It is virtually impossible to find anything informative about the miners' strike in Asturias, Spain. The mainstream media prefer to show us that giant cigarette lighter being carted around the country, what was being worn at Ascot, and other vacuous crap. It would be good if news meant, what was happening in the world, but alas, this is capitalism and the media's job is to lull you into a state of subservience.
Taken from Libcom:
A translation of a letter from a retired miner from Asturias, where miners have been on indefinite strike for weeks, explaining the dispute and giving its background.
I’ve worked for twenty five years in the mines. I first went down
the mine when I was 18 and I would like to say that I am amazed by a lot
of comments that I’m reading about mining and early retirement. I’m
going to give you my perspective.
Firstly the struggle which the miners are carrying out at the moment
isn’t to ask for money. It is that they respect the agreement that was
signed last year between the Ministry of Industry and the miners’
unions, and which had subsidies designated until 2018. This money was
from the European Community and not from the Spanish government. It
isn’t money that came from any Spanish people to help us as many people
who are criticising us so much seem to think.
Regarding this money what I, like almost all mining families ask
myself is, where is the part of the money from the Mining Funds that was
supposedly going to the creation of alternative industries in the
coalfields, after the closure of the mines? Well, like in many other
sectors, this money has been handled by the politicians and the unions.
With part of this money, for example, Señor Gabino de Lorenzo, the
ex-mayor of Olviedo, paid for new streetlights in his city, the new
Palace of Expositions and Congresses and many other projects. Señora
Felgeroso, the ex-mayor of Gijon, spent it on the Technical University
and other projects.
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