37 years of the disaster of the Euskalduna struggles
- In 1984 the Spanish Government, presided over by Felipe González, ordered the closure of the Bilbao shipyard. The workers fought to defend their jobs and in one of those days between barricades, on 23 November, Pablo González Larrazabal died of a heart attack due to police aggression.
The Euskalduna shipyard was inaugurated in 1900 next to the Bilbao estuary, in the area where today the palace of the same name is located. The company was for years very important in the shipbuilding industry, until it was closed in 1985, due to the decision taken a year earlier. At that time the shipyard had about 2,500 workers. Well, in the face of mass dismissal, they organized and took the streets for several weeks.
The protests took place every day on the streets of Bilbao and in the vicinity of the yard. The tension was increasing, and on 23 November, 37 years ago, a major event further darkened the atmosphere. The police charged the workers who had wagered on the other side of the barricades and who had also shot. Specifically, among all those injured, one of the workers was beaten with bullet and another was transferred with various burns to the hospital, where he was admitted with a severe prognosis. However, that day there was an even more serious tragedy, as Pablo González, who participated in the protests, died of a heart attack due to the heart crisis.
On that day, the Spanish National Police entered the shipyard with crutches. Faced with this situation, the workers who were in the area, trying to protect themselves, went to hide themselves in the boat that was in the shipyard. However, Gonzalez did not arrive, as he fell to the ground.
Tribute to Sortu
On the occasion of this anniversary, Sortu celebrated an event in memory of González at the Deusto Bridge in Bilbao. The concentration involved the women who led the lockdown in favour of the former shipyard workers and some workers from the Indusal, Tubacex, Artiach and ITP plants, among others. Recalling the events of that day, Sortu member Tamara Martín said that "the struggle to deal with the capital offensive continues". It has therefore called on all the workers to continue to organize themselves on the streets of the city.
This is Daniel Udalaitz's chronicle of what happened in ARGIA: Witness of the death of a worker
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