page_title: José María de Orbe y Gaytán
section_title: Breakup, retirement and reconciliation (1920s and 1930s)
hierarchical_section_title: José María de Orbe y Gaytán / Breakup, retirement and reconciliation (1920s and 1930s)
caption_attribution_description: Murguia palace, Astigarraga
context_page_description: José María de Orbe y Gaytán de Ayala, 5th Marquess of Valde-Espina, 1st Viscount of Orbe was a Spanish Carlist soldier and politician. His career climaxed during presidency of the provincial Gipuzkoan self-government in the 1910s, though he is known mostly as member of the iconic Basque Valde-Espina dynasty. In the party ranks he rose to provincial leader in Gipuzkoa and was briefly member of the national Carlist executive.
context_section_description: Valde-Espina knew Vázquez de Mella at least since the early 1900s and used to meet him during various official party meetings, but was not known for particular sympathy towards the key party theorist. However, proclivity for conservative alliances might have made him closer to the Mellista strategy of forming a grand ultra-Right coalition; moreover, during the Great War Valde-Espina espoused a neutralist – and in effect anti-Entente – stand, very much advocated also by de Mella. When the conflict between the party pundit and the claimant exploded in early 1919 the Gipuzkoan jefé initially adopted an ambiguous position, but in the spring he was already widely suspected of defecting to the breakaway Mellsta camp. Indeed, after 85 years of loyalty of 3 generations of Valde-Espinas to legitimist claimants, José María left the orthodox Jaimista ranks and joined the rebels.
  Due to own position and prestige of his family Valde-Espina was among the most notable personalities among the Mellistas, though probably due to his age he was not particularly active in buildup of the new party. Times when the family name mobilized popular support were long gone; historians consider some moderate backing, enjoyed by the breakaways among the rural Gipzukoan population, hardly resulting from his personal influence. Assigned a largely theoretical post of provincial jefe in the emerging party ranks he engaged in preparations to the grand assembly, supposed to launch a new organization nationwide. It materialized in 1922 in Zaragoza, though hardly in format originally envisioned by de Mella; the gathering launched Partido Católico Tradicionalista with Valde-Espina nominated president of its national executive committee. Indeed, in late 1922 he used to sign documents issued by the party and was noted as active in its ranks in early 1923. The Primo de Rivera coup brought political life to a standstill by banning all parties; the year marks final political retirement of Valde-Espina, who after that date was hardly recorded as politically active. 
  During the dictatorship in public Valde-Espina hardly embarked on anything else than charity. His last recorded political engagements are noted in the early 1930s. During dictablanda he signed the Euskaltzaindia appeal for launching consultations on Basque autonomy; the same year he sort of reconciled with the Carlists, recorded in August as present at opening of Círculo Jaimista in San Sebastián. In 1931-1932 he fully reintegrated within the united Carlist organization, Comunión Tradicionalista; despite his 84 years of age still suspected of anti-Republican conspiracy, in 1932 he got his Astigarraga estate raided by the police again. He was last noted as taking part in Carlist gathering in July 1932 in Villafranca. Having caught a cold during funeral of his younger son in February 1933, he spent the last 4 months of his life in bed. At the moment of his death Astigarraga mansion again enjoyed a status of an iconic Traditionalist site; also Ermua was one of few municipios in Biscay which kept resisting the Basque nationalist sway.
caption: Valde-Espina mansion, Astigarraga
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