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| Former Spanish Communist party leader and civil war veteran dies | Former Spanish Communist party leader and civil war veteran dies |
| (8 days later) | |
| Santiago Carrillo, the veteran Spanish Communist party leader and enemy of Francoism who played a key role in helping to steer post-dictatorship Spain to democracy, has died aged 97. | Santiago Carrillo, the veteran Spanish Communist party leader and enemy of Francoism who played a key role in helping to steer post-dictatorship Spain to democracy, has died aged 97. |
| One of Spain's last surviving public figures to have taken an active part in the country's civil war, after which he spent 38 years in exile, he was also one of the founding fathers of the broader Eurocommunist movement during the 1970s. | One of Spain's last surviving public figures to have taken an active part in the country's civil war, after which he spent 38 years in exile, he was also one of the founding fathers of the broader Eurocommunist movement during the 1970s. |
| Although his role on the Republican side during the civil war meant that he continued to be a divisive figure, his conduct during the attempted coup by Francoist officers in 1981 was widely admired. | Although his role on the Republican side during the civil war meant that he continued to be a divisive figure, his conduct during the attempted coup by Francoist officers in 1981 was widely admired. |
| An image that became embedded in the nation's memory is that of Carrillo and Adolfo Suárez, another of modern Spain's founders, refusing to take cover when civil guards opened fire in the Spanish parliament as part of a thwarted coup. | An image that became embedded in the nation's memory is that of Carrillo and Adolfo Suárez, another of modern Spain's founders, refusing to take cover when civil guards opened fire in the Spanish parliament as part of a thwarted coup. |
| Carrillo died at his home in Madrid of natural causes, according to a statement issued by the Partido Comunista de España (PCE), which he led until 1982 after succeeding the legendary civil war figure Dolores Ibárruri as party secretary general in 1960. | Carrillo died at his home in Madrid of natural causes, according to a statement issued by the Partido Comunista de España (PCE), which he led until 1982 after succeeding the legendary civil war figure Dolores Ibárruri as party secretary general in 1960. |
| He put his longevity down to continued active participation in Spanish political life, writing essays and making contributions to public seminars and a weekly nationwide radio debate well into his 90s. | He put his longevity down to continued active participation in Spanish political life, writing essays and making contributions to public seminars and a weekly nationwide radio debate well into his 90s. |
| "I am a politician with a sense of reality," he told Reuters in an interview, explaining his career. | "I am a politician with a sense of reality," he told Reuters in an interview, explaining his career. |
| "If you can say anything good about me, it's that I have lived many years and actively participated in many episodes of Spain's history," he said, presenting a documentary in 2009. | "If you can say anything good about me, it's that I have lived many years and actively participated in many episodes of Spain's history," he said, presenting a documentary in 2009. |
| The son of a union organiser, Carrillo was born in Gijón on Spain's northern coast and embarked on a career in activism in 1931 when he began reporting at the age of 15 for the Socialist party newspaper. | The son of a union organiser, Carrillo was born in Gijón on Spain's northern coast and embarked on a career in activism in 1931 when he began reporting at the age of 15 for the Socialist party newspaper. |
| In 1936, he joined the army to defend the Republic from a military revolt that turned into a bloody civil war lasting almost three years and ended up installing Francisco Franco as dictator. | In 1936, he joined the army to defend the Republic from a military revolt that turned into a bloody civil war lasting almost three years and ended up installing Francisco Franco as dictator. |
| Carrillo, by now a communist, was named a public order official in a defence committee set up in Madrid that year as rebel troops were approaching the capital and the Republican government had fled the city. | Carrillo, by now a communist, was named a public order official in a defence committee set up in Madrid that year as rebel troops were approaching the capital and the Republican government had fled the city. |
| To this day, Spaniards on the far-right continue to blame Carrillo for his alleged role in the 1936 massacre of several thousand supporters of the military revolt who were evacuated from a city jail to Paracuellos, on the outskirts of Madrid. They were then killed en masse rather than incarcerated. | To this day, Spaniards on the far-right continue to blame Carrillo for his alleged role in the 1936 massacre of several thousand supporters of the military revolt who were evacuated from a city jail to Paracuellos, on the outskirts of Madrid. They were then killed en masse rather than incarcerated. |
| Carrillo always protested his innocence, saying he had little influence or idea what was happening amid the chaos then engulfing Madrid. | Carrillo always protested his innocence, saying he had little influence or idea what was happening amid the chaos then engulfing Madrid. |
| Paul Preston, the British historian who spent a year researching Paracuellos for his 2011 book The Spanish Holocaust, concluded that while the massacre itself was most likely the work of anarchists and soldiers receiving Soviet advice, Carrillo did help organise the evacuation. | Paul Preston, the British historian who spent a year researching Paracuellos for his 2011 book The Spanish Holocaust, concluded that while the massacre itself was most likely the work of anarchists and soldiers receiving Soviet advice, Carrillo did help organise the evacuation. |
| "Carrillo was an important part in the second phase [organisation], and his many statements that he knew nothing and it was all the anarchists' fault are not truthful," Preston said at a conference in Madrid in 2011. | "Carrillo was an important part in the second phase [organisation], and his many statements that he knew nothing and it was all the anarchists' fault are not truthful," Preston said at a conference in Madrid in 2011. |
| "This does not mean that Paracuellos is his work alone. He was one, and a very important one of many who did this terrible collective deed." | "This does not mean that Paracuellos is his work alone. He was one, and a very important one of many who did this terrible collective deed." |
| Carrillo had to wait until after Franco's death in 1975 to return to Spain, leading the PCE in the 1977 general election, in which it gained 9% of the vote, coming third. By then Carrillo was well on the way to establishing himself as a leading theorist of Eurocommunism, the movement that saw a number of western European communist parties set themselves apart from Soviet influence. He resigned from the PCE as secretary general in 1982 as the party continued to lose support. | Carrillo had to wait until after Franco's death in 1975 to return to Spain, leading the PCE in the 1977 general election, in which it gained 9% of the vote, coming third. By then Carrillo was well on the way to establishing himself as a leading theorist of Eurocommunism, the movement that saw a number of western European communist parties set themselves apart from Soviet influence. He resigned from the PCE as secretary general in 1982 as the party continued to lose support. |
| • This article was amended on Wednesday 19 September 2012. In the final paragraph an editing error led to Carillo being mistakenly called Suárez. This has been corrected. | • This article was amended on Wednesday 19 September 2012. In the final paragraph an editing error led to Carillo being mistakenly called Suárez. This has been corrected. |
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