An anarcho-syndicalist activist from an early age, he led the construction workers' union of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) in Zaragoza during the time of the Second Spanish Republic.

Facing political repression by the central government, he attempted to seek formal recognition and support from them, but attracted the ire of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE).

[1] In October 1936, a conference of delegates from the confederal militias and agrarian collectives in Bujaraloz resolved to establish the Regional Defense Council of Aragon.

[12] Ascaso claimed that the council had been established from the free election of local committees, but this was disputed by historian Walther Bernecker, who instead insisted that it was entirely the work of the militia leaders, without even the agreement of the CNT.

[13] As the council was still only a de facto regime, with not even the CNT itself having approved of its creation, Benito Pabón recommended that they seek official recognition from the Republican government.

[17] By December 1936, the government's recognition of the council was made official,[18] with civil and military functions being delegated to it and Ascaso himself being named governor-general of Aragon.

[23] In the wake of the May Days, the Council of Aragon came under attack by the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and the Republican Left (IR), with President Azaña ordering the new prime minister Juan Negrín to liquidate it.

[25] After the Battle of Brunete, the communists began to accuse Ascaso of "acting like a Mafia chieftain" and of smuggling jewellery out of Spain, a charge against which he was defended by Aragonese anarchists.

[27] He emphasised that the people of Aragon had been abandoned by the government in the wake of the military coup and that they had consequently built their own institutions, including the rural collectives, for which he reserved particular praise.

[32] On 11 August 1937, Negrín decreeded the dissolution of the Council[33] and the deposition of Ascaso as governor-general of Aragon, replacing him with the communist José Ignacio Mantecón [es].

[42] Three decades later, Dolores Ibárruri would attempt to revive the accusations against Ascaso, claiming that he was living in luxury in South America off his stolen loot.