Epílogo Sobre El Jurista Y Político Catalán Joan Lluhí Vallescà, Ministro De Trabajo, Sanidad Y Previsión De La Segunda República En 1936: Epistolario Jurídico, Político Y De Recomendación

This is the last of a series of contributions (by Manuel J. Peláez, María Encarnación Gómez Rojo and María del Carmen Amaya Galván) on the study of Joan Lluhí I Vallescà’s achievements when he was head of the Ministry of Employment, Health and Prevention, during two terms of office, from 13th May to 4th September 1936, thus replacing the former Minister, Enrique Ramos Ramos, a Roman Law lecturer in the University of Madrid, born in Málaga. The letters received by Lluhí and his responses thereto reveal the tasks carried out by him in different areas, such as: town council sudsidies to solve the problems related to working-class unemployment, low-priced housing, cooperatives, the then existing “Patronato de Política Social Inmobiliaria” (Board of Real Estate Social Policy), the iron and steel industry technical staff in Vizcaya, the Cartagena-Mazarrón mining union, the lighting of groundwater which was so useful and necessary to irrigate some Spanish provinces, the knowledge of languages to fulfill positions as interpreters-secretaries in Maritime Health, sanitation, urban development (streets, roads, etc.), “Inspección General de Sanidad Interior” (Home Health General Authority), etc. Many favours were also asked of him from the “Generalitat” (Catalonian Government), the Igualada Social Assistance, the Home Office Undersecretary, Juan José Cremades, the Agriculture Minister, Mariano Ruiz-Funes (Ruiz-Funes was undoubtedly the person who asked for the most favours in a written form during the months that lasted Lluhí’s term of office), who was always worried about the interests of Murcia, Antoni Vilalta i Vidal, Raphaël Creus, Wenceslao Carrillo, etc. Toledo’s Civil Governor, Vicente Costales, put forward a certain candidate for a position, whom was described by him, on 14th May 1936, as «an outstanding member of the “Izquierda Republicana” (Republican Left political party) who was always eager to serve the regime», which for him meant the same as being «a good civil servant and an excellent Republican». This ideological tone, albeit subtle in most cases, is present in much of his correspondence and is even used when complaints against the right-wing representatives are found. There is only one significant case as regards the tone used but it is understandable to a large extent since it took place right before the “Alzamiento Nacional” (National Uprising). The letter in question is from Francisco Sabater and he was excessively categorical when he stated, on 9 August 1936: «We, antifascist, who gave it all for the Republican cause, and at this rough time for our dearest Republic and our not least beloved Spain, we give our lives to totally crush the despicable and criminal “fascio”», we also think that «the “Frente Popular” (Popular Front) must act at a faster pace for the automatic extinction of all the traitors to the Republic and to the legally constituted Government, elected by the people on 16th February». Later on in his dithyramb he will end up referring to fascists, hypocrites and criminals who should be unmasked so that the salvation of the Republic would not be at great risk. The Secretary General of the Unión Republicana (Republican Union party) –a political party with very few members which had been created with the electoral competition against the radicals and radical socialists in mind– also interceded before Lluhí regarding the decrease of working-class unemployment, which was a serious threat in the whole of Spain, even though he was acting on behalf of the province of León. When Lluhí was Minister of Employment, Health and Prevention, and Rafael Gubern i Puig and Julián Amich were his secretaries, he did not have the time to deal with certain significant matters, but he can be noted for his willingness to negotiate while, at the same time, he was subject to those legal imperatives of the Ministry. Lluhí, a lawyer, leftist politician, member of the Spanish and Catalonian Parliaments, head of the Generalitat’s government, was forced to go into exile from Spain in 1939 and died in Mexico in 1944. The present contribution is part of research started twenty years ago in order to recover the Republican historical memory, which has resulted in the publishing of epistolary books which belonged to centrist and left-centrist jurist-politicians (most of whom were Ministers) who were exiled to France, Mexico, and other Latin American countries, such as Lluís Nicolau d’Olwer, Pere Bosch i Gimpera, Fernando de los Ríos Urruti, Ángel Ossorio y Gallardo and Joan Lluhí i Vallescà. A text by the engineer and military man, Antonio Núñez, about how he lived the months from July to December 1936 in Barcelona, is included in a footnote. Núñez recounts how, after having been sentenced to death on 12th December, an anarchist and trade unionist revolutionary picket not only freed him but also achieved his reprieve by the “Generalitat”'s President, Lluís Companys. It is an unpublished manuscript extracted from his also unpublished memoirs, which have been consulted in Zonnewende, Moergestel, Holland.