Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Guerrero Sánchez was born in the town of Olívar, Granada, on December 1, 1936. His father was a Francoist who worked as an administrator of a farming enterprise. Although from a privileged family, Guerrero witnessed the injustices of the Franco regime firsthand, and consequently he sought to escape from his father's authoritarian hold. After military service in Granada, Guerrero moved to Barcelona in 1959. He continued to develop his social and political understanding, moving up in Sindicato Vertical of Fuerzas Electricas de Catalunya (FECSA), where he worked. By 1964 he was already a self-styled "militante" and member of the Communist Party in Cataluyna (PSUC). Working clandestinely he helped create the Comisiones Obreras. He shares anecdotes of clandestine activity, interaction with the Consul General of Cuba in the 1960s, special missions for the Communist Party, and the like. He was detained twice, first in December of 1969, having been revealed by a comrade who was tortured. He describes the massacre on Atocha Street in Madrid in 1977, when right-wing terrorists murdered five lawyers of the Comisiones Obreras. He also discusses the evolution of political parties during the transition period after Franco, and comments on the current political situation in Spain. He mentions his current work with the Partit Comunista del Poble de Catalunya (PCPC), including serving as Secretary General of the PCPC