The Spirit of Barcelona

Barcelona, an explosively spirited city, one morning this week broke out in what may be the most serious defiance of the Franco regime.* Workers and white-collar employees reported to factories, shops and offices, punched their time clocks, then quietly walked out in protest against ruinously rising living costs. The strike, which spread to nearly all businesses in the city except the gas, electricity and water works, did not stay quiet. Workers broke windows of the Ritz Hotel and the city hall, set fire to curtains; when fire engines rattled to the scene, crowds would not let them pass. Angry men & women massed in front of the city's food-control offices, shouting for lower prices. The authorities rushed militia to the scene, to help the embattled local police. The cops charged the crowd with nightsticks and drawn pistols; many were injured.

In Madrid, Franco called an emergency cabinet meeting to cope with the outbreak.

Barcelona's Governor Eduardo Baeza Alegria laid the blame for the riots on "Communist agitators." That might well be true, although Barceloneses could understand their grievances without help from the Communists. The current battle of Barcelona followed a remarkable, week-long rebellion over a simple, nonpolitical issue: the price of a trolley ride.

The Attack. Last month the Barcelona streetcar company announced a 40% fare rise from 50 to 70 centimes. Students and workers were furious. As D-day for the fare rise (March i) approached, protest posters appeared on walls, chain letters floated through the mails: "Be a good citizen, show your courage. Starting March i, hoof it to work." Kids chanted in the streets: "If you want your morning jolly, stay away from the trolley."

At first police treated the matter as a joke, but as excitement grew in the city, they went into action, arrested teen-agers distributing leaflets, tore down posters (which promptly went up again as soon as the cops' backs were turned).

D-day dawned. In the chilly morning, from the outskirts, long lines of people started for work on foot. Streetcars rattled through the streets, empty but for the crew. They came to a halt at each stop, while the conductors tried to lure passengers in; nobody boarded. Any weary hiker who yielded to temptation was promptly hauled back from the trolleys by indignant pedestrians. Owners of private cars offered lifts to elderly people. At noon, Barcelona's entire police corps was mobilized; two cops mounted each streetcar to "protect passengers." But the cops were the only passengers on the flashy red-and-white cars.

Days passed, and still Barcelona s staunch people walked. After one stormy meeting at the city hall, Governor Baeza Alegria announced: "What we need is a civic example from the highest." Out he marched, and boarded a streetcar to set an example for strikebreakers. But he rode alone. Eventually his trolley bumped into a stone barricade, and he gave up.

The Surrender. Barcelona's Mayor Baron de Torrades found reason for hope?: "Just wait until Sunday's soccer game,' he said. "They'll give in for that." But on Sunday, throngs of soccer fans trudged through the rain to the stadium on foot. At this point, even Madrid got worried. Spain's chief of police rushed to the scene. Barcelona University was shut. The mayor was fired and replaced by a lawyer who is popular with the students. Last week the streetcar company (which had lost 5,000,000 pesetas, $125,000 in one week) surrendered unconditionally: the old fares were reinstated. Police announced that 70 people arrested during the boycott would be released.

For a few days Barceloneses, flushed with victory, once more rode their trolleys. But this week's general strike, which included the tram conductors, kept the cars in their barns, and Barcelona was again on foot. "They should never allow these things to start," fretted one businessman. "It is always dangerous to let the people realize their own strength.

*In 1947 there was a nine-day general strike at Bilbao, on Spain's northwest coast.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.