Tragedy in Galicia: Honoring Two CNT Activists Murdered by Fascists 90 Years Ago
August 2024 marks the 90th anniversary of the torture and murder of CNT activists Francisco Arca Valiñas and Secundino Bugallo Iglesias by the Falange in Galicia. Professor of Contemporary History Julio Prada Rodríguez notes that despite the absence of a formal front line in Galicia, extrajudicial killings were used as a central mechanism to establish Francoist power. A commemoration will be held on August 13 at the Casa do Pobo in Pedre (Cerdedo-Cotobade) to assert the right to truth and counter modern neo-Francoist revisionism. The Victims and the Terror Francisco and Secundino were stonemasons and labor union leaders in Cerdedo who defended the democratically elected government against the military coup. On the night of August 12-13, 1936, they were abducted from a Guardia Civil barracks and murdered by Falangists at the roadside near Ponte do Barco. The local priest refused them burial in the parish cemetery, forcing their internment in a common grave. Their family members faced a long history of persecution: Secundino's son Gerardo was later murdered by the same Falangist who killed his father, while Francisco's son Rogelio fought for the Republic and endured internment in a concentration camp. Gender-Based Repression in Rural Galicia Francoist repression extended systematically to the wives and daughters of male victims, serving as a tool to pressure families and discipline the rural population. Women faced constant surveillance, public humiliation (such as forced head shaving), social exclusion, and severe economic hardship. According to researchers, this gender-based violence was intended to enforce the regime's ideal of submissive, dependent women and destroy all community ties to those labeled as enemies of the regime.
El Salto ·