Rafael Salazar Alonso
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Rafael Salazar Alonso (27 December 1895 - 23 September 1936) was a Spanish
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
,
newspaper proprietor A media proprietor, also called a media executive, media mogul, media tycoon, or press baron is an entrepreneur who controls any means of public or commercial mass media, through the personal ownership or holding of a dominant position within a ...
and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who engaged in
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
and
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
politics. He was the
mayor of Madrid The Mayor of Madrid presides over the Madrid City Council, the government body of the capital city of Spain. The mayor has the duty of boosting the local policies, it directs the action of the other executive bodies, leads the Local Executive Adm ...
and a
government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...
. He was executed by the Republican authorities two months after the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
started.


Biography

He was born 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 ...
on 27 December 1895. His father was a hairdresser. He was active in left-wing republican groups from a young age. He was combative and, initially, anti-
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. In his father's home town of
Siruela Siruela is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2006 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 2,214 inhabitants. See also * List of municipalities in Badajoz This is a list of the mu ...
, he married the daughter of a rich local landowner. They had a daughter, Carmencita. While funding himself through work, he completed a law degree at the ''Universidad Complutense'' 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 ...
doing some work as a lawyer and a journalist, later joining the ''
Partido Republicano Radical The Radical Republican Party (), sometimes shortened to the Radical Party, was a Spanish Radical party in existence between 1908 and 1936. Beginning as a splinter from earlier Radical parties, it initially played a minor role in Spanish parlia ...
(PRR)'' (Radical Republican Party) of Alejandro Lerroux García. The PRR had gradually split and Lerroux's faction had increasingly aligned itself with
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
, nationalist and religious parliamentary groups. Salazar Alonso had also become a
freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, using the name ''Pi y Maragall''. He became editor of the newspaper '' El Sol'' and at different times owner or chief of several others, including '' Informaciones'' in Madrid and ''
Almadén Almadén () is a town and municipality in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real, within the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The town is located at 4° 49' W and 38° 46' N and is 589 meters (1,932 ft) above sea level. Almadén is approx ...
'' published in the municipality of that name. In 1931, he was elected as a
city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
for Madrid (as part of the '' Conjunción Republicano-Socialista'', a coalition between republican parties and the Spanish Socialist Workers Party) and was president of the provincial council.


In parliament

Between 1931 and 1936, he was in parliament as a '' diputado'' for
Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...
. On 11 February 1933, he helped found the Association of Friends of the Soviet Union (an earlier organisation with a similar name was created in 1925). On 23 April, during a protest by
communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
and
socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...
in
Hornachos Hornachos is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 3,840 inhabitants. History The first human settlements in the mountain range of Hornac ...
, he was acosted by the Anti-Marxist Coalition. He drove to Villafranca de los Barros to access a telephone to seek authority from the Ministro de la Gobernación,
Santiago Casares Quiroga Santiago Casares y Quiroga (8 May 1884 – 17 February 1950) was Prime Minister of Spain from 13 May to 19 July 1936. Casares Quiroga resigned just 48 hours after the beginning of the Spanish coup of July 1936, military insurrection that led to t ...
, for the ''
Guardia Civil The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...
'' to open fire. Five people were killed and fourteen wounded. Forty were arrested and several beaten. During the trip to Villafranca de los Barrios, he met a new lover and confidante, Amparo Munilla, the wife of another rich landowner. He left his wife and children and, through his lover's influence, gave up freemasonry and practiced Roman Catholicism. In the elections of November 1933, he laced criticisms of his popular socialist opponent in Badajoz - the writer, translator and art expert María Teresa Lea Nelken y Mansberger, known as Margarita Nelken - with sexual insults and allegedly organised the release of a local thug from jail to deliver beatings to her and another socialist candidate, lawyer Juan Simeón Vidarte y Franco Romero and another popular candidate,
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
Dr. Pedro Vallina. In March the following year, Salazar Alonso himself became Minister of the Interior (until October). Immediately upon his tenure, he declared a state of emergency, banning the Juventudes Socialistas de España, the ''
Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...
'' and the ''
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The (CNT; ) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist national trade union center, trade union confederation. Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union ''Solidaridad Obrera (historical union), Solidaridad Obrera'', ...
'' and told the heads of security forces to be firm in their actions. He described a strike by
Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse i ...
(UGT) unions protesting at government's reversionary measures against
agrarian reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
as "revolutionary" and ordered its prohibition. Government repression followed, including the banning of unionism overseen by the Federación Nacional de Trabajadores de la Tierra (FNTT) (land-workers' union). With the help of security forces, ''caciques'' - local land-owning political influencers - and cronies, he ejected nearly two hundred socialist mayors and their councilors on weak legal pretexts and replaced them with right-wing supporters, thus removing the last available local protection for landless peasants from actions of the ''caciques'' or the police. He declared the harvest as a national public service, strike plans made by the FNTT as revolutionary and imposed severe press censorship. In the ''
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
'', the actions were condemned as unconstitutional and Salazar Alonso's efforts to frustrate any compromise was highlighted; subsequently, he became a hate-figure for the left-wing and unions, but his actions were part of a deliberate provocation to stoke the anger of the left, with the support of his colleague
José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones de León (Salamanca, 27 November 1898 – Madrid, 13 September 1980) was a Spanish politician, leader of the CEDA, and a prominent figure in the period leading up to the Spanish Civil War. He served as ...
. Because of the revolutionary events of October 1934, particularly in
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
and
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 ...
, he was made
mayor of Madrid The Mayor of Madrid presides over the Madrid City Council, the government body of the capital city of Spain. The mayor has the duty of boosting the local policies, it directs the action of the other executive bodies, leads the Local Executive Adm ...
on 19 October, remaining in the post for one year. In June 1935, socialist ''diputado'' Pedro Rubio Heredia, a popular activist for the peasants of Badajoz, was shot dead in a restaurant by Regino Valencia, a political fixer who worked for Salazar Alonso. Valencia was sentenced to twelve years in prison but Salazar Alonso was widely regarded as the author of the crime. He defended Valencia at his appeal in December 1935 at the '' Tribunal Supremo)''. Juan Simeón Vidarte, acting for the victim's family, caused a scene by saying Salazar Alonso should be wearing the convict's overalls, not lawyer's robes.


Collapse of political career

From the end of 1934, Salazar Alonso was involved in a gambling scandal with a rigged version of roulette game, which came to be called ''
Straperlo Straperlo was a scheme which originated in the Netherlands in the 1930s and was then introduced in Spain. In essence it was a fraudulent roulette which could be controlled electrically with the push of a button. The ensuing scandal was one of the s ...
'' or ''Estraperlo''. The game had previously been banned in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, but a Spanish patent was granted for it to Daniel Strauss - its named 'inventor' - in December 1934. The fallout effectively ended the career of Salazar Alonso and permanently damaged his Party. He and other prominent Radical personalities had been bribed to legalise usage of the roulette wheel in casinos. He received 100,000 ''pesetas'' and a gold watch. Unhappy with his pay off, he organised a police raid on the occasion of wheel's opening at the
San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...
casino. Another game was opened in
Pollença Pollença () is a town and municipality in the northern part of the island of Mallorca, near Cap de Formentor and Alcúdia. It lies inland, about west of its port, Port de Pollença. History The origin of the name "Pollença" can be traced ba ...
but was stopped shortly afterwards after complaints made to José Maria Gil Robles. Strauss left Spain but sent a letter to Lerroux implicating him and others and asking for money. Lerroux ignored the letter but his political opponents received a copy to show to president
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president. Early life ...
. With the support of the right-wing coalition, the ''
Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA) was a Spanish right-wing political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined ...
(CEDA)'', he barely survived a vote after a debate in the ''Cortes'' (October 1934). He resigned as mayor of Madrid. He was removed from the cabinet because Lerroux thought having three ''CEDA'' cabinet ministers would not be approved by president Zamora and would be a political touch-paper for the left. A humiliated Salazar Alonso walked out of the ''Cortes'' when, in a further debate about the bloody uprisings and their repression in Asturias and Catalonia,
Ricardo Samper Ibáñez Ricardo Samper Ibáñez (25 August 1881 – 27 October 1938) was a Spanish political figure during the Second Spanish Republic. Political career Samper served as Valencia mayor between 1920 and 1923. In 1931 he was elected as Member of the Parl ...
, former '' Presidente del Consejo de Ministros'' and '' Ministro de Estado'' (president of the council of ministers and minister of state) said that Salazar Alonso was to blame for the events. Then, throughout election campaigning in Badajoz, he fielded vocal remarks about his profits from ''Estraperlo'' and failed to get elected, even afterwards claiming electoral irregularities. In April 1936, he became president of the right-wing newspaper ''Informaciones''.


Trial and execution

At the beginning of the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
he went into hiding, firstly in the Portuguese Embassy, and then at the house of a friend called Cámara. A communist group arrested his wife - whom he was divorcing - and daughter. His wife provided Cámara's address but he'd left. He hid in the flat of an ex-lover, Irene Más, who was taking refuge with her family in the Palacio de Viana under the control of Melchor Rodriguez. Más asked a neighbour to put him up, but her angry husband arranged for him to surrender to Rodriguez. On 31 August 1936, he was arrested by Rodriguez's staff, by whom he was treated well.
Anarchosyndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...
Eduardo Val Bescós Eduardo Val Bescós (A Coruña, 1906 – Béccar, 1 May 1992) was a Galicians, Galician anarcho-syndicalist. During the Spanish Civil War, he was the leader of the Central Defence Committee and later took part in the Spanish coup of March 1939 ...
sent anarchists to interrogate him, but they also wanted to kill him. Rodriguez agreed to his suggestion to hand him to the government. He was held in the
Cárcel Modelo Cárcel Modelo, also known as Cárcel Celular, was the main prison for men in Madrid at the turn of the 20th century. Located in the Moncloa-Aravaca district, it was inaugurated in 1884 after seven years of constructionCuesta Sánchez, Patricio ...
and was visited only by lawyers, Aurelio Núñez Morgado (the Chilean Ambassador) and daily by Munilla (who had earlier ignored threats to reveal his whereabouts, was detained for a week along with a baby son and a daughter and released on 14 August). Munilla and her family were sheltered by Norwegian diplomats. On 19 September, Salazar Alonso stood accused of being part of the Francoist military plot. The experience tribunal magistrate, Mariano Gómez, was a moderate Republican. The prosecution showed he had provoked the Asturian uprising but admitted having no evidence of his implication in the plot. Munilla came to court to speak on his behalf. On September 22, 1936, he was sentenced to death for his alleged participation in the military uprising. President
Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain, Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the la ...
condemned the sentence. After it was passed to the cabinet, they voted 7:6 in favour of commuting the sentence to life imprisonment and socialist
Indalecio Prieto Indalecio Prieto Tuero (30 April 1883 – 11 February 1962) was a Spanish politician, a minister and one of the leading figures of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in the years before and during the Second Spanish Republic. Less radi ...
elaborated on this. However, Mariano Gómez then spoke to Prieto explaining his fear that allowing him to live would lead to a revolt in which the remaining 100 or so prisoners would be killed. Prieto told the cabinet this and changed his vote. Salazar Alonso was executed the following day.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salazar Alonso, Rafael 1895 births 1936 deaths Politicians from Madrid Spanish Freemasons Radical Republican Party politicians CEDA politicians Government ministers during the Second Spanish Republic Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Interior ministers of Spain Mayors of Madrid People killed by the Second Spanish Republic Perpetrators of political repression in the Second Spanish Republic