[1] During the Francoist dictatorship Iglesias spent much of his youth in prison for his political activities in opposition to the regime and joined the PCE's Central Committee.

He later became during the Spanish transition to democracy the leader of the Comisiones Obreras's regional Asturias branch and the PCE's Asturian organization.

He resigned to the leadership of the PCE in March 1988, leaving the party in November 1988 over discrepancies with the new Secretary-General, Julio Anguita.

[4] He briefly served as the first coordinator of IU (progressively becoming a full-fledged federation) before also giving the reins to Anguita and returning to the mine in 1989.

[5] He suffered a work accident at the mine shafts, and as he had not recovered from a surgical operation of spinal disc herniation, he asked in 1990 for the accreditation of permanent incapacity benefits, which were granted in 1992.