ABSTRACT
During the early 1970s, in response to diminished agricultural activities, the campesinos continued to leave the pueblo in search of employment. For the men who had been campesinos, there were correlations to be made between field labor and construction work. Following the Civil War, when conditions in town and countryside were at their nadir, desperate campesinos risked a long trek through the mountains to Gibraltar and a still more perilous return with necessities to sell: tobacco, coffee, flour, bread, medicine, cloth, and even thread. In September, 1983, when the governor of the province again withheld supplemental family assistance, the campesinos of Benalup held a sit-down strike in the middle of the roadway leading past the town. The Guardia Civiles were present in numbers, but they avoided any contact with the workers. The Guardia Civil, patrolling in pairs, kept vigil in rural areas.
