Eduardo Barreiros and the Recovery of Spain

by Hugh Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780300121094
• ISBN10: 0300121091
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2009-02-10
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

A dramatic biography of the extraordinary Spanish industrialist and entrepreneur Eduardo Barreiros Born in an impoverished region of Galicia, possessed of little education and less money, Eduardo Barreiros (19191992) rose to become an immensely successful entrepreneur and one of Spain's most prominent industrialists. In this engaging biography, the first on a Spanish entrepreneur in English, Hugh Thomas recounts Barreiros's origins as an auto mechanic, his success in the motor industry, his tragic alliance with the Chrysler Corporation, and his little-known role as a motor industry founder in 1980s Cuba. Drawing on an unrivaled knowledge of Spanish history, Lord Thomas also brings to light Barreiros's critical role in the modernization of the Spanish economy in the postCivil War years. The book offers a detailed portrait of Don Eduardo's personality, character, and numerous entrepreneurial endeavors, as well as a full account of the difficulties the Franco-era government threw in the path of his capitalist activities. The relationship between Barreiros and the Chrysler Corporation is also described, along with the failed Dodge Dart project that ultimately cost Barreiros his business. Finally, the book recounts Don Eduardo's late-in-life efforts to help establish a motor industry in Castro's Cubaa paradoxical conclusion for a great capitalist.

Author Biography

Hugh Thomas is a member of the House of Lords in London and the author of numerous books on the history of the Spanish world, including most recently Beaumarchais in Seville: An Intermezzo, published by Yale University Press. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Prologue	p. ix
Maps	p. xvii
Old Galicia
The Peasants Do the Real Work	p. 3
The Rodriguezes of Gundias	p. 8
The Barreiroses of Sabadelle	p. 11
"!Guagua, Guagua!"	p. 15
Give to Him Who Asks	p. 18
A Clear, Bright Town	p. 25
The Spanish Catastrophe
People Lived for Politics	p. 33
There Came Forth from the Soil Armed Men	p. 45
Red Beret	p. 52
This Cruel Struggle	p. 61
Peace
Establishing a National Syndicalist System	p. 69
The Rich Girl of the Village	p. 78
Marching Alone	p. 85
Transform Your Car to Diesel	p. 91
Good-Bye Rivers, Good-Bye Fountains, Good-Bye Little Streams	p. 98
A Good Source of Income	p. 104
Madrid
"Madrid! Madrid!"	p. 113
The Vehicle of Progress	p. 126
Onward, Barreiros!	p. 136
My Boyfriend Works in Barreiros	p. 141
The Factory of Happiness	p. 147
We Worked with Optimism	p. 159
Your Call Persuaded Me	p. 165
We Beseech You to Refuse a Licence	p. 172
Chrysler
Boys Always Run After Motor Cars	p. 183
A University of Work	p. 193
The New Gods from the West	p. 202
Disagreement with the Americans	p. 213
Very Sad for Us	p. 224
A Combination of Adversities	p. 236
We Never Thought That We Would Reach This Moment	p. 244
Aftermath
A Place in La Mancha	p. 257
Life Has Dealt Me a Bad Hand	p. 266
Cuba
Don Eduardo in the Land of Comrades	p. 279
Villaverde Revisited	p. 289
I Am a Barreiros Product	p. 301
Epilogue	p. 311
Letter from Eduardo Barreiros to Fidel Castro	p. 321
Genealogies	p. 324
Notes	p. 327
Bibliography	p. 367
Index	p. 373
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