Buenaventura Durruti (Spanish anarchist) Add a review

José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (Spanish: [xoˈse βwenaβenˈtuɾa ðuˈruti ðuˈmaŋge]; 14 July 1896 – 20 November 1936) was a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist militant and a leading figure in Spanish anarchism before and during the Spanish Civil War. As a prominent member of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and the Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI), Durruti was a key protagonist in the Spanish Revolution of 1936 and is remembered as a hero and martyr in the anarchist movement.

Originally a mechanic and trade unionist from León, Durruti was radicalized by state repression of the labor movement. In the 1920s, he became a leader of the anarchist affinity group Los Solidarios, which carried out bank robberies, termed "expropriations", to fund their revolutionary activities, as well as assassinations of those they held responsible for the oppression of the working class. Forced into exile, he coordinated militant activities from France and engaged in a series of expropriations across Latin America with the group Los Errantes. After returning to Spain with the proclamation of the Republic in 1931, he became one of the primary organizers of the CNT's insurrectionist wing, leading several unsuccessful uprisings for which he was repeatedly imprisoned and deported.

At the outbreak of the Civil War in July 1936, Durruti was a key figure in defeating the Nationalist military uprising in Barcelona. He subsequently organized and led the Durruti Column, one of the largest and most famous anarchist militias, which fought on the Aragon front. There, alongside combat operations, he helped implement libertarian communism in the liberated territories. In November 1936, as Nationalist forces laid siege to Madrid, he led his column to the capital to aid in its defense. On 19 November, he was mortally wounded by a gunshot while fighting in the Casa de Campo park. The circumstances of his death are disputed, with historians debating whether he was killed by enemy fire, friendly fire, or treachery.

Durruti's death was a significant blow to the anarchist movement and the Republican war effort. His funeral procession in Barcelona drew hundreds of thousands of mourners in one of the largest public demonstrations in the city's history. He became an enduring symbol of the revolutionary spirit of Spanish anarchism, praised for his ideological conviction, leadership, and personal dedication to fighting for a classless, stateless society. His legacy influenced later anarchist groups, such as the Friends of Durruti Group, and he remains one of the most iconic figures of the Spanish Civil War.