Hi Michael, thank you for your thought-provoking posting. I have friends that work at a Mondragon cooperative in nearby Bergara. During the Franco era the cooperatives were considered a mixed blessing, as many immigrants from other parts of Spain were attracted to them, but as time went on, many of the newcomers intermarried with the local population and learned to speak Basque(which Franco hoped to eradicate). i am currently reading Azukre Xehea Gatz Larria(Fine Suger Coarse Salt), an autobiographical account(Mikel Hernandez-Abaitua) which describes how ETA kidnapped his uncle and left him in a covered pit to die during the ’80’s. The uncle was the head of a cooperative and an Euskualdun(Basque speaker). Incidents like this turned the native population against ETA, so that today your very authentic ETA disguise wouldn’t go over very well in most of the Basque country.

Well, that is my profile photo on OEN. It had been the same on many social sites. After a while I have changed it on most. Mondragon has been my passion ever since I heard of of it 17 years ago. It does not need figure head. It only needs Communities to hear about it.