An act of vindication and remembrance
This year’s Remembrance Day, hosted by journalist Neus Bonet, focused on the trajectory of a key movement in the struggle for individual and collective freedoms in Catalonia: trade unionism. Mayayo, who explained the importance of trade unions, at one point in his speech recalled the figure of the historian Josep Termes, who said that “Catalonia was more a country of trade unions than of political parties”.
The professor gave an exhaustive review of trade unionism, from the first labour conflicts — such as those at the Fábrica Nueva in Manresa in 1946 or the strike against the high cost of living that took place in the cinturó industrial of Barcelona in 1951 — to the last throes of Francoism — with the appearance of the Comisiones Obreras and the Unió de Pagesos and the last reprisals, such as Antonio Ruiz Villalba, Manuel Fernández and Roque Peralta, among others. Mayayo stated that approximately two hundred thousand people died of hunger during the long post-war period. “Political repression, hunger and misery spurred emigration to Catalonia in the 1940s and 1950s. The majority of migrants brought not only labour power, but also a strong political and trade union brand”, the professor remarked.
“History teaches us that humanity learns nothing from history. Acts like this may not prevent barbarism or the regression of rights, but they certainly teach us what our behaviour should be”, Mayayo concluded. He did not want to end his speech without recalling the important work of the UB, through the Centre for International Historical Studies (CEHI) and the CRAI Library at Pavelló de la República, for the preservation of documents and the transmission of knowledge of trade unionism.
The fight goes on
Afterwards, the rector of the UB, Joan Guàrdia, and the general secretary of the university, Marina Solé, gave the honourees a commemorative plaque. The plaque was collected by Javier Pacheco, secretary general of Comissions Obreres de Catalunya (Workers’ Commissions), on behalf of José Luis López Bulla, who was absent due to illness. López Bulla, born in Santa Fe de Granada, was an outstanding leader of the Comissions Obreres (Workers’ Commissions), Secretary General of the National Workers’ Commission of Catalonia for almost two decades and a member of the Catalan Parliament. “To carry out a ceremony of remembrance is to carry out an act of political vindication, because it is an act of reparation and justice”, said Pacheco, who claimed trade unionism as a fundamental tool to “close the way to the ultra-right and fight for social justice”.
Camilo Rueda (Castillo de Locubín, Jaén) was a militant of the UGT and the PSC. He was seriously injured by a plainclothes policeman when he was distributing May Day propaganda. As a result, he lost a kidney, part of his liver and his colon. In his speech, Rueda recalled “those hard years for the working class”, while asking the University to guide young people “in the struggle for education and public health”.
Manuel Zaguirre (Bacares, Almería), leader of the Unión Sindical Obrera for 25 years and vice-president of the World Confederation of Labour, was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit at Work. Moved by the tribute from the University of Barcelona, Zaguirre warned of the “return of the old authoritarian zombies, at the hand of a savage and inhuman capitalism”. As an antidote, he called on trade unionism to recover the ability to weave alliances with the aim of “building societies founded on real democracies and the social state”.
Maruja Ruiz (Guadix, Granada) was a leader of the neighbourhood movement in Nou Barris. She organized the lock-in in the church of Sant Andreu de Palomar in 1976 as a result of the Motor Ibérica conflict. In a brief speech, she thanked the University of Barcelona for this recognition.
Then, Josep Riera (Mataró), who Mayayo defined as “a day farmer and a night trade unionist”, was a key figure in the Unió de Pagesos, a trade union that he led for more than two decades. During his speech, he recalled the words of his father, who warned him that “Francoism would last so long that it would leave its mark”. He vindicated the legacy of the Unió de Pagesos, a movement that “always fled from unionism”.
Escaping nostalgia
The rector of the University of Barcelona, Joan Guàrdia, closed the event by stating that “we have the obligation to keep memory alive”. He also recalled that the University, as a “repressed institution”, was removed from “its sacred aim of teaching”. “Today, we are not making an act of nostalgia, but of vindication and memory. We want to send a message to young people: they are the future and the future must be full of hope”, Guàrdia concluded.
The musical performance by La Pau was the epilogue to another Remembrance Day. This is an annual event through which the UB remembers and pays homage to the efforts and sacrifices of individuals and groups in favour of freedom during Franco’s regime.
Multimedia gallery
Video in appreciation of the trade unionists repressed by Franco's regime.
Flickr
