Spain's Communists, hurt in voting, replace leader

By Compiled From Wire Service Dispatches With Analysis From Monitor Correspondents Around The World; Edited By Anne Collier

November 9, 1982

Madrid

Spain's Communist Party elected 37-year-old Gerardo Iglesias its new leader.

Mr. Iglesias, a former coal miner from the Asturias region of north Spain, replaces Santiago Carrillo, who resigned as secretary-general after the party slipped from 23 parliamentary seats to 4 in the general elections that brought the Socialists to power.

Mr. Iglesias said he would make no major changes, adding that the best way to revive the party was to follow present policies, including adherence to Eurocommunism.