Santa Bárbara Bendita

Summer 2012, Europe is in crisis and the vulnerable economies of the South feel the strongest blow. One of the most affected industries in Spain is mining, where the cut in aid comes abruptly. In the absence of a plan to reconvert the sector and relocate workers, the entire mining area is seen closer to the abyss every day.

In the mining regions of Asturias and León, workers’ anger at the threat hanging over their future has materialized in strikes and clashes with the police. While some believe that the miners believe they are special in the face of the cuts that the entire country is suffering; others admire them for defending their jobs and their counties. Given this perspective, the labor conflict has been projected above the initial claim to conglomerate popular discontent in the face of social setbacks and the lack of a solution to the crisis.