Spain has the sad record of assassinations in recent history around the world, with five murders -in addition to other failed attacks on heads of government and monarchs- and the Alicante journalist Javier Ramos has delved into his latest book … in the details of this desire of some to change the course of history with the pull of a trigger or a bomb.
In just over a century, Prim, Canalejas, Cánovas, Dato and Carrero Blanco died violently “in circumstances scandalously foreign; Seen in perspective, they were authentic hits of State», emphasizes the author, in addition to highlighting that in this disastrous statistic the United States is surpassed (four presidents), although their cases have had much more impact due to the projection of cinema from the Anglo-Saxon world.
Only if the period is extended to all of history is there a bloodier time, the Roman Empire, when more magnates died violently than by natural death.
In the Spanish peculiarity, «this abundance of cases shows that it was never a coincidence, but a sinister way of changing policy; The assassination is presented as the ideal solution to transform the policy to the letter“, deceiving history with the exaltation of the heroism of the murderers and forgetting the investigation,” according to Ramos.
Among other curiosities, this book from the Oberon publishing house, ‘The crimes that changed the history of Spain’, describes the “baraka or species of divine protection who accompanied Francisco Franco -public enemy number one for anarchists and republicans- since he was a soldier in Morocco until the end of his days. Or also “the terrorist campaigns of the ETA gang against Carrero Blanco or Aznar, and which also included as an objective to end his life even King Emeritus Juan Carlos I.”
Javier Ramos de los Santos will be found signing copies of this book at the Fair of the Book of Madrid next Sunday, June 16.
The causes of these “bloody events”
«This is a book that invites us to analyze and reflect on the historical events that have most marked Spanish politics and that, in some way, have had to do with how the political system has developed to this day», stand out from the editorial, about these «attacks, crimes, conspiracies and assassinations against kings, presidents of Government and other national leaders, in addition to trying to investigate the reasons for these bloody events.
Ramos de los Santos, journalist and travel agent, has been publishing different works on national and international history since 2017. With experience in media such as 20minutes, Diario 16 and Las Provincias, he currently works as a copywriter, community manager, professional proofreader and freelance editor. Aside from the story, he leads the travel blog placesconhistoria.com with more than 100,000 followers on Facebook.
«At that time, there were many people who were shouting for a change within Spanish politics, generating the need to take action in a tremendously aggressive and cruel way, and violence ended up gaining importance and was seen as the only resource to promote political transformation“, something that resulted in the assassination of five heads of state during the 19th and 20th centuries,” in 103 years of Spanish life, they remember.
In addition to investigating these five murders, the author also focuses on those murders that remained only attempts, among them: the failed attempt against Ferdinand the Catholic, the frustrated regicides against the Bourbons Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII, the attacks against Franco and ETA’s intention to end the life of King Emeritus Juan Carlos I and former president José María Aznar.
«From the 19th century to the present, political leaders and relevant figures have fallen victims of political violence, leaving a legacy of tragedy and transformation, these acts have marked critical moments in the evolution of Spain, reflecting the tensions and conflicts inherent to its complex historical and political context,” states the author at the end of the introduction.
Ramos’ intention is to help the reader “understand the seriousness of this type of crime as a solution to the political problems in the country, emphasizing the power of violence and the cruelty that these acts imply, regardless of their political ideology.
