Depopulation process
Morillo de Tou in ruins
In the mid-eighties, when CCOO Aragón obtained the cession of the lands to drive their recovery, Morillo de Tou presented an advanced state of ruin. More than two decades of abandonment had left it exposed to the elements and to the plundering of reusable materials —beams, lintels, voussoirs, doors or grates—. The vegetation that grew without control and the cypresses planted to curb erosion around the reservoir made it difficult even to recognise the layout of its old streets. Morillo was not an exception, but another case among the more than one hundred depopulated villages in Sobrarbe.
Marshes in Sobrarbe
In Sobrarbe, three major reservoirs were considered: Mediano and El Grado, on the river Cinca, and Jánovas, on the Ara. Although this latter project was never completed, its planning still condemned the inhabitants of Jánovas to expropriation. In Morillo de Tou, the houses were not submerged as in Mediano, but almost all the farmland was lost.
Depopulation in Sobrarbe
At the beginning of the 20th century, Sobrarbe had a population exceeding 22,000. Since then, the population began a continuous decline until it reached its minimum in 1991, with fewer than 6,700 inhabitants. The causes were diverse and closely related.
Industrialisation concentrated activity in cities, modern services barely reached rural areas, agricultural mechanisation reduced the need for labour, and traditional mountain lifestyles became less viable. In this context of progressive weakening, other factors would ultimately accelerate the abandonment of the territory.
The Social Cost of Reservoirs
Since the beginning of the 20th century, hydraulic policy has favoured the construction of large reservoirs in the Pyrenean valleys. These infrastructures made it possible to regulate rivers, ensure irrigation in the lower areas and produce hydroelectric power.
However, these advantages came at a high social cost: the flooding of entire villages, the loss of farmland and pasture, and the disruption of traditional valley communications. Added to this were expropriation processes which, in many cases, offered insufficient compensation.
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Video in Spanish Sign Language pending editing
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