isidre.

It is unclear whether Junyent had any participation in or knowledge of the Carlist conspiracy against the Republic. Following the July 1936 uprising, reports differ regarding his circumstances: some indicate he stayed in Barcelona, attending Banco Catalán meetings and attempting unsuccessfully to resign; others claim he went into hiding. A militia reportedly visited his residence but refrained from detaining him due to his frail health. Shortly thereafter, Junyent suffered a fatal heart attack upon learning that Tomás Cayla, his successor as Carlist leader in Catalonia, had been executed by Republican forces. The next day, FAI militiamen arrived intending to arrest or execute him but departed after discovering he was already deceased; while accounts vary on their reactions, they concur that they were disappointed to find his body prepared for burial.

See also

• El Correo Catalán

Further reading

• Albert Balcells, El projecte d’autonomia de la Mancomunitat de Catalunya del 1919 i el seu context históric, Barcelona 2010
• Albert Balcells, Joan B. Culla, Conxita Mir, Les eleccions generals a Catalunya de 1901 a 1923, Barcelona 1982
• Víctor Saura, Carlins, capellans, cotoners i convergents: història d'"El Correo Catalán" (1876-1985), Barcelona 1998
• Xavier Tornafoch, Política, eleccions i caciquismo a Vic (1900-1930) [PhD thesis Universitat Autónoma], Barcelona 2003
• Robert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931-1936, Barcelona 2008

External links

• Junyent profile at the official Congress of Deputies website
• Junyent profile at the official Senate website
• Entry on Junyent in Gran Enciclopedia Catalana