Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos
# Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos

The Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos was a governing body established on 8 February 1937 to coordinate the Republican areas in Cantabria (then officially called the Province of Santander), Palencia and Burgos during the Spanish Civil War. The council was dissolved in August 1937 after the occupation of the region by Nationalist forces.

## Creation of the Interprovincial Council

With the outbreak of war in July 1936, Cantabria and the northern parts of Palencia and Burgos remained under Republican control, as well as the neighboring Asturias and Biscay, while most of Castilla feel under nationalist rule. On 27 July, a "War Committee" was formed to direct the war effort, while the "Santander Defense Council" was in charge of directing the regional government.

On 23 December, the government of the Spanish Republic decided to create three Interprovincial Councils to replace the Defense Councils in Asturias and León, Santander, Palencia and Burgos, and Aragon. Following this order of the central government, the Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos was officially constituted on 8 February 1937.

The government of the Republic delegated to the Council all functions except those of law enforcement, press and radio censorship, as well as meetings and public demonstrations. Among other functions, the Council assisted refugees from neighboring provinces, evacuated children and refugees, provided food and weapons, and minted its own currency.

## Composition of the Interprovincial Council

Following the guidelines of the Government of the Republic that determined that the number of councilors was double that of the provincial deputies, The Interprovincial Council was made up of fourteen members, two of them from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Spanish: Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE), two from Mountain Workers Federation-General Union of Workers (Spanish: Federación Obrera Montañesa-Unión General de Trabajadores, FOM-UGT), two from the Republican Left (Spanish: Izquierda Republicana, IR), two from the National Confederation of Labor (Spanish: Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, CNT), two from the Communist Party of Spain (Spanish: Partido Comunista de España, PCE), one from the Unified Socialist Youth (Spanish: Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas, JSU), one from the Federal Democratic Republican Party (Spanish: Partido Republicano Democratico Federal, PRD Fed.), one from the Republican Union (Spanish: Unión Republicana, UR) and one from the Iberian Anarchist Federation (Spanish: Federación Anarquista Ibérica, FAI). This composition resulted in six Socialists, four Republicans, three Anarchists and two Communists, of whom four belonged to the trade unions.

On 10 February 1937, the distribution of portfolios of the council was published in the Official Gazette of the Province:

| Cabinet Position | Office Holder | Political Party or Trade Union |
| - | - | - |
| President | Juan Ruiz Olazarán [es] | PSOE |
| First Vice-President | Alfonso Orallo Pérez | FOM-UGT |
| Second Vice-President / Minister of Popular Credit | Vicente del Solar Romero | CNT |
| Minister of Agriculture | Ángel Escobio Andraca | PCE |
| Minister of Social Assistance | Antonio Lavín Gautier | IR |
| Minister of Culture | Ramón Ruiz Rebollo | IR |
| Foreign Minister | Manuel Ramos Helguera | PRD Fed. |
| Minister of Livestock | Mariano Juez Sánchez | PCE |
| Minister of Finance | Domingo José Samperio Jáuregui | UR |
| Minister of the Interior | Feliciano Lanza | PSOE |
| Minister of Public Works | Antonio Vayas Gutiérrez [es] | FOM-UGT |
| Minister of Propaganda | Teodoro Quijano Arbizu | FAI |
| Minister of Health and Hygiene | Timoteo Chapero Fernández | CNT |
| General Secretary | Julio Sollet (until February 18) Luis Doalto (from February 18) | JSU |
| Minister of Transport | José Martín del Castillo | PSOE |

## End of Council

The end of the Interprovincial Council came with the military setbacks of the republican forces in the summer of 1937. The last agreements made during those days corresponded to a request for arms for the defense of the region and food with which to alleviate the situation of the population, aggravated by the arrival of refugees from the nationalist-occupied areas.

With the fall of Santander on 26 August 1937 and the evacuation of the authorities to Asturias, the council was dissolved.

