Lesson plan

Rumasa

José María Ruiz-Mateos Sociedad Anónima (Rumasa) was a holding company founded by Spanish entrepreneur José María Ruiz Mateos and expropriated by the Spanish government on February 23, 1983. In 1982 Rumasa constituted 2% of the Spanish GDPThe 700 different businesses with 65000 employees forming the holding, from banks to hotels, were partitioned and reprivatizated. Ruiz Mateos fled the country days after the expropriation and was later jailed in Spain. The expropriation was ruled constitutional by the [[Spanish Constitutional Court] in 1986. Ruíz Mateos was acquitted by the Spanish Supreme Court in 1999, though he has never been compensated by the Spanish state. Ruiz Mateos later founded "Nueva Rumasa" ("New Rumasa" which filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after issuing a series of highly controversial [[IOU|IOUs] [https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/963719/0/claves/nueva/rumasa/].

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Article summary

José María Ruiz-Mateos Sociedad Anónima (Rumasa) was a holding company founded by Spanish entrepreneur José María Ruiz Mateos and expropriated by the Spanish government on February 23, 1983. In 1982 Rumasa constituted 2% of the Spanish GDPThe 700 different businesses with 65000 employees forming the holding, from banks to hotels, were partitioned and reprivatizated. Ruiz Mateos fled the country days after the expropriation and was later jailed in Spain. The expropriation was ruled constitutional by the [[Spanish Constitutional Court] in 1986. Ruíz Mateos was acquitted by the Spanish Supreme Court in 1999, though he has never been compensated by the Spanish state. Ruiz Mateos later founded "Nueva Rumasa" ("New Rumasa" which filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after issuing a series of highly controversial [[IOU|IOUs] [https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/963719/0/claves/nueva/rumasa/].

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 1983-02-23 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of foundation: 2005 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. employees: 65000 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1983-02-23". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of foundation is "2005". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the employees is "65000 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  6. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1359694677

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.