“¡El Lago de Sanabria está en peligro!" Entre el desarrollo hidroeléctrico y la protección de la naturaleza en la España franquista (1943-1972)

Abstract

In 1952, plans to convert Lake Sanabria (Zamora) into a reservoir for hydroelectric production sparked a press campaign that reached the front pages of the Spanish national press. At the intersection of environmental and political history, this article examines the controversy surrounding the protection of the lake and its designation as a «Picturesque Site» («Paraje Pintoresco») in 1953, under the National Artistic Heritage Law of 1933 and overseen by the Ministry of National Education. The lake’s defenders emphasized its cultural, natural, and aesthetic value, as well as its fishing, hunting, and forestry resources, articulating a discourse that intertwined its landscape with the Spanish nation. Despite the initial success of the campaign —which called for the conservation and promotion of Lake Sanabria as a tourist destination without questioning the dictatorship’s broader hydroelectric policy— the reservoir project was approved in 1957. In 1959, the collapse of the Vega de Tera dam and the destruction of the nearby village of Ribadelago, located on the shores of Lake Sanabria, postponed the start of construction, which ultimately never took place.