You had the choice between the lesser of two evils in that war. Had I been Spanish, my preference would have been to leave. As an Englishman, my preference would be not to fight in that war at all.
Regards, Ivan
Alright, they didn't believe in capitalism, but they didn't believe in statism or totalitarianism either. They were really libertarian socialists. But they were still better than the NAZI backed fascists or the USSR backed loyalists, since they were democratic. But you're right, for most moderate/conservative Spanish people leaving would have been the best choice. The problem was the Spanish Civil war was just a proxy conflict between NAZI Germany and the USSR, and so no home-grown movement could have made a difference. That's why Orwell went there, to defend democracy in a country where un-democratic foreign powers were backing their political allies in order to turn Spain into their puppet.