Description
A democrat against fascist barbarism
Book summary
This work recovers the memory of Enrique Peinador Porrúa, a lawyer, Galicianist, and democrat who was executed by firing squad in Madrid in 1940, at the age of 38. Through his story, the reader delves into the harshness of the Spanish postwar period and an exemplary judicial process where vengeance prevailed over justice. An essential account for understanding Francoist repression and the price of loyalty to republican legality.
What is it about?
The book recounts the life and tragic end of Enrique Peinador Porrúa, a man committed to democratic freedoms and the project of a Galicia with its own future. A militant of the Republican Left, a Freemason, and a Galicianist, his life was cut short by the coup d'état of July 1936. During the war, Peinador served as a judge on the Provincial Committee for Public Investigation and as a prosecutor against members of the Fifth Column in Madrid. After the conflict, he was tried in a court-martial marked by irregularities and a lack of due process. Despite favorable reports from right-wing individuals whose lives he had saved, the fascist tribunal sentenced him to death for military rebellion, accusing him of the very thing he had always fought against: disloyalty to the constitutional regime. The work dissects this trial, showing how Francoist justice operated from a perspective of vengeance and exemplary punishment.
Main themes
- Historical memory and Francoist repression in the postwar period.
- Biography of Enrique Peinador Porrúa as a figure of Galicianism and the republican left.
- Analysis of irregular courts-martial and the absence of legal guarantees.
- The conflict between loyalty to republican legality and the barbarism of the new regime.
- The exemplary nature of the death penalty as an instrument of political vengeance.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at readers interested in the contemporary history of Spain, particularly the Civil War and Francoist repression. It will also be of great value to those seeking biographies of Galician political figures and studies on the application of justice during the Franco regime. It is an essential work for historians, students, and anyone committed to democratic memory.
What this book contributes
- A detailed look at a real case of judicial repression, based on historical documentation.
- The recovery of the figure of Enrique Peinador, an exemplary democrat who had fallen into oblivion.
- A reflection on the instrumentalization of justice as a tool for political vengeance.
- Historical context on the situation of those loyal to the Republic in postwar Madrid.
- An analysis of the contradiction between the defense of legality and the accusation of rebellion.
Technical specifications
- Author: Redondio Abal, Francisco Xavier
- Publisher: EDICIONS LAIOVENTO
- Language: glg
- Subject: REAL WAR AND COMBAT STORIES, HISTORY OF SPAIN
- Collection: ESSAY
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: April 2026
- Number of pages: 168
- Weight: 300 g
Editorial review
A democrat against fascist barbarism is a work of great historical rigor that sheds light on a specific and revealing episode of Francoist repression. Francisco Xavier Redondio Abal's research succeeds in humanizing the figure of Enrique Peinador, showing the paradox of a man who, for defending republican legality, was executed under the charge of rebellion. It is an essential read for those who wish to delve into historical memory from a documented perspective far removed from simplification.