1977 Atocha massacre

Far-right attack in Madrid, Spain April 2020 March 2024 Ya newspaper cover one nine seven seven.jpg 1.3 Image of the front page of a Spanish language newspaper showing six individual passport type photographs of the victims, a photograph of two funeral wreathes and a two-word headline in bold letters which reads, "Accion Criminal" Front page of the 26 January 1977 edition of the Ya newspaper depicting the victims Matanza de Atocha de 1977 es 22:30 CET (21:30 UTC) 1977 01 24 yes Calle de Atocha 55, Madrid 40 24 46.4 N 3 41 59.5 W region:ES_type:event inline,title Neo-fascist extremists with links to New Force and Warriors of Christ the King 5 4 The 1977 Atocha massacre was an attack by right-wing extremists in the center of Madrid on 24 January 1977, which saw the assassination of five labor activists from the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and the workers' federation Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO). The act occurred within the wider context of far-right reaction to Spain's transition to constitutional democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco. Intended to provoke a violent left-wing response that would provide legitimacy for a subsequent right-wing counter coup d'état, the massacre had an immediate opposite effect, generating mass popular revulsion of the far-right and accelerating the legalization of the long-banned Communist Party. On the evening of 24 January, three men entered a legal support office for workers run by the PCE on Atocha Street in central Madrid, and opened fire on all present. Those killed were labour lawyers Enrique Valdelvira Ibáñez es, Luis Javier Benavides Orgaz and Francisco Javier Sauquillo es; law student Serafín Holgado de Antonio es; and administrative assistant Ángel Rodríguez Leal es. Severely wounded in the attack were Miguel Sarabia Gil es, Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta Carbonell es, Luis Ramos Pardo es and Dolores González Ruiz es. The perpetrators all had links to neo-fascist organizations in Spain opposed to the democratic transition. Those involved in the massacre and their accomplices were sentenced to a total of 464 years in prison, although these terms were later significantly reduced and a number of the perpetrators escaped custody. Doubts remain as to whether all culpable persons were brought to justice. The events surrounding the massacre are generally considered a crucial turning point in the consolidation of Spain's return to democracy in the late 1970s. Writing on the 40th anniversary of the massacre, journalist Juancho Dumall noted: "It was a terrorist act that marked the future of the country in a way that the murderers would never have suspected and, instead, was the one desired by the victims." Memorialized annually, across Madrid there are 25 streets and squares dedicated to the victims of the Atocha massacre. Events at 55 Atocha Street alt=A black and white photograph showing a woman and two men walking down a street in Madrid|thumb|295x295px|From left: Dolores González, Enrique Ruano and Francisco Javier Sauquillo in Madrid around 1968. González and Ruano were in a relationship until his death in January 1969, when he was allegedly murdered by police. González and Sauquillo married in 1973 and were expecting a child at the time of the Atocha massacre.Dolores González Ruiz http://dbe.rah.es/biografias/91484/dolores-gonzalez-ruiz Torres Juan José del Águila Real Academia de la Historia live https://web.archive.org/web/20200320192028/http://dbe.rah.es/biografias/91484/dolores-gonzalez-ruiz March 20, 2020 May 4, 2020 |left Three men rang the doorbell of 55 Atocha Street between 10:30 pm and 10:45 pm on 24 January 1977. Their target was Joaquín Navarro, the general secretary of Comisiones Obreras, who was then leading a transport strike in Madrid, had fought corruption within the sector, and had denounced the state-controlled labor organization Sindicato Vertical.25 Años de la 'matanza de Atocha', el crimen que marcó la transición democrática http://www.terra.es/actualidad/articulo/html/act35699.htm January 24, 2002 Terra es 25 years since the 'Atocha massacre', the crime that marked the democratic transition dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100129033507/http://www.terra.es/actualidad/articulo/html/act35699.htm January 29, 2010 May 1, 2020March 16, 1977 Selon la police Madrilène: Un règlement de comptes au sein d'un syndicat serait à l'origine du massacre de la rue Atocha fr According to the Madrid police: A trade union settling of accounts is at the heart of the Atocha Street massacre Le Monde https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1977/03/16/selon-la-police-madrilene-un-reglement-de-comptes-au-sein-d-un-syndicat-serait-a-l-origine-du-massacre-de-la-rue-atocha_3083374_1819218.html live May 1, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200501133802/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1977/03/16/selon-la-police-madrilene-un-reglement-de-comptes-au-sein-d-un-syndicat-serait-a-l-origine-du-massacre-de-la-rue-atocha_3083374_1819218.html May 1, 2020 Two of the men, carrying loaded weapons,alpha note none entered the office, while the third, carrying an unloaded pistol, stayed at the entrance to keep watch. The first to be killed was Rodríguez Leal. The attackers searched the office and found the eight remaining staff. However, not finding Navarro, as he had departed just before, they decided to kill all present. Told to raise their "little hands up high" the eight were lined up against a wall and shot.Fraguas Rafael April 11, 2015 Lola González Ruiz: "Me desbarataron mis sueños" es Lola González Ruiz: My dreams were ruined El País https://elpais.com/politica/2015/04/11/actualidad/1428718437_208437.html live May 2, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20191227123148/https://elpais.com/politica/2015/04/11/actualidad/1428718437_208437.html December 27, 2019 1134-6582 Two victims, Luis Javier Benavides and Enrique Valdevira, were killed instantly, and two more, Serafín Holgado and Francisco Javier Sauquillo, died shortly after being taken to hospital. The remaining four, Dolores González Ruiz (the wife of Sauquillo), Miguel Sarabia, Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta and Luis Ramos Pardo were gravely injured, but survived. González Ruiz was pregnant at the time and lost the child as a result of the attack. Manuela Carmena, who would later become Mayor of Madrid in 2015, had been in the office earlier in the evening but was called away.¿Qué fue de los asesinos de Atocha? https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2002/327/1011609777.html Malvar Aníbal January 20, 2002 El Mundo es What became of the Atocha massacre assassins? live https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030412/http://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2002/327/1011609777.html March 4, 2016 May 1, 2020Manuela Carmena, la abogada de Atocha que mira a Cibeles https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/madrid/20150330/54428573603/manuela-carmena-la-abogada-de-atocha-que-mira-a-cibeles.html Sanz Enrique Delgado March 30, 2015 La Vanguardia es Manuela Carmena, the Atocha massacre lawyer looks to Cibeles live https://web.archive.org/web/20200126215557/https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/madrid/20150330/54428573603/manuela-carmena-la-abogada-de-atocha-que-mira-a-cibeles.html January 26, 2020 May 1, 2020 The same night, unidentified persons attacked an empty office used by the UGT labor union, affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE).January 26, 1977 Tras el salvaje atentado al despacho laboralista de Madrid es After the brutal attack on the Madrid labor office La Vanguardia http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1977/01/26/pagina-4/33629376/pdf.html live 26 November 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20190202223831/http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1977/01/26/pagina-4/33629376/pdf.html February 2, 2019 Political context and response alt=portrait from the chest upwards of man giving speech, a large crowd slightly out of focus is behind him|thumb|233x233px|Santiago Carrillo, General Secretary of the PCE, who urged mass peaceful protests in response to the Atocha massacre. "The ultra far right feels that it is irreversibly losing control of the state. So it is trying to create a climate of anarchy [and] ... terror in order to provoke a reaction from the army and the police against the democratization process."Dans le massacre d'Atocha, on trouve l'ADN de la démocratie espagnole https://www.humanite.fr/dans-le-massacre-datocha-trouve-ladn-de-la-democratie-espagnole-630758 Fort José January 20, 2017 L'Humanité fr In the Atocha massacre, we find the DNA of Spanish democracy live https://web.archive.org/web/20170202181531/http://www.humanite.fr/dans-le-massacre-datocha-trouve-ladn-de-la-democratie-espagnole-630758 February 2, 2017 May 7, 2020Following Franco's death in November 1975, Spain witnessed a period of significant political instability and violence.Encarnación Omar G. https://books.google.com/books?id=F1wWKJVaZeIC Spanish Politics: Democracy After Dictatorship Polity 2008 978-0-7456-3992-5 38 en Ultra right-wing elements of the armed forces and high-ranking officials from the Franco regime, known as the Búnker,Smith Angel https://books.google.com/books?id=IFuxO9NO-voC Historical Dictionary of Spain Scarecrow Press 2009 978-0-8108-6267-8 114–115 en Búnker were to varying degrees engaged in a strategy of tensionLuís Andrés Edo: Anarchist who fought the repressions of Franco's Spain https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lu237s-andr-s-edo-anarchist-who-fought-the-repressions-of-francos-spain-1652625.html Christie Stuart March 24, 2009 The Independent en live https://web.archive.org/web/20190704232303/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lu237s-andr-s-edo-anarchist-who-fought-the-repressions-of-francos-spain-1652625.html July 4, 2019 May 1, 2020 designed to reverse Spain's transition to constitutional democracy.Hottinger Arnold 1976 Spain One Year after Franco The World Today 32 12 447 40394898 0043-9134Alonso Alejandro Muñoz 1986 Golpismo y terrorismo en la transición democrática española Coup mentality and terrorism in the Spanish democratic transition Reis es 36 31 10.2307/40183244 40183244 https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=249114 subscription free The open emergence of independent labor unions in 1976, although still illegal, and an explosion in demands for improvements in working conditions and political reform, led to an upsurge in industrial strife across the country. In 1976, 110 million working days were lost to strikes compared to 10.4 million in 1975.Fina Lluis Hawkesworth Richard I. January 1984 Trade unions and collective bargaining in post-Franco Spain https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09810/09810(1984-1)3-27.pdf Labour and Society International Institute For Labour Studies: International Labour Organisation 9 1 9–14 https://web.archive.org/web/20200501211717/https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09810/09810%281984-1%293-27.pdf May 1, 2020 This undermined the power bases of former regime officials, their business allies and those from the Francoist labor organization (Sindicato Vertical). January 1977 proved to be particularly turbulent. On 23 January, a student, Arturo Ruiz García es, was murdered by members of the far-right Apostolic Anticommunist Alliance (also known as Triple A) during a demonstration calling for an amnesty for political prisoners. On 24 January, at a protest called to highlight Ruiz's death the day before, police fired tear gas canisters, one of which hit and killed a university student, María Luz Nájera es.Los abogados laboralistas del despacho de la calle Atocha, historia viva http://www.fundacionabogadosdeatocha.es/webabogadosdeatocha/Conocenos:Historia_de_los_Abogados_de_Atocha:288903--Los_abogados_laboralistas_del_despacho_de_la_calle_Atocha,_historia_viva Atocha Lawyers Foundation es The labor lawyers of the Atocha Street office, history alive live https://web.archive.org/web/20190915005712/http://www.fundacionabogadosdeatocha.es/webabogadosdeatocha/Conocenos:Historia_de_los_Abogados_de_Atocha:288903--Los_abogados_laboralistas_del_despacho_de_la_calle_Atocha,_historia_viva September 15, 2019 April 28, 2020 On the same day, the far-left organization GRAPO kidnapped the President of the Supreme Council of Military Justice, Emilio Villaescusa Quilis.Los GRAPO, terroristas germinados en los años 60 – españa https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2005/05/31/espana/1117527674.html May 31, 2005 El Mundo es GRAPO – terrorists born in 1960s Spain live https://web.archive.org/web/20200421210256/https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2005/05/31/espana/1117527674.html April 21, 2020 May 1, 2020alt=A large crowd, many people with fists raised, watches a hearse passing|thumb|330x330px|In Madrid up to 100,000 people joined the funeral procession on 26 January for three of the victims|leftIn the days immediately after the massacre, calls for stop work protests were heeded by upwards of half a million workers across Spain.25 años desde la Matanza de Atocha: 1977–2002 http://perso.wanadoo.es/agusromero/nc37/memoria.htm Pérez Jesús María 2002 Nuevo Claridad 25 years since the Atocha massacre: 1977–2002 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120207173657/http://perso.wanadoo.es/agusromero/nc37/memoria.htm February 7, 2012 May 1, 2020 The strikes were largest in the Basque Country, Asturias, Catalonia and Madrid, with universities and courts across the country shut down in protest. During a news broadcast on state television on 26 January, the announcer declared solidarity with the stoppages on behalf of the station's staff. In Madrid, between 50,000 and 100,000 people watched in silence as the coffins of three of the victims were taken for burial.Markham James M. January 27, 1977 Madrid, Faced By Strife, Bans Demonstrations en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/27/archives/madrid-faced-by-strife-bans-demonstrations-foreign-extremists-to.html live May 1, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20180220173759/http://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/27/archives/madrid-faced-by-strife-bans-demonstrations-foreign-extremists-to.html February 20, 2018 0362-4331La matanza de Atocha, el sangriento minuto cero de la democracia https://www.elperiodico.com/es/cuaderno/20170122/el-sangriento-minuto-cero-de-la-democracia-5753885 Dumall Juancho January 22, 2017 El Periódico es The Atocha massacre, the bloody minute zero of democracy live https://web.archive.org/web/20200503192540/https://www.elperiodico.com/es/cuaderno/20170122/el-sangriento-minuto-cero-de-la-democracia-5753885 May 3, 2020 May 3, 2020 The PCE was legalized soon after on 9 April 1977;Marco Jorge Anderson Peter 2016 Legitimacy by Proxy: Searching for a Usable Past through the International Brigades in Spain's Post-Franco Democracy, 1975–2015 Journal of Modern European History 14 3 393 10.17104/1611-8944-2016-3-391 26266251 147867302 1611-8944 http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/93332/3/MARCO%20AND%20ANDERSON%209.pdf the Party's earlier embrace of Eurocommunism (essentially a rejection of Soviet-style socialism) and a highly visible role in promoting a peaceful response to the massacre allowed the government the necessary political space to lift the ban in place since 1939.González Fernando Nistal 2013 El PCE: de la clandestinidad a la legalidad The PCE: from secrecy to legality Cuadernos de Pensamiento Político es 40 185 23511966 1696-8441Acoca Miguel April 10, 1977 Spain Ends Ban On Communists After 38 Years en-US Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/04/10/spain-ends-ban-on-communists-after-38-years/162cdf4a-5f53-4dc8-b006-03e2b79595f8/ live May 2, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200502183719/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/04/10/spain-ends-ban-on-communists-after-38-years/162cdf4a-5f53-4dc8-b006-03e2b79595f8/ May 2, 2020 0190-8286 With the passing of Act 19 covering labor rights on 1 April and the ratification of the ILO Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining on 20 April, independent unions became legal and the Francoist Sindicato Vertical system was effectively dissolved.Olea Manuel Alonso https://books.google.com/books?id=vyuRDwAAQBAJ Labour Law in Spain Rodríguez-Sañudo Fermín Guerrero Fernando Elorza Kluwer Law International B.V. 2018 978-94-035-0184-0 paragraphs: 51, 52, 536 en Capture, trial, prison and escape alt=A man giving a fascist salute to a crowd, next to him stands a young man wear military style clothes and a beret|thumb|351x351px|Leader of the Fuerza Nueva, Blas Piñar, salutes during a rally in Madrid in May 1976. At his left is one of the perpetrators of the Atocha massacre, Carlos García Juliá. The murderers, believing themselves well protected via political connections, carried on with their lives as normal. Lawyer José María Mohedano recalled: "They had the power of a Franco-era labor union that was still alive and working, as well as the support of some police officers and the entire far-right." They were all linked, directly and indirectly, to the far-right organizations Fuerza Nueva (New Force) and Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey (Warriors of Christ the King).Matanza en Atocha: la sombra de la ultraderecha 40 años después https://www.elindependiente.com/politica/2017/01/22/matanza-atocha-la-sombra-la-ultraderecha-40-anos-despues/ Alarcón Julio Martín January 22, 2017 El Independiente es Atocha Massacre: the extreme right shadow 40 years later live https://web.archive.org/web/20190526101012/https://www.elindependiente.com/politica/2017/01/22/matanza-atocha-la-sombra-la-ultraderecha-40-anos-despues/ May 26, 2019 May 7, 2020 However, on 15 March 1977, José Fernández Cerrá, Carlos García Juliá and Fernando Lerdo de Tejada were arrested as the perpetrators. Francisco Albadalejo Corredera, provincial secretary of the Francoist transport labor union, was also arrested for having ordered the killings. Leocadio Jiménez Caravaca and Simón Ramón Fernández Palacios, veterans of the Blue Division, were arrested for supplying weapons. Gloria Herguedas, Cerrá's girlfriend, was arrested as an accomplice. During the trial the accused made contacts with well-known leaders of the extreme right, including Blas Piñar (founder of Fuerza Nueva) and Mariano Sánchez Covisa (leader of Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey).The night Spain's transition to democracy nearly derailed https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/02/03/inenglish/1454496288_346509.html Altares Guillermo February 5, 2016 El País en live https://web.archive.org/web/20200420104425/https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/02/03/inenglish/1454496288_346509.html April 20, 2020 April 29, 2020 The trial took place in February 1980 and the defendants were sentenced to a total of 464 years in jail. José Fernández Cerrá and Carlos García Juliá, the main perpetrators, received prison terms of 193 years each. Albadalejo Corredera received 63 years for ordering the attack (he died in prison in 1985). Leocadio Jiménez Caravaca was sentenced to four years, and Gloria Herguedas Herrando one year. es Pedro Sánchez sanchezcastejon 7 February 2020 20em Hace 43 años mató a 5 personas en el atentado de Atocha. Una matanza que no pudo frenar el deseo de libertad de toda una sociedad. Hoy la Democracia y la Justicia vuelven a triunfar. Hoy llega a Madrid uno de sus asesinos, Carlos García Juliá, tras ser extraditado por Brasil. 1225681541860212736 43 years ago, he killed 5 people in the Atocha attack. A massacre that could not stop an entire society's desire for freedom. Today democracy and justice triumph again. Today one of the assassins, Carlos García Juliá, arrives in Madrid after being extradited from Brazil. yLerdo de Tejada, who stood watch during the massacre, was temporarily released from prison for family leave in 1979, before the trial, following an intervention by Blas Piñar. He then fled to France, Chile and Brazil, never facing justice as the statute of limitations for his crime expired in 1997. Due to law reforms in the 1980s, the sentences imposed on Fernández Cerrá and García Juliá were reduced to a maximum of 30 years. Fernández Cerrá was released in 1992 after 15 years in jail; 2018 December since then, he has paid none of the court-ordered financial compensation to the victims' families (approximately €100,000).La última amenaza del único pistolero de la matanza de Atocha que sí cumplió condena https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2018/12/16/5c13f781fdddffed148b46f6.html Iglesias Leyre December 16, 2018 El Mundo es The last threat of the only Atocha massacre gunman who served time live https://web.archive.org/web/20200325140650/https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2018/12/16/5c13f781fdddffed148b46f6.html March 25, 2020 May 6, 2020 In 1991, with more than 10 years remaining in his sentence, García Juliá was unusually granted parole and then in 1994 given permission to take up employment in Paraguay.Duva Jesús Gayo Alberto August 19, 2019 El asesino de Atocha que estuvo huido 25 años es The Atocha assassin on the run for 25 years El País https://elpais.com/politica/2019/08/17/actualidad/1566063248_056084.html live May 4, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20191130131045/https://elpais.com/politica/2019/08/17/actualidad/1566063248_056084.html November 30, 2019 1134-6582 While his parole was rescinded shortly after, he had already absconded.Gortázar Naiara Galarraga February 7, 2020 Carlos García Juliá, coautor de la matanza de Atocha, ingresa en la cárcel de Soto del Real tras ser extraditado es Carlos García Juliá, coauthor of the Atocha massacre, enters Soto del Real prison after being extradited El Pais https://elpais.com/politica/2020/02/06/actualidad/1580990050_960771.html live May 2, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200312155205/https://elpais.com/politica/2020/02/06/actualidad/1580990050_960771.html March 12, 2020 After more than 20 years on the run, García Juliá was rearrested in Brazil in 2018, extradited to Spain in February 2020, and transferred to Soto del Real prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, called the extradition a triumph of "democracy and justice".Carlos García Juliá, ya en prisión, para cumplir la pena pendiente por la matanza de Atocha https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2020/02/07/5e3d171621efa0504b8b4680.html Gual Joan Royo February 7, 2020 El Mundo es Carlos García Juliá, already in prison, to serve remaining sentence for the Atocha massacre live https://web.archive.org/web/20200213164209/https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2020/02/07/5e3d171621efa0504b8b4680.html February 13, 2020 April 28, 2020 One of the survivors, Miguel Ángel Sarabia, commented in 2005: "Although now it may seem a small thing, the 1980 trial of the Atocha murderers – despite the arrogance of the accused ... – it was the first time that the extreme right was sitting on the bench, tried and condemned."Fraguas Rafael January 25, 2005 Memoria viva de las víctimas de la matanza de Atocha es Living memory of the Atocha massacre victims El País https://elpais.com/diario/2005/01/25/madrid/1106655869_850215.html live April 29, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20190912131557/https://elpais.com/diario/2005/01/25/madrid/1106655869_850215.html September 12, 2019 1134-6582 Subsequent revelations In March 1984 the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that Italian neo-fascists were involved in the massacre, suggesting a "Black International" network.Arias Juan March 24, 1984 Un neofascista italiano disparó contra los abogados de la calle de Atocha, según un arrepentido es An Italian neo-fascist shot at the Atocha Street lawyers, according to a repentant criminal El País https://elpais.com/diario/1984/03/25/espana/449017212_850215.html live April 29, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200424142457/https://elpais.com/diario/1984/03/25/espana/449017212_850215.html April 24, 2020 1134-6582 This theory was further supported in October 1990 after revelations from the Italian CESIS (Executive Committee for Intelligence and Security Services) concerning Operation Gladio, a clandestine anti-communist structure created during the Cold War. It was alleged that Carlo Cicuttini had played a role in the Atocha massacre. Cicuttini had fled to Spain in 1972 following a bombing carried out with Vincenzo Vinciguerra in Peteano, Italy, which had killed three police officers.González Miguel December 2, 1990 Un informe oficial italiano implica en el crimen de Atocha al 'ultra' Cicuttini, relacionado con Gladio es An official Italian report implicates the 'ultra' Cicuttini, part of Gladio, in the Atocha crime El País https://elpais.com/diario/1990/12/02/espana/660092416_850215.html live April 29, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20191210101655/https://elpais.com/diario/1990/12/02/espana/660092416_850215.html December 10, 2019 1134-6582 He was reported to have had connections to Spanish security services and been active in the anti-ETA paramilitary organization GAL.AFP April 17, 1998 Detenido un ultraderechista italiano que vivía en España es Detention of ultra-right Italian who live in Spain El País https://elpais.com/diario/1998/04/18/internacional/892850408_850215.html live May 3, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20190904011344/https://elpais.com/diario/1998/04/18/internacional/892850408_850215.html September 4, 2019 1134-6582 Sentenced in Italy to life in prison in 1987, Spain denied Italian requests for his extradition. Cicuttini was arrested in France in 1998 and extradited to Italy, where he died in 2010.Morta l'ex "primula nera" https://www.ilfriuli.it/articolo/archivio/morta-l-quote-ex--dquotes-primula-nera-dquotes-/29/73346 February 24, 2010 www.ilfriuli.it it Death of the former "black primrose" live https://web.archive.org/web/20200815143028/https://www.ilfriuli.it/articolo/archivio/morta-l-quote-ex--dquotes-primula-nera-dquotes-/29/73346 August 15, 2020 May 7, 2020 While the Atocha murders were the most infamous act during Spain's democratic transition, between 1977 and 1980, far right organizations carried out more than 70 assassinations. Jaime Sartorius, a lawyer who worked on the prosecution at the original trial in 1980, would declare in 2002: "The masterminds are missing. They did not let us investigate. To us, the investigations pointed to the secret services, but only pointed." Legacy No one raised their voices, neither cries nor calls for revenge, but only silence. The dignified silence with which my comrades were bid farewell, finally, broke the loop of violence in this country. – Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta, 2017Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta, el último testigo https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20170122/alejandro-ruiz-huerta-el-ultimo-testigo-5755763 Fernández Juan January 22, 2017 El Periódico es Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta, the last witness live https://web.archive.org/web/20200503140357/https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20170122/alejandro-ruiz-huerta-el-ultimo-testigo-5755763 May 3, 2020 May 3, 2020 right 25emOn 11 January 2002, the Council of Ministers granted the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Raymond of Peñafort to the four murdered lawyers, with the Cross of the Order given to Ángel Rodríguez Leal.Bulletin of State (p.1578) https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2002/01/12/pdfs/A01578-01578.pdf January 12, 2002 Agencia Estatal – Boletín Oficial del Estado May 8, 2020Bulletin of State (p.1579) https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2002/01/12/pdfs/A01579-01579.pdf January 12, 2002 Agencia Estatal – Boletín Oficial del Estado May 8, 2020 Across Madrid, there are 25 streets and squares dedicated to the victims of the Atocha massacre and many more across Spain. The labor federation CCOO created a foundation to promote the memory of the victims and to advocate for labor and human rights. The Atocha Lawyers Awards were instituted as an annual ceremony in 2002 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the massacre.Fundación Abogados de Atocha http://www.fundacionabogadosdeatocha.es/webabogadosdeatocha/ May 8, 2020 May 18, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200518095748/http://www.fundacionabogadosdeatocha.es/webabogadosdeatocha/ dead Journalist Juancho Dumall, writing in 2017 on the 40th anniversary of the massacre, highlighted that the attack had the opposite effect of what was intended: "It was a terrorist act that marked the future of the country in a way that the murderers would never have suspected and, instead, was the one desired by the victims." The mass peaceful responses and the subsequent liberalizations (legalization of the PCE, worker and union freedoms) are generally credited as allowing the June 1977 elections, Spain's first in 40 years, to occur peacefully. Although many celebrate the success of Spain's transition to democracy, debates over the human cost – especially the Pact of Forgetting (Pacto del olvido) – have grown.Spain's lauded transition to democracy under fire https://www.ft.com/content/73fcf59e-7eeb-11e4-b83e-00144feabdc0 Buck Tobias December 8, 2014 Financial Times May 8, 2020 That debate was echoed in the words of Atocha massacre survivor Dolores González Ruiz, who died in 2015: "In the course of my life, my dreams broke me."Ghosts of the Revolution: A Finales de Enero by Javier Padilla review https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/a-finales-de-enero-javier-padilla-review-biography-annie-mcdermott/ McDermott Annie February 21, 2020 Times Literary Supplement en-GB live https://web.archive.org/web/20200508200134/https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/a-finales-de-enero-javier-padilla-review-biography-annie-mcdermott/ May 8, 2020 May 8, 2020 Popular culture The 1979 film Seven Days in January presented an account of the events of the 1977 Atocha massacre. The film won the Golden Prize at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival.http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1979 11th Moscow International Film Festival (1979) 20 January 2013 MIFF dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140403102012/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1979 3 April 2014 In 2024 RTVE broadcast a six part drama series, Las abogadas, based on the lives and careers of people involved. It covered the period from the late 1960s until 1977, culminating in the massacre and its immediate aftermath.https://www.rtve.es/television/20240925/hora-donde-ver-estreno-abogadas-nueva-serie-rtve/16254776.shtml RTVE 2024-09-25 2025-03-09 'Las Abogadas', dónde ver la serie: Capítulos 1, 2 y 3 disponibles en RTVE Play es Gallery center File:El Abrazo de Juan Genoves.jpg Statue showing people with only backs visible tightly embracing in a group hug Memorial designed by Spanish artist Juan Genovés, Plaza de Antón Martín, Madrid File:Madride espagne 33 (cropped).jpg Dedication on the memorial, headed by a quote from Paul Éluard: "If the echo of their voice weakens, we will perish" File: c.1890s File: 1918 File: c.1920s See also List of massacres in Spain Spanish transition to democracy Seven days in January, 1979 film by Juan Antonio Bardem depicting the Atocha massacre References Notes alpha none Sources differ on the type of weapons used in the attack; journalists Aníbal Malvar and Leyre Iglesias have indicated two pistols (a 9mm FN Browning and an unspecified Star), while a 2002 report from Terra News indicated Ingram MAC-10 machine pistols. Footnotes External links Atocha Lawyers Foundation (in Spanish) Photo essay related to the events surrounding the Atocha massacre El País (January 23, 2017) Organized Labour Spain Socialism Category:1977 murders in Spain Category:Massacres in 1977 Category:1970s in Madrid Category:Spanish transition to democracy Category:Deaths by firearm in Spain Category:Massacres in Spain Category:Mass murders in Madrid Category:January 1977 in Europe Category:Far-right terrorism in Spain Category:1977 disasters in Spain Category:Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1977 Category:Terrorist incidents in Spain in the 1970s Category:20th-century mass murders in Spain Category:Neo-fascist terrorist incidents in the 1970s Category:Terrorist incidents in Madrid Category:1977 mass shootings in Europe Category:Mass shootings in Spain Category:Attacks on office buildings in Spain Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Madrid Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1977