Andoni Lubaki

Photo Reporter

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The Last Settlers: Franco's Legacy in Rural Spain

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Location: Bilbao, Spain

Nationality: Spanish

Biography: Basque - Abkhazian photographer. Bilbao - Sukhumi - Tinduf

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1 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Retired farmers of Sodeto (Huesca), a settleds spot of no more than 200 inhabitants, playing a typical card game called Rabino in the only bar in town. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Franco´s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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2 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A retired farmer of Sodeto (Huesca), a settleds spot of no more than 200 inhabitants, reading the newspaper in the only bar in town. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Franco´s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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3 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A retired farmer of Sodeto (Huesca), a settleds spot of no more than 200 inhabitants, showing a T-shirt of a football tournament. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Franco´s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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4 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Bernardino Gomez (90) one of the first settlers of Sodeto (Huesca), a settleds spot of no more than 200 inhabitants, on the door of the cultural house. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Franco´s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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5 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Alicia Preciado (43) a new urban settler coming from Barcelona inside the cultural house of Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Franco´s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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6 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Chairs in the street of Sodeto (Huesca) a settlers town builded in 1958 in the Monegros desert. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francos dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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7 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A cat is relaxing in the street of Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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8 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

An old car in the street of Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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9 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

The church of Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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10 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

The signal in the entry of Sodeto (Huesca) a settlers town in the Monegros desert builded in 1958. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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11 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Old women group speaking after the church mass in Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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12 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Cats relaxing in the streets of Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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13 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

An inhabitant showing his vintage restored motorbike in the streets of Sodeto (Huesca) a settlers town builded in 1958 by the National Institute of Colonization. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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14 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A electric pole in the outskirts of Sodeto (Huesca) a rural settlers town builded in 1958. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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15 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A dog watching throught a broken part of an iron door in Sodeto (Huesca) a settlers town builded in 1958. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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16 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Jose Luis Hernï¿½ndez (61) a settler coming from other rural part of Huesca inside his house of Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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17 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

An old wagon with the logo of National Institute of Colonization inside the Settlers Museum in Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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18 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

An old poster of the Explotation Office inside the Sodeto (Huesca) colonization museum. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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19 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A portrait of Rosa Pons former mayor of Sodeto (Huesca) of the socialist party of Spain inside her house. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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20 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Inhabitants of Sodeto (Huesca) speaking in the street. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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21 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Manuel Losa (60) a settler from Sodeto (Huesca). After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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22 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Eduardo Navarro (63) and Virtudes (63) a couple of Bardenas (Zaragoza) a settlers town builded in 1957 in the door of their house. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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23 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Virtudes (63) a settler of Bardenas (Zaragoza) in front of her house. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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24 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

The logo of National Institut of Colonization in the entry door of Agricultural Cooperative of Bardenas (Zaragoza) a settlers town near Egea de los Caballeros. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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25 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A bird flying near the Agricultural Cooperative of Bardenas (Zaragoza) a settlers town. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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26 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A tractor in the door of the Agricultural Cooperative of Bardenas (Zaragoza) a settlers town near Egea de los Caballeros. The logo of the institute of colonization is on the door. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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27 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Juan Manuel Navarro (33) looking to a tracktor inside the cooperative of agro production of Bardenas a settlers town near Egea de los Caballeros, Zaragoza.After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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28 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Donato Perez (63) thinking inside a car on the way to Bardenas was a Tiermas inhabitant (a town near the Pyrenees in Huesca that was forced to abandon due to construction of Yesa lake) when the government of Franco send him and his family to El Bayo a settler town in the north part of Zaragoza near the Monegros desert of Spain. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki..

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29 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Donato Perez (63) in a onion farm near Bardenas (a settler town of Zaragoza) Donato was a Tiermas inhabitant (a town near the Pyrenees in Huesca that was forced to abandon due to construction of Yesa lake) when the government of Franco send him and his family to El Bayo a settler town in the north part of Zaragoza near the Monegros desert of Spain. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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30 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Donato Perez (63) in a onion farm near Bardenas (a settler town of Zaragoza) Donato was a Tiermas inhabitant (a town near the Pyrenees in Huesca that was forced to abandon due to construction of Yesa lake) when the government of Franco send him and his family to El Bayo a settler town in the north part of Zaragoza near the Monegros desert of Spain. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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31 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

The entry signal for the Colonization Society Cooperative in Bardenas (Zaragoza) a town of settlers near Egea de los Caballeros. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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32 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A statue in memory of the first settlers in Figarol (Navarre).After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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33 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A settler painting the wall of his house using a tracktor to elevate in Figarol (Navarre) a settlers town near the Bardenas desert. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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34 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

Maria Angeles Gascï¿½n (56) the owner of a restaurant in Figarol ( Navarre) inside a fisherman boats that is used like a hotel in the middle of the desert of Bardenas. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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35 of 35 © 2022 Andoni Lubaki

A signed spanish olimpic national team t-shirt inside the Figarol (Navarre) restaurant. After the Spanish civil war in 1936, under Francisco Francoï¿½s dictatorship, an agriculture reform was enforced leading to the building of more than 300 new towns all around Spain. This towns were populated with people coming from other rural impoverished areas but most of them are in high risk of disappearing because the new generations are moving to cities and abandoning these areas. Copyright: Spanish photojournalist Andoni Lubaki.

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Public Story

The Last Settlers: Franco's Legacy in Rural Spain

Copyright Andoni Lubaki 2022

Date of Work Aug 2018 - Aug 2018

Updated Feb 2020

Location Spain

Topics Documentary, Editorial, Photography, Photojournalism, settlers

At the end of the Spanish civil war, the dictator Franco began a national agrarian reform. To do this, together with engineers related to the regime, he created and designed a strategic colonization plan in the peninsula. More than 300 villages were built out of nowhere with the same pattern at strategic sites. Its inhabitants were resettled farm workers in poor conditions in what were called "lots"; house, land and farm implements with a long-term credit to be able to pay it. Today there are still more than 280 settlers villages. Many of them with the same problem as other towns older than them: the depopulation and rural exodus to the cities. Its inhabitants who emerged from the most extreme poverty thanks to hard work in the countryside see how the third generation flees massively to cities where services are better. The phenomenon called "The Empty Spain" acquires all the meaning in the settlers that still exist today.

Al finalizar la guerra civil española el dictador Franco comenzó una reforma agraria a nivel nacional. Para ello, junto con ingenieros afines al regimen, creó y diseñó un plan estratégico de colonización en la península. Más de 300 pueblos fueron construidos de la nada con el mismo patrón en sitios estratégicos. Sus habitantes fueron trabajadores del campo reasentados en míseras condiciones en lo que se denominaron "lotes"; casa, terreno y aperos de labranza con un crédito a largo plazo para poder pagarlo. Hoy en día aún hay más de 280 pueblos de colonos. Muchos de ellos con el mismo problema que otros pueblos más antiguos que ellos: la despoblación y éxodo rural hacia las ciudades. Sus habitantes que salieron de la pobreza más extrema gracias al duro trabajo en el campo ven como la tercera generación huye en masa a ciudades donde los servicios son mejores. El fenómeno llamado "La España Vaciada" adquiere todo el significado en los pueblos colonos que aún hoy existen.

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