La rebelión de las ratas

La rebelión de las ratas [ en: The Rats Rebellion] is a novel written by Colombian writer Fernando Soto Aparicio and published in 1962. The novel features a strong narrative style. The main character is a country side worker called Rudecindo Cristancho who arrives with his family to the village of Timbalí with the hope of a better life. Without much resources, the family settles in a garbage dump and Reducindo is hired to work in a mine where he suffers exploitation and deplorable work conditions. There is an attempt to form a worker’s union which leads to a rebellion and the tragic dead of Cristancho. It is a testimonial tale, a thrilling story about the hardship and inhuman conditions of the poor working classes.

Plot

The book starts with a description of the pristine landscape that existed before the arriving of wealthy foreigners the Valley of Timbalí, who brought with them “progress” to the region changing the green landscape with the introduction of paved roads. The houses of the villagers now contrasted with the enormous houses recently built by the foreigners. Everything had change, since the arrival of these people, which also spoke different language, gestures and habits. The problem was not much the difference in wealth but the damaged caused on the agricultural land, which had been ruined due to the constant rolling of the heavy machinery that transported the coal. Without lands to cultivate the villagers were left with no other option than to work in the mines. While the agriculture deteriorated, the mining industry thrived. In this changed landscaped is where Rudecindo Cristancho arrives and his first surprise is to find out that there is one street that divides the town separating the wealthy foreigners from the poor villagers. As he finds no place to stay he decides to settler in a garbage dump at the outskirts of the town. Sometime after, Rudecindo is hire as a worker in the mine where he finds that despite the enormous efforts and the dangerous conditions, the economic retribution is not enough for the daily living. Realizing that he is not the only worker unhappy with the miserable working conditions he attempts to create a union but fails in the attempt and this causes unrest among the miners. Later on, the unhappiness turns into a total rebellion when the miners discover among the rocks the rotting corpses of miners that had been buried by a collapsed tunnel. Outraged, by the cover up, the workers run along the streets causing and stampede, among them a group of miners decide to destroy the wealthy houses of the town. Redecindo is killed in the stampede when he falls and the crowd steps on him.