Heart and Soul
By: Ed Grootenboer

A pillar of the Latin American trade union movement died recently in Caracas, Venezuela. For more than 45 years, Emelio Maspero embodied the heart and soul of the struggle for democracy and independent trade unions in South and Central America.

He did so at great personal sacrifice, including imprisonment, courageously opposing dictatorship, communism, and economic imperialism. His inspiration was his faith, believing that a Christian trade union movement offers the only real hope for workers in pursuing genuine emancipation.

Emilio’s objectives of free democratic societies and independent institutions for all Latin Americans will carry on in the organization he served for 30 years as General Secretary, the Central Latino–Americana de Trabajadores (CLAT). We express our sympathy and best wishes to CLAT with the loss of a strong leader.

I came to know Emelio through CLAT’s and CLAC’s affiliation with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). He served as a vice-president until the time of his death. His strong personality, stern deportment, and loud and long Spanish oratory could and did rub people the wrong way at times. But his sincerely held convictions and steadfast defence of those suffering from poverty and political oppression in all regions of the world easily won people over. And sometimes a twinkle in his eyes showed he did not take himself all that seriously.

I last saw Emelio at a meeting of WCL organizations in the Americas, held in Caracas last August. He was already weakened by his illness then but remained passionate about his life-long work in promoting justice and liberty.

Rest in peace Emelio Maspero. Your work and trials have not been in vain.