The initiative was dubbed the

"Propaganda Revolution" in our

history. The revolution began in
1880 to 1886, but the most
important time of action is between
1880 and 1895, one year before
the death of Rizal. Propaganda
means "truth campaign and an
appeal for sympathy."
The propaganda campaign was
directed at peaceful assimilation,
leading to the transformation of the
Philippines from becoming a colony
to a province of Spain.
Propagandists claimed that if the
Philippines were Spanish citizens,
they would benefit with the same
rights and privileges. Their
advocates wanted
not independence from Spain but
reforms
Aims of Propaganda Movement were:
• Representation of the Philippines to the Cortes
Generales, the Spanish Parliament.
• Secularisation of the church
• Legalization of equality between Spain and the
Philippines
• Establishment of a public school system
independent of the Catholic friars;
• Abolition of polo y servicio (labor force) and
bandala (forced selling of local goods to the
government)
• Protection of fundamental freedoms
• Equal opportunities for the Filipinos and the
Spanish to enter the civil service
 PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT
Laying the
Underground
- Doctor of Laws
Pedro Paterno and
Gregorio Sancianco,
both Chinese
mestizos endowed
with national
sentiments, made
literary works
focused on
nationalis.
- Dr. Paterno published
his first literary
“Sampaguitas” and
attempted to project
to the public a Filipino
national identity
through the works of a
Filipino
- Dr. Sancianco wrote
“El Progreso de
Filipinas” and
concluded the
inequality of the
Philippine tax
structure
- Sancianco
claimed a citizen
should
contribute to
support the state
according to his
ability but he
should not be
compelled to pay
tribute if he
owns nothing
Unifying Forces
During the
Unorganized Years
- Although they
worked individually
writing articles,
they acted as one
on certain
occasions
- Social unrest in
Spain favored the
publication of
liberal newspapers
- The Filipinos
contributed to
the cause of the
Propaganda by
establishing
“Los Dos
Mundos” were
Jaena and de
Govantes were
staff members
- By this time, the
spirit and pride of the
young propagandists
had been so stirred
that they published a
newspaper in 1887
- “Espana en Filipinas”
advocated economic
and administrative
reforms for the
Philippines
- This deliberate
assault on the dignity
of the Filipinos
stirred their national
pride and their sense
of identity
- The newspaper
had been
dissolved by
the
conservative
Spaniards that
led to a more
closer unity
among the
Filipinos
- Rizal’s Noli Me
Tangere was
published in
March 1887
- It heated
arguments
between the
pro and anti
propagandists
- Father
Salvador Font
banned the
book from
importation,
reprint and
circulation in
the
Philippines
Revival of
Activities in the
Philippines
- As the drive for
reforms in Spain
gained
momentum, the
nationalist
reformists in
the Philippines
were doing their
part
- Assisted by Basilio
Teodoro, he published
the shortlived Diariong
Tagalog
- Del Pilar secretly
organized the Comite
(Junta) Propaganda, a
small but active group
composed of Deodato
Arellano, Pedro Laktaw
and many others
- They were busy with
their anti-friar moves and
pushing the plan of
publishing their official
organ which was to be
called La Solidaridad
La Solidaridad
The reform movement was
supported by foreigners like Dr.
Miguel Morayta, the former Spanish
minister and professor and the
Austrian ethnologist Ferdinand
Blumentritt. On December 13, 1888,
an organization called "La
Solidaridad" was born
It was headed by Galicano Apacible.
Jose Rizal who was in England at
that time became its honorary
president. This organization gave
birth to La Solidaridad, the
newspaper. Its editor was Graciano
Lopez Jaena. Take note that La
Solidaridad (organization) adapted a
newspaper La Solidaridad
(newspaper).
The Soli, as the reformists fondly
called their official organ, came out
once every two weeks. The first saw
print was published on November
15, 1895. The Solidaridad’s first
editor was Graciano Lopez Jaena.
Marcelo H. del Pilar took over in
October 1889. Del Pilar managed
the Soli until it stopped publication
due to lack of funds.
 Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del
Pilar, and Mariano Ponce
comprised the main staff of
La Solidaridad. They were
called the “Glorious Trinity
of the Propaganda
Movement”
Aims of La Solidaridad
1. To work for political and social reforms
peacefully
2. To present the sad conditons in the
Philippines so that Spain can remedy
them
3. To oppose the evil influences of reaction
and outmoded beliefs and practices
4. To advocate liberal ideas and progress
5. To champion the just aspirations of the
Filipinos to life, democracy, and
happiness
Later, Asociacion
Hispano-Filipino
was inaugurated.
It composed of
Filipinos and
Spaniards who
aim for specific
reforms in the
country.
Lopez Jaena criticized
the inefficiency of the
Spanish two-party
system, lamented the
indifference of the
people to civic
projects and national
responsibility and
dealt with the
problems of the
government.
Contributors to
La Solidaridad
used pen names
to protect their
families in the
Philippines for
prosecution.
Contributor Pen name
Jose Rizal -Dimas alang
-Laong Laan
Marcelo Del Pilar -Plaridel
Lopez Jaena -Diego Laura
Jose Ma. -Jomapa
Panganiban
Antonio Luna -Taga-ilog
Mariano Ponce -Naning,
Tigbalang,
Kalipulako
Reforms they
worked for;
1.Equality of rights
and privileges
2.Assimilation of
Philippines as
province of Spain
3.Philippine
representation to
the Spanish cortes
Glimpses of
the
Propaganda
Literature
Mariano Ponce,
the managing
editor and a
regular
contributor to La
Solidaridad, was
the bibliographer
of the movement.
Jose Ma Panganiban,
who excelled in formal
and philosophical
essays, pointed out
that a government
could better
understand and
interpret the
aspirations of its
people if freedom of
the press were
granted.
The contributions of Antonio Luna to
La Solidaridad were Noche Buena, a
biological sketch that depicted actual
life in the Philippines; La Maestra de
mi Pueblo, which pointed out the
defects of the educational system for
women and a play called Todo por
Estomago, that satirized the biased
Spanish method of colonization and
taxation policies.
Marcelo del Pilar wrote La
Soberania Monacal en
Filipinas in which he set forth
the basic reform in the
Philippines; expulsion of the
friars to eliminate the
obstacles to progress in the
Philippines.
Del Pilar described the friars
in the Philippines as a
privileged and powerful
group whose powers
interfered with the political,
economic and social life and
education of the people.
They were the arbiters of
Filipino misfortunes and
their “impeccability” had
become a “dogma”.
He compared
and contrasted
the poverty of
the government
and the
opulence of the
friars who had
taken vow of
poverty.
Lopez Jaena is best
known as the orator
of the group. He used
his eloquence and
natural oratory and
held his audience
spellbound as he
expounded on the
necessity of granting
reforms for the
Filipinos.
In his oratorical homage to
Luna for having painted
“The battle of Lepanto”
that won first prize at the
Barcelona Exposition, he
defended the Filipinos
from insults and sarcastic
remarks levied by unjust
critics who were unaware
of the conditions in the
Philippines.
Jaena reacted about
a racially
discriminatory
policy of the civil
governor in
Pangasinan where
all Filipinos were
required to take off
their hats whenever
they met Spaniards.
Rizal wrote his principal
essays for La Solidaridad,
and published his
annotation of Antonio
Morga’s Sucesos de las
Islas Filipinas and his
novel El Filibusterismo
when the propaganda
movement was at its
height.
Masonry and
the
Propaganda
Movement
Not satisfied with their
research, journalistic,
literary and oratorical
feats the propagandists
joined the Brotherhood
of Masons.
Lopez Jaena
organized the
lodge
Revolucion in
Barcelona to
bring together
all Filipino
masons.
With its abolition a
year later, the Lodge
la Solidaridad was
established in Madrid
to become the center
of propaganda
activities in Spain.
Lodge Nilad
was secretly
established in
Manila by
Pedro Serrano
Laktaw.
Counter-Propaganda
moves;
Wenceslao Retana,
one of the founders
and editor of La
Politicia de Espana
en Filipinas.
He described
them as
incapable,
ignorant,
indolent, always
craving for more
rights and never
satisfied.
Francisco
Canamaque,
rememebered
the Filipinos as
childish and
culturally
backward.
Father Jose Rodriguez
wrote a series of
tracts entitled
Questiones de Sumo
Interes which
attempted to
discredit the works of
Rizal and other
propagandists.
Fr. Miguel Bustamante, in
his Si Tandang Basiong
Macunat, ridiculed the
people for aspiring to
learn the Spanish
language when they could
hardly perform their
mutual tasks
satisfactorily.
Problems of the
Propagandists
1.Inadequate financial
resources
2.Differences of opinions
3.Personal problems
began to weigh heavily
Why the Propaganda Movement
Failed?
The propaganda movement did not
succeed in its pursuit of reforms.
The colonial government did not
agree to any of its demands. Spain
itself was undergoing a lot of internal
problems all that time, which could
explain why the mother country
failed to heed the Filipino’s petitions
There were also emerging problems
of the propagandists. Most of them
have different opinions and had
personal problems. Financial
problem was also the major reason
for its downfall. Health problems and
homesickness of the reformists were
also one of the reasons why it
downgraded
 .

Personal differences and

petty quarrels, apart from the
lack of funds, were also a
hindrance to the movements
success. Lastly, no other
strong and charismatic leader
emerged from the group aside
from Jose Rizal
Thank you
and
God bless