Juan Astigarrabía
| Juan Domingo Astigarrabía Andonegui | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
20 November 1901 San Sebastián, Spain |
| Died | 4 March 1989 (aged 87) San Sebastián, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Sailor, politician |
Juan Domingo Astigarrabía Andonegui (20 November 1901 – 4 March 1989) was a Basque communist politician, one of the founders of the Communist Party of the Basque Country and its first secretary-general. He was made a scapegoat for the fall of the North during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). He was expelled from the party and went into exile in Panama. Later he was rehabilitated and later still returned to Spain.
Juan Domingo Astigarrabía Andonegui was born in San Sebastián, the capital of Gipuzkoa, on 20 November 1901. His family were liberal Basques and early Basque socialists. He studied navigation for three years, and traveled widely as a sailor. As a young man he joined the Federación Vasco-Navarra of the Partido Comunista Español (PCE, Spanish Communist Party), and with the Zapirain brothers made the first contacts in 1924–25 in the construction industry. He belonged to the Federación Local de Sociedades Obreras (Local Federation of Workers' Societies). He toured throughout Spain setting up party cells.
At the time the Second Spanish Republic (1931–39) was created Astigarrabía was one of the group of Basque communists that headed the trade union movement in San Sebastián and Pasaia. Police records name him as their leader. He led a march of fishermen from Pasaia to the capital, which resulted in several deaths by gunfire from the security forces.
In 1932 the Spanish Communist Party made a major change in direction when it abandoned the Comintern slogan "Workers' and Peasants' Government" and adopted "Defense of the Republic". Astigarrabía was among the new leaders of the party who succeeded José Bullejos. The others were José Díaz, Vicente Uribe, Antonio Mije and Jesús Hernández Tomás. Astigarrabía was elected to the National Executive of the PCE, and attended the Congress of Seville. He was considered as a successor to José Bullejos, but the Communist International chose José Díaz, with whom he had very strained relations.
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