Cipriano Mera Sanz (November 4, 1897 – October 24, 1975) was a Spanish military and political figure during the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
.
Early life
He had two sons (Floreal and Sergio) with his partner Teresa Gómez. A bricklayer, he joined the
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
movement and presided over the construction union of Madrid of the
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( en, National Confederation of Labor; CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist
Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionar ...
(CNT). During the congress celebrated in
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
three months before the beginning of the
Spanish Revolution, he was in favor of the most radical, collaborating sectors of the
Federación Anarquista Ibérica
The Iberian Anarchist Federation ( es, Federación Anarquista Ibérica, FAI) is a Spanish organization of anarchist militants active within affinity groups in the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) anarcho-syndicalist union. It is often ...
(FAI). Mera led a strike of construction workers, electricians, and elevator operators in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
in June 1936. As a result, he was imprisoned in early July.
Spanish Civil War
When the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
exploded he was released, and led a
column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
that put down the uprising in
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
,
Alcalá de Henares and
Cuenca. Next, he defended the dams of
Lozoya, which supplied Madrid, and fought in the mountain ranges of
Ávila
Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila.
It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...
and the valley of the
Tiétar river Tiétar may refer to:
* Tiétar River, a river of Spain.
* Tiétar, Cáceres, a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain.
* Tejeda de Tiétar, a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain.
* Sant ...
. He was given command of the
14th Division and it acted in the
defense of Madrid, the
Battle of Guadalajara
The Battle of Guadalajara (March 8–23, 1937) saw the victory of the People's Republican Army (''Ejército Popular Republicano'', or EPR) and of the International Brigades over the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid d ...
(March 1937) and in the
battle of Brunete
The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...
(July 1937). He replaced
Juan Perea Capulino in command of the IV Army Corps of the center. In April 1938 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
The end of the war
By 1939 Mera was convinced that the Republicans would be defeated. When
Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...
refused to surrender to
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
, Mera decided to support
Segismundo Casado
Segismundo Casado López (10 October 1893 – 18 December 1968) was a Spanish Army officer; he served during the late Restoration, the Primo de Rivera dictatorship and the Second Spanish Republic. Following outbreak of the Spanish Civil W ...
, commander of the
Republican Army of the center, and
Julián Besteiro
Julián Besteiro Fernández (21 September 1870 – 27 September 1940) was a Spanish socialist politician, elected to the Cortes Generales and in 1931 as Speaker of the Constituent Cortes of the Spanish Republic. He also was elected several times ...
of the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources:
*
*
*
* political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...
to stage a ''
coup d'etat'' and establish an anti-Negrin, anti-Stalinist
National Defence Council (''Consejo Nacional de Defensa''). In March 1939 he joined the
rising of Casado to accelerate the end of the war and to restrain
Communist Party of Spain
The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...
control of the Republican zone. His forces were fundamental in the victory of Casado in Madrid against the 1st Corps of the Army of the Center sent to defeat the rising.
Exile and death
He marched to
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
at the end of the war and soon by plane went to
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
and
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, but he was extradited to Spain in February 1942. In 1943 he was condemned to death, a sentence that was exchanged for 30 years in prison, but he was set free in 1946. In 1947, he emigrated to Paris, where he worked as a bricklayer until his death in St. Cloud, France in 1975.
Films
He appeared as himself in the 1936 CNT film production "''Castilla Libertaria''". In 2009, a documentary entitled "''Vivir de Pie. Las Guerras de Cipriano Mera''" (Living on Your Feet: The Struggles of Cipriano Mera) was released.
Vivir de pie. Las guerras de Cipriano Mera
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
References
Sources
*
*
*Preston, Paul. ''The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, revolution & revenge.'' Harper Perennial. London, 2006.
External links
Cipriano Mera Page
from the Anarchist Encyclopedia
Cipriano Mera: Portrait of a Battler by Julián Vadillo Muñoz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mera, Cipriano
1897 births
1975 deaths
People from Madrid
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo members
Spanish anarchists
Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction)
Spanish army officers
Bricklayers
Spanish emigrants to France
Spanish prisoners sentenced to death
Prisoners sentenced to death by Spain
People extradited to Spain
People extradited from France