The great-grandson of the ‘Red Angel’ reveals his secrets to ABC: “Melchor stopped the Paracuellos massacres and confronted Carrillo”

Rubén Buren, screenwriter and film director, sounds clear on the other end of the phone despite the early rise that we have hit him. The great-grandson of the anarcho-syndicalist Melchor Rodríguez, nicknamed the ‘Red Angel’ for saving the lives of hundreds of insurgent prisoners, is exultant. “The family is very grateful for this recognition”, he repeats himself twice. He is referring to the Medal of Honor that, a few days ago, the Madrid City Council gave to his ancestor. Worthy recognition of a character who fought against the barbarities of the most exalted elements of the Republic and did not understand political colors, but human lives. Melchor Rodríguez earned his nickname by facing the Second Republic and Santiago Carrillo to save thousands of national prisoners from the cruel sacks, the indiscriminate killing of prisoners to steal everything they had on them. And he did the same when trying to put an end to the no less fearsome ‘chekas’, buildings in which, clandestinely, he subjected himself to perverse trials against the enemies of the Government to, later, end his life. This anarcho-syndicalist was that: a divinity descended from heaven for whom there were no reds, blues or whites; There were people. Turbulent life Born in Seville in 1893, Rodríguez had a tough childhood. He was orphaned from a very young age and lived in a situation of family destitution with a mother who had been given a very poor compensation for an accident suffered by her husband. Melchor tried everything to get his loved ones forward. He became a tinker and even had his dalliances with bullfighting until a fuck ended his fighting dreams. Everything was worth it. Already desperate he moved to Madrid in search of a new life; and he obtained it by joining the Iberian Anarchist Federation and being appointed representative of the Bodybuilders Union. Related News standard No The Madrid City Council awards Ana Rosa Quintana and Alaska their CDQ Medals of Honor The awards given in San Isidro also posthumously recognize the work of Mayor Melchor Rodríguez, known as ‘the Red Angel’ But, as Buren recalls to this newspaper, the Republic was not as idyllic as he would have liked. “He was in jail several times,” he says. The film director defines his great-grandfather as a firm follower of “humanist anarchism”, a “very important branch within the libertarian world that advocates protection at all levels of human beings.” That maxim made him face anyone. Some authors maintain that Rodríguez was never entirely in agreement with the movement started in 1931 in the heat of the tricolor; he considered him bourgeois and aristocratic. Although he understood that it was a step up from the previous regime. He was sailing between two waters. The Civil War forced Melchor to join the Republican side despite internal differences. And his fame as a benefactor did not take long to earn him his first high-profile position of his: special delegate for Prisons in Madrid. «His work on behalf of prisoners during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, for example, was well known. Until then he had always fought for the rights of the prisoners; an example is that he collected money for the prisoners of the UGT and the CNT », adds Buren. But what awaited him was a real nightmare. The raids and massacres in Paracuellos del Jarama affected him to the point of resigning, but he was replaced on December 4 at the request of the Diplomatic Corps as general prison delegate. Avoid the massacres «Juan García Oliver, Minister of Justice, appointed Melchor General Director of Prisons to put an end to the sacks and fight against the so-called Czech or detention centers. This shows that the Republic tried to paralyze the repressive process from the rear,” adds Buren. In front, however, he ran into the communist leaders Santiago Carrillo and José Cazorla, the ‘facilitators’ –at least– of massacres like the one in Paracuellos. «My great-grandfather prohibited the release of prisoners from prisons between eight in the morning and eight in the evening. That prevented many of them from being taken away and saved thousands of lives by ending indiscriminate ‘walking’,” he adds. Buren remembers that Paracuellos almost cost his family his life. The controversies between Melchor, Carrillo and the leaders who wanted to turn a blind eye to the massacres caused insurmountable tensions. “Life was played. They attacked him a dozen times. On one occasion, his Ford was shot so badly it was a miracle that he and his driver survived. My grandmother told me that she did not understand how they had not died, “he explains. His confrontation with the PCE member was, from then on, even more direct. “He confronted him. The reality is that Carrillo and Cazorla organized Paracuellos. Even General Enrique Líster slipped it into his memories », adds the great-grandson. The times that Melchor saved rebel prisoners from death are counted by dozens. Buren recalls an occasion when, after a bombing, thousands of Republicans showed up at the gates of a prison; They intended to gain access to its interior and assassinate all the nationals that were in the cells. “He got into a van and threatened to arm the prisoners if anyone got in. It was a lie, because he did not have rifles or pistols, but that prevented a massacre from taking place », he completes. And like that, many others. “We have documented that he personally saved 1,532 prisoners. He took them out of the Czechs, hid them in his house until they left… ». But not all his courage prevented him from being fired in March 1937 due to communist pressure. From there began his particular ordeal. He was appointed delegate of Cemeteries and, shortly after, councilor of the City Council of the capital. In the final days of the war, Colonel Segismundo Casado López appointed him mayor. Under this charge he was forced to hand over the city to the rebels. As if that were not enough, the rebels sentenced him to six years in prison. And that, despite the thousand and one testimonies from each other who owed him their lives. He spent his last years as an insurance salesman, until he died in 1972. -Have the political parties taken advantage of the figure of Melchor Rodríguez politically? Yes. This character has been used on both sides. The right uses it to criminalize the left. They see him as one of the few characters that saved lives, or that he was morally acceptable. On both sides there were people who tried to make things right. Melchor’s case is especially important because he was the one who saved the most lives in the Civil War. He is a person who played everything to avoid the death of his enemies in a direct and constant way. And that hurts me a lot because it means that the Republic carried out a repression in the first months of the complex and barbaric war. Another thing is that this repression is compared with that of the other side, which was systematic, summary and sponsored by the Burgos government. -Did Melchor end the Paracuellos massacres? Yes, he prevented these killings, which were horrible and unjustifiable. From the left we must admit that this was a contemptible error. Killing innocents is never justified. Never again. Melchor fought against this and against the so-called Czechs, a general term during the Franco regime. He took detainees who were being raped and tortured out of there. -Has this character been forgotten? Partly. In another country he would have been treated as a national hero. Here he has been ignored. But there are many of us who have worked to ensure that he is remembered. With Miguel Ángel Redondo we have valued his figure. MORE INFORMATION The speeches of the young Santiago Carrillo before 35,000 people before the Civil War and joining the PCE The incredible two lives of the anarchist who almost killed Franco four days before the Civil War -What do you think of the delivery of this medal? We are very grateful because it is a way to honor his figure and that of my grandmother Amapola. The medal serves to commemorate a person who put his life and his honor in favor of Madrid and a Republic that had held him prisoner many times. He maintained the dignity of the capital even when he handed it over. Madrid owed him something. Until now, both the right and the most communist left had ignored the character. But there are still many steps. Now they should put a legitimate street on him and restore his portrait within the body of mayors of Madrid. For our part, I believe that the family memory is resolved. Yes, I’ve set out to make a movie about him, but I’m having a really hard time getting help.