 for example. And many of them as they hate openly the police they finish fighting with them and many times with weapons.
Is the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union and media made a very good job. The revolutionaries organizations, especially communists, were cornered by all this. Many people give up in politics and social activism after so many defeats. The society of information and the expansion of the influence of TV was deep and very negative.
But even with this black panorama and reactionaries winds the red flame was still burning in Cantabria. At second half of the ’90 the students movements were quite strong, but in the middle levels more than in the university. Some soft clashes with the police happened. The mobilizations were quite big but the was not a serious strategy, the organizations involved were from very different backgrounds, even many of them were genuinely Spanish and follow Madrid orders… and in the middle the young generation didn’t go clearly for any one. In the elders generations the activity was decreasing fast.
The most important political events were some carried out by green groups in defence of the Cantabrian environment, the Student protests and the many activities of Internationalist and Solidarity groups, like with Sahara people, Kurdish and Basques. Also small groups appeared to defence our Culture, the language and were active, as in the music many folk musicians and groups were created.
Since 1998 to the present. Moving forwards:
The ideals of Luciano Malumbres, Juanin, Ayala and others were in the air. The reborn in the ’80 and specially ’90 of cultural activity, came with the sense of Identity that was never lost. The sense of national pride of been Cantabrian was growing again, slowly but forwards.
We have to remember that in all this decades the clashes with fascists activists and organizations were a reality, but unfortunately for them most the times they took the worst part. In the ’90 were a little bit organized but the Antifascist mentality and resistance was (and is still) in the vast majority of the people, of course more strong particularly in the working class. The fascist always found resistance, and even with the indirectly support (and directly sometimes) of the State they weren’t able to grow very significantly.
In the other hand in the 1 of May of 1998 a Young pro-independence and socialist organization appear. Was initially formed by Marxist-leninists, marxists and libertarians… with a national conscience that united to develop a pro-independence and socialist struggle.
This and others were the first steps forward with the hope of creating a bigger movement. In the present days we can say this we have one: the Muvición Popular Cántabra de Liberación Cántabru (the MPCL- Cantabrian Popular Movement of Liberation in english).
The MPCL as a movement, is formed by different organizations (Regüelta, Abora, Conceju Nacionaliegu Cantabru, Conceju Cantabru Popular, L’Argayu…) and individuals that first we have in common the struggle for defend our culture, country and a national rights, and as a first main objective the construction of a national, real democratic and social Republic for Cantabria.
But the main ideologies in the principal organizations as well in the individuals members of the Movement is the Socialism and Communism (m-l). Some individuals and members of the organizations have libertarian ideals as well.
If we look back after the war and the invasion the red flame was carried principally by organizations with very little sense of national identity. They were Cantabrian branches of Spanish Organizations under Madrid orders where most or many of the members had Spanish mentality. Even this they played in a sense their role as left-wing and trade-union activists in Cantabria, keeping the red flame alive in the Country mainly fighting against fascist and for better conditions in work. Little political progress was made because they didn’t have their own political strategy and ideas for their Country. They didn’t have a real and proper sense of national identit