From the Republic to the coup: Xinzo and A Limia between 1931 and 1936

This page summarises, drawing on the texts of Edelmiro Martínez Cerredelo (the book A Limia: 1931–1953. Historia e memoria and entries on his blog Historia de Xinzo), the five years from the proclamation of the Republic to the military coup in Xinzo de Limia. It is a chronicle based on municipal, military and provincial archives, which the author cites; the assessments are his and are attributed as such.

14 April 1931: the Republic on market day

After the municipal elections of 12 April 1931, the Republic was proclaimed at various places in Spain on the 14th. According to a witness recorded by Cerredelo, in Xinzo it was proclaimed from the balcony of a first-floor flat occupied by Porfirio Rodríguez, secretary of the district court of first instance, with local Republicans and others who came from Ourense; it was market day and the Republican flag was raised before a spontaneous demonstration ^[1].

The concello, however, did not change hands at once: the 17 councillors elected on 12 April were conservative monarchists, mostly of the Unión Monárquica Nacional, and they formed the council on 18 April with a declaration of cooperation with the new regime ^[1]. On 21 April the civil governor’s delegate annulled the election in Xinzo over complaints of coercion and appointed a management commission ^[1].

1936: Popular Front, mayoralties and May Day

After the February 1936 elections, the Government appointed new management commissions: according to the Galipedia, Augusto Peláez Quelle, vice-president of Unión Republicana, chaired Xinzo’s in March 1936 ^[5]. According to Cerredelo, in June 1936 the mayor was Hixinio Rodríguez Mármol ^[4].

On 1 May 1936 Labour Day was celebrated in Xinzo with a march of workers and Republicans from the entrance of the town to the Campo da Seara (today the Rosalía de Castro school); representatives of the PSOE, the Partido Galeguista and the UGT spoke, and the Agrarian Society of Sandiás organised a rally with the vet Benigno Álvarez, head of the Communist Party in Ourense ^[2]. On 3 May, two Socialist councillors reported at the council meeting an incident of mockery from a balcony as the Republican flag passed ^[2].

The conspiracy

According to Cerredelo, the conspiracy against the Republic reached A Limia: in the first days of July Falangists were arrested and some weapons seized, and on 13 July the civil governor ordered the search of the pharmacy of the local Falange chief and his arrest; he was freed on the 19th by the rebels ^[3][4]. The author documents, through purge and political-responsibility files, that several doctors, teachers and priests of the comarca had pledged to support the uprising and to pass weapons across the Portuguese border ^[3].

On 17 July, at the railway works at Reza–Rioboo, near Vilar de Barrio, a landslide killed four workers; the funeral, on the feast of Santa Mariña, became a Republican demonstration with flags and unions ^[3].

17–20 July 1936

The coup began in Melilla on 17 July and the radio proclamation on the 18th was signed by Franco ^[4]. In Xinzo, Popular Front leaders travelled to Ourense to ask for weapons at the Casa del Pueblo without getting them ^[4]. On the night of the 19th, a group of Falangists went round the town firing into the air to pressure the Carabineros lieutenant, Aquilino López, to come out onto the street; on the 20th, with a state of war declared in Ourense, Falangists and Requetés gathered at Xinzo town hall, seat of the military command, and militias were organised that controlled the comarca ^[4]. Cerredelo describes how Falange went in a few days from a small group to some fifty people ^[4]. The consequences of this control, the repression of August 1936, are in The repression of 1936 in A Limia.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Republic proclaimed in Xinzo? On 14 April 1931, market day, according to a witness ^[1].

Who governed the concello in 1931? The monarchist councillors elected on 12 April were replaced on 21 April by a management commission after the election was annulled ^[1].

What happened in Xinzo at the start of the coup? On 20 July 1936 Falangists and Requetés gathered at the town hall and organised militias to control the comarca ^[4].

Links

• Historical memory of A Limia, 1931–1953
• The repression of 1936 in A Limia
• History of A Limia
• Xinzo de Limia

Sources

1. Edelmiro Martínez Cerredelo, «Proclamación da II República en Xinzo de Limia (1931)», Historia de Xinzo, 14-04-2014. https://historiadexinzo.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/proclamacion-da-ii-republica-en-xinzo-de-limia-1931/
2. Edelmiro Martínez Cerredelo, «Manifestacións do 1º de maio de 1936 en Xinzo de Limia», Historia de Xinzo, 01-05-2020. https://historiadexinzo.wordpress.com/2020/05/01/manifestacions-do-1o-de-maio-de-1936-en-xinzo-de-limia/
3. Edelmiro Martínez Cerredelo, «A Limia: Preparando o golpe de estado militar de 1936», Historia de Xinzo, 04-07-2018. https://historiadexinzo.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/a-limiapreparando-o-golpe-de-estado-militar-de-1936/
4. Edelmiro Martínez Cerredelo, «18 de Xullo de 1936. O golpe de estado militar en Xinzo», Historia de Xinzo, 01-09-2014. https://historiadexinzo.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/18-de-xullo-de-1936-o-golpe-de-estado-militar-en-xinzo/
5. «Augusto Peláez», Galipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_Peláez