Segundo Blanco González (

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

1899 – Mexico 1957) was an Asturian anarchist, teacher and CNT militant that participated in the governance of various republican institutions, during 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 ...

Biography

Segundo Blanco González was born in 1899 in

, a town with a strong anarchist presence. He worked in construction as a master rigger and completed his studies in teaching, although his early militant activity did not allow him to practice teaching. From a very young age, he became one of the most prominent militants of the Asturian CNT, in which there was a large payroll of anarchists of merit headed by Eleuterio Quintanilla. In 1926, during the

Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...

, he was elected Regional General Secretary of

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 ...

, León and

Palencia Palencia () 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 Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

and edited the Confederation's publication, ''Solidaridad''. That same year he was replaced at the head of the CNT National Committee by Juan Peiró, after Segundo Blanco was arrested and tortured in December 1926 by Commander Lisardo Doval, who gained infamy in the repression of the Asturian Commune. It was his first admission to prison, being imprisoned again in 1931 and 1934. After the proclamation of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

, he participated in the CNT Congress of 1931, where he presided over some of the sessions, and at the beginning of the

he chaired the Gijón War Committee that the city had established. Shortly after the creation of the Interprovincial Council of Asturias and León, he was appointed Minister of Industry, remaining in office until the fall of Gijón, on 21 October 1937. He was also part of the War Commission once it became the

Sovereign Council of Asturias and León ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

. He managed to escape to

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 ...

and then went to

Revolutionary Catalonia Revolutionary Catalonia (21 July 1936 – 8 May 1937) was the period in which the autonomous region of Catalonia in northeast Spain was controlled or largely influenced by various anarchist, syndicalist, communist, and socialist trade unions, p ...

. From there, he rejoined the fight in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, where he was responsible for Defense on the CNT National Committee. In April 1938 he joined the government of

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...

, occupying the ministries of

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

. His activity in these positions was marked by a lack of means and difficulty attending to the basic services of a population that decreased with each military setback, in a territory that was constantly fracturing. Shortly before the end of the war, Blanco went to the

Central zone Central Zone may refer to: Places * Central Indo-Aryan languages, or the "Central Zone" of Indo-Aryan, a language group of India * Central Zone, Bhutan, an administrative district of Bhutan * Central Zone of São Paulo, an administrative zone of th ...

. On 3 March 1939, he warned the Madrid anarchist committees that Negrín did not intend to replace

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 ...

, an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

republican colonel. His warnings ignored, the events were precipitated by Casado's coup and the definitive collapse of the Republic. After the Civil War, Segundo Blanco crossed the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

again and settled in the city of

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and invasion of France by the armies of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

led him to move to Mexico, where he died in 1957. During his exile he aligned himself with the political fraction of the libertarian movement that defended unity of action with political parties, maintaining for a time his position in the governments of Juan Negrín, for which he was expelled from the CNT.

References

Bibliography

*. *. *. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Segundo 1899 births 1957 deaths Anarchists from Asturias Politicians from Gijón General secretaries of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo Government ministers during the Second Spanish Republic