Why did the old man say "I am without politics" in "The Old Man at the Bridge"?

Hemingway's "The Old Man At The Bridge" is set during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), when the left-leaning Republicans fought against the right-leaning Nationalists. The bridge mentioned in the story's title represents a middle ground—or more specifically, perhaps a no-man's land—between the Republicans on one side and the Nationalists on the other. This setting reflects the old man's apolitical outlook. Because he subscribes neither to Republicanism nor Nationalism, he finds himself alone and isolated, literally and figuratively, in the no-man's land between the two sides.
When he tells the soldier that he is "without politics," he is indicating that he has no allegiance to either side in the war. The old man represents the impact of war upon the average Spanish citizen. He has been caught up in the middle of the war. His simple life has been ruined, and he has been expelled from his home. He is displaced, alone and isolated. He is an accidental and forgotten victim of war.