The Asturias miners' strike of 1962 (also known as ''la huelgona'' (from ''huelga'', the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

word for strike) or ''the strike of silence'') took place in the spring of 1962, during the

Francoist dictatorship Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. The strike ended two months after it had started, having achieved some of its aims. Many miners were tortured and exiled to other Spanish provinces, and the government instituted a harsh repression.

Sympathy strike Solidarity action (also known as secondary action, a secondary boycott, a solidarity strike, or a sympathy strike) is industrial action by a trade union in support of a strike initiated by workers in a separate corporation, but often the same en ...

s took place in other parts of Spain and in other countries.

Social and economic background

In 1959, the so-called

Stabilization Plan The Stabilization Plan of 1959 () or the National Plan of Economic Stabilization () were a series of economic measures taken by the Spanish Government in 1959. Its main goal was the economic liberalization of the Spanish markets, marking a turni ...

began in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, which deregulated the

Spanish economy The economy of Spain is a highly developed social market economy. It is the world's 12th largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest in Europe (fifth excluding Russia). Spain is a member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as the ...

and seriously harmed mining, which had not received new investments since the end of the 19th century. This led to a wave of wage reductions, which in turn led to the

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

of mining companies. This caused the economic benefits of past mining activity to be privatized, while its contemporary losses were assumed by the majority of the population. Moreover, the perception of the Franco regime as "archaic" by young people who had not lived through the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

or the repression that followed it served to strengthen the labor movement.

The strike

Background

In 1957 and 1958, strikes took place at the ''Pozo María Luisa'' and at the ''La Nueva'' coal mines. However, in 1962, eight miners were fired from the ''Pozo Nicolasa'' mine, in

Mieres Mieres is a municipality of Asturias, northern Spain, with approximately 38,000 inhabitants. The municipality of Mieres is made up of the capital, Mieres del Camino and the villages of Baíña, Figaredo, Cenera, Loredo, La Peña, La Rebollada, ...

, for protesting the harsh working conditions. This, along with the poor living conditions in the

mining basin Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and the willingness of young people to confront the regime, was the trigger for the strike.

Development of the strike

Thus, on the morning of April 6, 1962, the dismissal of the eight miners was communicated to their colleagues. As a measure of solidarity, the miners at the Nicolasa pit refused to work, resulting in another 25 miners being fired some days later. Thus began the major strike, which came to mobilize nearly 65,000 workers in various industries in

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

. The strike of 1962 was known as the "Silent strike" because it took place in a peaceful and silent manner. This surprised the authorities, who were more accustomed to an aggressive attitude by the Asturian miners. The strikers' solidarity contributed to the continuation of the strike; for example, free children's canteens were set up. However, after the first month of the strike, the situation became more complicated, with families struggling to survive; as a result, some workers tried to return to the mine. It was then that some women members of the Communist Party decided to help in the continuation of the strike and organizing of pickets, as well as transmitting information to the rest of the women so that the strike could continue. The role of women was fundamental in creating solidarity networks, asking for food and achieving the means of survival for the strikers and their families when it seemed that the strike was going to fail.Anita Sirgo: «Nosotras creíamos en la lucha y en por qué luchábamos. Hoy no se cree»
Consultado el 1 de junio de 2019.

Conclusion

Between June 4 and 7, 1962, the strike gradually ceased and the workers returned to their posts. The then General Minister of the ''

Movimiento Nacional The Movimiento Nacional () was a governing institution of Spain established by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. During Francoist Spain#Francoism, Francoist rule in Spain, it purported to be the only channel of parti ...

'',

José Solís Ruiz José Solís Ruiz (27 September 1913 – 30 May 1990) was a Spanish politician, known for his role in Francoist Spain, during which he occupied a number of important posts. As a member of the Military Legal Corps, during Franco's regime he be ...

, negotiated directly with the strikers. Part of the demands were granted: there were salary improvements, revaluation of pensions, annulment of some sanctions and freedom for the detainees. It was the only occasion during the Franco regime in which, since the right to strike was prohibited, a minister negotiated directly with the strikers and not with the

Spanish Syndical Organization The Spanish Syndical Organization (; OSE), popularly known in Spain as the (the "Vertical Trade Union"), was the sole legal trade union for most of the Francoist dictatorship. A public-law entity created in 1940, the vertically-structured OSE w ...

. Several of the workers' demands were met, which were also included in the

Boletín Oficial del Estado The (''BOE''; "", from 1661 to 1936 known as the ''Gaceta de Madrid'', "") is the official gazette of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain and may be published on any day of the week. The content of the ''BOE'' is authorized and published by Royal Asse ...

. However, following the strikes, a large number of miners were fired or deported from Asturias.

Consequences and repercussion

Repression

The regime responded by repressing the mining families that participated in the strike, in addition to the "silent" and bloody repression of the forces of order at the time, such as the Civil Guard. During the strike, approximately 400 workers were detained and many of them tortured. In addition, many workers were forced to leave their homes to go to work by force. Other workers were prosecuted and deported.

Consequences in Spain

At the national level, the mining strike served as a trigger for other

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

s throughout Spain, which came to mobilize more than 300,000 workers throughout the territory. In a large part of these mobilizations, the explicit reason was to show solidarity with the Asturian miners. The strike once again put Asturias in the international spotlight, something that had not happened since the revolutionary strike of 1934. Along with the sympathy strikes throughout the Spanish territory, the miners' strike served as a trigger for the opposition to Francoism to meet in June 1962 in what the Francoist regime termed as the (Munich conspiracy). In addition, a group of intellectuals, headed by

Ramón Menéndez Pidal Ramón Menéndez Pidal (; 13 March 1869 – 14 November 1968) was a Spanish philologist and historian."Ramon Menendez Pidal", ''Almanac of Famous People'' (2011) ''Biography in Context'', Gale, Detroit He worked extensively on the history of t ...

, signed a manifesto demanding freedom of information and the recognition of the right to strike. Likewise, a group of women, including some notable writers, demonstrated with students in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in support of the strikers. For the writer

Jorge Martínez Reverte Jorge Martínez Reverte (28 September 1948 – 24 March 2021) was a Spanish writer, journalist, and historian, specializing in the Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Repub ...

, " the Spanish political transition" began during the strike.

International impact

French and Welsh trade unions sent representatives to Asturias to investigate the reality of the conditions of the strike. Moreover, news of women being confined in the

Oviedo Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador (, ) is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Asturias region of northern Spain. The Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo to ...

reached other countries such as

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, where sympathy strikes were organized. In addition, the strike contributed to highlighting the totalitarian quality of the Franco regime, which made it difficult for the regime to integrate into the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

In culture

Jaime Gil de Biedma Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and ...

's poem "Asturias, 1962" is a tribute to the miners, in which the speaker compares different types of silence: destructive silences which inhibit communication, like that after the Civil War, and silences charged with anticipation of political change, like that during the strike.

References

{{Reflist 1962 in politics Labour disputes in Spain 1962 in Spain Anti-Francoism 1962 labor disputes and strikes Miners' labor disputes Miners' labor movement Labour movement in Spain Communism in Spain