The social representation of a productive activity as context and support of union´s collective action. the shipyards of Cadiz in the carnival songs

Abstract

The numerous mobilizations of the workers of the shipyards located in the Bay of Cadiz have always provoked the solidarity of the population of the region. This has constituted an important resource for the unions to press the Government, not only to minimize the effects of the restructurings, but, especially, to avoid the closing or the privatization of the shipyards of the Bay. The object of this article is to analyze the motives that explain these reactions of solidarity, assuming that, given the limited economic relevancy that has had the naval sector during the last twenty years, the key of the population support is rather in the symbolic importance that the natives of Cadiz attribute to this activity. We use a peculiar source of information: the songs of the Cadiz Carnival.