Jump to content

Abertzale left

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Ezker abertzalea)
A table with seven steps of people with a banner ezker abertzalea in the background and the flags of Navarre on the left and the Basque Country on the right.
Meeting in 2009
Interview with Arnaldo Otegi (2009), a leading figure of the Basque nationalist left

Abertzale left (Basque: Ezker abertzalea, Spanish: Izquierda abertzale; lit.'patriotic left') is a term used to refer to the parties or organizations of the Basque nationalist/separatist left, stretching from democratic socialism to communism.

This leftist character is highlighted in contrast to the traditional jeltzale nationalism[1] represented by the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV), a conservative and Christian-democratic party, which has long been the largest in the Basque Country. The first examples of abertzale parties are the Basque Nationalist Republican Party (EAAE-PRNV), active from 1909 to 1913,[2] and the Basque Nationalist Action (EAE-ANV), active from 1930 to 2008.[3] They represented the non-confessional Basque nationalist references when ETA was formed in 1959 by younger generations. Ezker abertzalea (or, in Spanish, izquierda abertzale) is notably used when referring to the leftist-nationalist environment of Batasuna, an outlawed political party.[4]

More recently, in 1986, a left-wing splinter group of EAJ-PNV led by Carlos Garaikoetxea formed a new social-democratic party, Basque Solidarity (EA). After ETA's permanent ceasefire (2010), EA engaged in a convergence process with the scattered historic Basque nationalist left closer to ETA. In 2011–2012, they joined forces in forming a succession of coalitions: Bildu, Amaiur and, finally, EH Bildu. A group of former members of Batasuna were identified by the media as independents of izquierda abertzale.[5][6][7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Jeltzale comes from JEL, acronym of Jaungoikoa Eta Lagizarrak, which literally means "God and old laws" and refers to the political thought of Sabino Arana.
  2. ^ Cecilia Arrozarena, El roble y la ceiba. Historia de los vascos en Cuba, ISBN 84-8136-357-X, Txalaparta, 2003
  3. ^ Santiago de Pablo, Un partido con historia Archived 2009-02-02 at the Wayback Machine, El Correo, 14 April 2007.
  4. ^ Jesús María Casquete Badallo, Abertzale sí pero, ¿quién dijo que de izquierda? Archived 2012-03-21 at the Wayback Machine, El Viejo Topo, ISSN 0210-2706, n. 268, 2010, pp. 14-19.
  5. ^ EiTB. "Basque left-wing nationalists launch new coalition party Amaiur". www.eitb.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Izquierda abertzale, EA, Alternatiba y Aralar cierran los contenidos del pacto del 20-N - GARA". www.gara.net. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  7. ^ Morán, Unai (10 June 2012). "Una profesora se perfila como aspirante a 'lehendakari' por EHB". El País. Retrieved 15 July 2017.