You are here
Home ›The Struggle of the Asturian Miners
The day before yesterday (June 6) the Spanish Civil Guard was decisively repulsed and driven back into Ciñera de Gordon, a small town about halfway between Oviedo and Leon. They had arrived in force on Tuesday to clear a roadblock on highway N-630 near the village wedged between the mountains of Asturias, between Oviedo and Leon. But they did not have to wait long for a response from the miners. Taking up their shields once again and supported by the inhabitants of the village, they launched an assault on the Civil Guard which was driven from the town centre. After a heavy crackdown, with mad chases through residential areas and in the surrounding countryside, a veritable manhunt, the bourgeois forces of order finally decided to leave because of the resistance on all sides from, both the motorway to the edges of the town. Their flight was celebrated with a long applause from the local population who thus expressed solidarity with this group of miners, proletarians in struggle.
The great strength of these workers, compared to the almost total inaction of the Spanish proletariat is not, however, surprising. These workers are the last exponents of a long and ancient tradition of class struggle whose highest expression occurred in 1934, a date, which, albeit briefly, shook the pillars of Iberian capitalism. The key event in Asturias, it should be remembered, exploded at dawn on October 5, 1934. Here, the more conscious proletariat, represented by the miners (some highly unionised) rebelled against the government formed in Madrid, but the revolt was not just against certain political forces, it was against the capitalist system itself, so much so that in the short-lived Asturian experience tried to give life to a new economic and social organization. It was an experience that, unfortunately, and inevitably, had no real follow-up, and ended by suffering severe repression. [For more on this see the CWO pamphlet on the Spanish Civil War].
But back to the facts. In recent weeks, workers in coal mines and other areas targeted by draconian cuts by the Rajoy government (part of the austerity plan by the capitalist administration) went on strike, organized local demonstrations and road blocks. Some of them occupied pits, clashing with police and with the already mentioned Civil Guard. Thousands of miners are in this struggle that is deeply opposed to the cuts made by the government, cuts that put an end to tens of thousands of jobs and condemn entire provinces of northern Spain to economic desertification. Served until exploited and then thrown in the trash. And in response last Saturday in ten thousand had descended on Madrid, bringing with them a very significant banner: "We're not outraged, we’re just pissed off", obviously referring to the Spanish democratic movement 15M. The welcome they received in the capital? Arrests, beatings and rubber bullets that fell like rain.
But the miners were not intimidated. Having realized the futility of "politically correct" events (the Partido Popular did not want to listen to reason and decided to stick to the contingency plan), the fight has intensified: with an indefinite wildcat general strike, roadblocks on the main roads and highways of Asturias, the combative autonomous region on the Atlantic Ocean in the north of the country. They started as a series of wildcat blockades of train tracks, roads and state highways in several places, a technique with "hit and run" that is putting a strain on the so-called forces of law and order. The latest clash occurred on the highway N-630, where the miners have gained a victory over the bourgeois forces of repression with the support of citizens of the village of Ciñera de Gordon.
In the face of this "rebellion" the silence of the mass media, is nothing short of deafening. But this is not surprising. In these years of crisis there have been many outbreaks of proletarian revolt, though fragile and without a clear political direction. This is true particularly for certain regions of the Spanish state so that if the miners' protest increases, it is likely to cause a massive domino effect. This inevitable domino effect. however, has not exactly got a clear-cut policy direction, and without a revolutionary party, it would not be synonymous with all-out victory. Indeed, history teaches us that without political leadership the struggle would lose its coherence and would fall into the most vicious bourgeois repression, as unfortunately happened in the events of 1934.
MR, Tuesday, June 12, 2012Start here...
- Navigating the Basics
- Platform
- For Communism
- Introduction to Our History
- CWO Social Media
- IWG Social Media
- Klasbatalo Social Media
- Italian Communist Left
- Russian Communist Left
The Internationalist Communist Tendency consists of (unsurprisingly!) not-for-profit organisations. We have no so-called “professional revolutionaries”, nor paid officials. Our sole funding comes from the subscriptions and donations of members and supporters. Anyone wishing to donate can now do so safely using the Paypal buttons below.
ICT publications are not copyrighted and we only ask that those who reproduce them acknowledge the original source (author and website leftcom.org). Purchasing any of the publications listed (see catalogue) can be done in two ways:
- By emailing us at uk@leftcom.org, us@leftcom.org or ca@leftcom.org and asking for our banking details
- By donating the cost of the publications required via Paypal using the “Donate” buttons
The CWO also offers subscriptions to Revolutionary Perspectives (3 issues) and Aurora (at least 4 issues):
- UK £15 (€18)
- Europe £20 (€24)
- World £25 (€30, $30)
Take out a supporter’s sub by adding £10 (€12) to each sum. This will give you priority mailings of Aurora and other free pamphlets as they are produced.
ICT sections
Basics
- Bourgeois revolution
- Competition and monopoly
- Core and peripheral countries
- Crisis
- Decadence
- Democracy and dictatorship
- Exploitation and accumulation
- Factory and territory groups
- Financialization
- Globalization
- Historical materialism
- Imperialism
- Our Intervention
- Party and class
- Proletarian revolution
- Seigniorage
- Social classes
- Socialism and communism
- State
- State capitalism
- War economics
Facts
- Activities
- Arms
- Automotive industry
- Books, art and culture
- Commerce
- Communications
- Conflicts
- Contracts and wages
- Corporate trends
- Criminal activities
- Disasters
- Discriminations
- Discussions
- Drugs and dependencies
- Economic policies
- Education and youth
- Elections and polls
- Energy, oil and fuels
- Environment and resources
- Financial market
- Food
- Health and social assistance
- Housing
- Information and media
- International relations
- Law
- Migrations
- Pensions and benefits
- Philosophy and religion
- Repression and control
- Science and technics
- Social unrest
- Terrorist outrages
- Transports
- Unemployment and precarity
- Workers' conditions and struggles
History
- 01. Prehistory
- 02. Ancient History
- 03. Middle Ages
- 04. Modern History
- 1800: Industrial Revolution
- 1900s
- 1910s
- 1911-12: Turko-Italian War for Libya
- 1912: Intransigent Revolutionary Fraction of the PSI
- 1912: Republic of China
- 1913: Fordism (assembly line)
- 1914-18: World War I
- 1917: Russian Revolution
- 1918: Abstentionist Communist Fraction of the PSI
- 1918: German Revolution
- 1919-20: Biennio Rosso in Italy
- 1919-43: Third International
- 1919: Hungarian Revolution
- 1930s
- 1931: Japan occupies Manchuria
- 1933-43: New Deal
- 1933-45: Nazism
- 1934: Long March of Chinese communists
- 1934: Miners' uprising in Asturias
- 1934: Workers' uprising in "Red Vienna"
- 1935-36: Italian Army Invades Ethiopia
- 1936-38: Great Purge
- 1936-39: Spanish Civil War
- 1937: International Bureau of Fractions of the Communist Left
- 1938: Fourth International
- 1940s
- 1960s
- 1980s
- 1979-89: Soviet war in Afghanistan
- 1980-88: Iran-Iraq War
- 1982: First Lebanon War
- 1982: Sabra and Chatila
- 1986: Chernobyl disaster
- 1987-93: First Intifada
- 1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall
- 1979-90: Thatcher Government
- 1980: Strikes in Poland
- 1982: Falklands War
- 1983: Foundation of IBRP
- 1984-85: UK Miners' Strike
- 1987: Perestroika
- 1989: Tiananmen Square Protests
- 1990s
- 1991: Breakup of Yugoslavia
- 1991: Dissolution of Soviet Union
- 1991: First Gulf War
- 1992-95: UN intervention in Somalia
- 1994-96: First Chechen War
- 1994: Genocide in Rwanda
- 1999-2000: Second Chechen War
- 1999: Introduction of euro
- 1999: Kosovo War
- 1999: WTO conference in Seattle
- 1995: NATO Bombing in Bosnia
- 2000s
- 2000: Second intifada
- 2001: September 11 attacks
- 2001: Piqueteros Movement in Argentina
- 2001: War in Afghanistan
- 2001: G8 Summit in Genoa
- 2003: Second Gulf War
- 2004: Asian Tsunami
- 2004: Madrid train bombings
- 2005: Banlieue riots in France
- 2005: Hurricane Katrina
- 2005: London bombings
- 2006: Anti-CPE movement in France
- 2006: Comuna de Oaxaca
- 2006: Second Lebanon War
- 2007: Subprime Crisis
- 2008: Onda movement in Italy
- 2008: War in Georgia
- 2008: Riots in Greece
- 2008: Pomigliano Struggle
- 2008: Global Crisis
- 2008: Automotive Crisis
- 2009: Post-election crisis in Iran
- 2009: Israel-Gaza conflict
- 2020s
- 1920s
- 1921-28: New Economic Policy
- 1921: Communist Party of Italy
- 1921: Kronstadt Rebellion
- 1922-45: Fascism
- 1922-52: Stalin is General Secretary of PCUS
- 1925-27: Canton and Shanghai revolt
- 1925: Comitato d'Intesa
- 1926: General strike in Britain
- 1926: Lyons Congress of PCd’I
- 1927: Vienna revolt
- 1928: First five-year plan
- 1928: Left Fraction of the PCd'I
- 1929: Great Depression
- 1950s
- 1970s
- 1969-80: Anni di piombo in Italy
- 1971: End of the Bretton Woods System
- 1971: Microprocessor
- 1973: Pinochet's military junta in Chile
- 1975: Toyotism (just-in-time)
- 1977-81: International Conferences Convoked by PCInt
- 1977: '77 movement
- 1978: Economic Reforms in China
- 1978: Islamic Revolution in Iran
- 1978: South Lebanon conflict
- 2010s
- 2010: Greek debt crisis
- 2011: War in Libya
- 2011: Indignados and Occupy movements
- 2011: Sovereign debt crisis
- 2011: Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster in Japan
- 2011: Uprising in Maghreb
- 2014: Euromaidan
- 2016: Brexit Referendum
- 2017: Catalan Referendum
- 2019: Maquiladoras Struggle
- 2010: Student Protests in UK and Italy
- 2011: War in Syria
- 2013: Black Lives Matter Movement
- 2014: Military Intervention Against ISIS
- 2015: Refugee Crisis
- 2018: Haft Tappeh Struggle
- 2018: Climate Movement
People
- Amadeo Bordiga
- Anton Pannekoek
- Antonio Gramsci
- Arrigo Cervetto
- Bruno Fortichiari
- Bruno Maffi
- Celso Beltrami
- Davide Casartelli
- Errico Malatesta
- Fabio Damen
- Fausto Atti
- Franco Migliaccio
- Franz Mehring
- Friedrich Engels
- Giorgio Paolucci
- Guido Torricelli
- Heinz Langerhans
- Helmut Wagner
- Henryk Grossmann
- Karl Korsch
- Karl Liebknecht
- Karl Marx
- Leon Trotsky
- Lorenzo Procopio
- Mario Acquaviva
- Mauro jr. Stefanini
- Michail Bakunin
- Onorato Damen
- Ottorino Perrone (Vercesi)
- Paul Mattick
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Vladimir Lenin
Politics
- Anarchism
- Anti-Americanism
- Anti-Globalization Movement
- Antifascism and United Front
- Antiracism
- Armed Struggle
- Autonomism and Workerism
- Base Unionism
- Bordigism
- Communist Left Inspired
- Cooperativism and autogestion
- DeLeonism
- Environmentalism
- Fascism
- Feminism
- German-Dutch Communist Left
- Gramscism
- ICC and French Communist Left
- Islamism
- Italian Communist Left
- Leninism
- Liberism
- Luxemburgism
- Maoism
- Marxism
- National Liberation Movements
- Nationalism
- No War But The Class War
- PCInt-ICT
- Pacifism
- Parliamentary Center-Right
- Parliamentary Left and Reformism
- Peasant movement
- Revolutionary Unionism
- Russian Communist Left
- Situationism
- Stalinism
- Statism and Keynesism
- Student Movement
- Titoism
- Trotskyism
- Unionism
Regions
User login
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Comments
All hail "the pissed off" and I hope the longed for domino effect, through which all workers are inspired to take up the revolutionary solution, and start working towards it, gets going soon. But, as you say, we need the party. Is the ICT actually engaged in doing anything towards getting the party together?