Yolanda González (activist)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is González and the second or maternal family name is Martín.

Yolanda González Martín (20 January 1961 – 1 February 1980^[1]) was a Spanish student and communist militant murdered by two members of New Force.^[2]

Yolanda González
Born	(1961-01-20)20 January 1961
Died	1 February 1980(1980-02-01) (aged 19)
Cause of death	Murder
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	Student
Organization	Worker's Socialist Party (Spain)

Biography

Originally from Deusto, Bilbao, González moved to Madrid to study electronics.^[3] To fund her education, she worked as a cleaner.^[4] She became the student representative of the vocational training school where she studied. She was also a member of the Workers Socialist Party. In February 1980, she was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by some members of New Force. Her body was found on a roadside near Madrid. The organization Batallón Vasco Español claimed responsibility for her murder.^[3] On the same day the organisation also murdered Jesús María Zubikarai Badiola in Eibar.^[5]

The perpetrators of González' murder were Emilio Hellín and Ignacio Abad Velázquez, who were arrested and sentenced to prison terms.^[3] Hellin was sentenced to 43 years in prison, of which he served only 14. In February 2013, El País reported that Hellin, under a false name, was working in communications technology for the Spanish security forces.^[6]

Legacy

On multiple anniversary years of her murder, González' relatives and neighbours have led calls for further justice and reparation.^[7][8] In 2014 Isabel Rodríguez directed the documentary "Yolanda en el País de los estudiantes", which recounts the kidnapping and subsequent murder of González by the Batallón Vasco-Español.^[9]

In 2018 Carlos Fonseca wrote No te olvides de mí: Yolanda González, el crimen más brutal de la Transición. This book brought together a range of sources to focus on her murder.^[10]

Both a garden and a public square have been named in her honour. In 2015, the garden Jardines de Yolanda González Martín was named after her in Madrid.^[11] In 2018 the sign for the gardens was defaced by fascists.^[4] In 2016 there a small square in Deustu was named in her honour.^[12][13][14]

• 
  Square in Deustu, Bilbao
• 
  Deustu sign
• 
  Gardens in Madrid