After a long and eventful life, Amancio Cabrero Ledesma left us this Wednesday at the age of 87. Many will remember him, born in Madrid in 1936 in the midst of the civil war, behind his round mustache and dark glasses, as he gave a face to the election poster of the Madrid workers’ candidacy, which was distributed by the thousands in all the streets and cities of the province . . It was the name that the ORT had to adopt in order to compete in the 1977 general elections, since it had not been legalized by the government of Adolfo Suárez. In 1962, together with other colleagues, he founded the Workers’ Union Action (AST), a trade union organization that agreed to participate in the emerging CC OO. Amancio started his work at the National Optical Company (Eosa) and will continue his work at Fagor.
In 1970, during the dictatorship, Amancio promoted the Revolutionary Workers Organization (ORT). He is its visible leader; secrecy prevents other colleagues from being public figures for security reasons. This delegated role forces him to go into exile in Bayonne. He lost himself with his wife and two children in the last years of the Franco regime. Its activity during this period of secrecy is aimed at building a support structure for the organization and strengthening relations abroad with other related parties.
After his return to Spain in 1976 and after an official visit to the People’s Republic of China at the invitation of the Communist Party, he was appointed to represent the ORT before the unity organizations of the opposition to Francoism and to actively mediate for the unification of the two platforms. Opposition: Democratic Junta and platform of democratic organizations that come together in the so-called Platajunta.
Without having achieved legalization as a political party, the poster with his face flooded the streets, the fences and the facades, representing the workers’ candidacy. In 1978 he worked hard on a broad campaign to support the yes vote for the constitution in public forums and events across Spain. In 1979, the possibility of a merger with the PTE of Eladio García Castro arose and Amancio appeared in all negotiations to formalize the unification of both parties, which ultimately turned out to be a failure. In 1980 the assembly is held to ratify the dissolution of the ORT, Amancio remains until the end. Their years of efforts were wiped out by the new political situation.
Amancio returns to Fagor, the household appliances cooperative, which this time will entrust him with the sales delegation in Madrid. Given the new political direction, he is appointed head of the Development Agency of the Community of Madrid. Years later he was appointed deputy director of Imade, a position he held until Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón’s victory.
He was a member of the PSOE from 1993 to 2000 and then left, disappointed by the policies developed by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. On 15-M he will renew his enthusiasm and decide to join Podemos, a group that he belonged to until his death.
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Amancio, who can look back on a life story of 87 years, dares to say: “I confess that I fought.” His life is a story dedicated to political struggle. A struggle without personal results, apart from the satisfaction of having been consistent throughout the process, of having responded to all the demands that were made in each political moment and of having shared experiences and experiences with thousands of women and men who committed to the same democratic adventure. Amancio was a consistent, courageous man dedicated to the democratic cause.
Francisca Sauquillo She is a lawyer, activist and politician. He introduced the book “Amancio Cabrero: live, fight, dream” about the ORT leader’s career.
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