Propaganda Movement


The Propaganda Movement was a period of time when native Filipinos were calling for reforms, lasting approximately from 1880 to 1886 with the most activity between 1880 and 1895.
Prominent members included José Rizal, author of Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo, Graciano López Jaena, publisher of La Solidaridad, the movement's principal organ, Mariano Ponce, the organization's secretary and Marcelo H. del Pilar.
Specifically, the Propagandists aims were the following:
Dr. Domingo Abella, the learned Director of the National Archives, has made the suggestion that the so-called Propaganda Movement
was misnamed. It should have been called the Counterpropaganda Movement because its essential task was to counteract the campaign of misinformation that certain Spanish groups were disseminating in Spain
and later in Rome. It was a campaign of information, as well as a
bid for sympathy.
It is notable in contrast to the Katipunan or the "K.K.K.", whose aim is for the total independence of the Philippines from Spain, the Propaganda Movement's aim is for the total assimilation of the Philippines as a province of Spain, and not a mere colony. The word "propaganda" in English has acquired a pejorative connotation that is absent from the original Latin word. One can
see its true meaning in the Roman institution called "Congregatio de propaganda fide" - the Secretariate for the Spread of the Faith. It was in the
latter sense that the word was used by the Filipino group that sent Marcelo H. del Pilar to Spain to continue the "propaganda" on behalf of the Philippines.