The Catalonia Crisis and the Basque Country

2018/04/01

On October 1, 2017, an independence referendum was held in Catalonia, marking a new development in the Catalonia crisis that has been ongoing since 2010. News from that day surprised viewers worldwide with footage of residents voting despite opposition from the Spanish central government, and police seizing polling stations, ballot boxes, and voting papers. Since then, a series of significant events—including former President Carles Puigdemont's escape to Belgium, the detention of regional government officials and pro-independence activists, the suspension of Catalonia's autonomy by the central government, and the passage of a declaration of independence in the regional parliament—have caused major ripples both within and outside Europe.

Within Spain, the region most concerned about these events was likely the Basque Country. Like Catalonia, the Basque Country possesses its own unique language and ethnic identity, holds a high degree of autonomy within the Spanish regional system, and has produced an independence movement dating back to the 19th century.

So, how is Basque society reacting to the Catalonia crisis? While it is impossible to provide an exhaustive answer here, I would like to discuss how media outlets in Spain and abroad have described the situation in the Basque Country since last October, and consider recent movements in Basque politics that do not necessarily align with the media discourse.

Since the situation in Catalonia intensified last autumn, many media outlets—including widely read Spanish dailies like El País, the New York Times, and the Basque regional public broadcaster—have focused their reporting on how the current situation in the Basque Country differs greatly from that of Catalonia.

In fact, it can be said that the Basque Country and Catalonia have followed extremely similar paths from 19th-century industrialization and the birth of regional nationalism, through repression under the Franco dictatorship, to the democratization and restoration of autonomy after 1975. However, as these media outlets emphasize, there are also important characteristics that distinguish Catalonia and the Basque Country.

One difference is that in the Basque Country, unlike Catalonia, the power to collect taxes lies with the autonomous community rather than the state, granting it a higher degree of fiscal autonomy. This is said to be linked to the fact that the Basque Country does not have as strong an economic motive for independence as Catalonia. Furthermore, Basque society experienced 50 years of armed struggle until the terrorist organization ETA declared a ceasefire in 2011. As a result, modern Basque society is said to be more interested in healing past wounds and building peace after a long conflict than in jumping into new attempts at independence.

Thus, the media has portrayed a cautious Basque society that remains largely unaffected by the Catalonia crisis. However, to what extent does this image faithfully capture the current political situation in the Basque Country?

In fact, public opinion polls conducted around the time of the independence referendum in Catalonia clearly showed that while a majority of Basques sympathized with the Catalan independence movement, they desired a higher degree of autonomy for the Basque Country rather than full independence. Furthermore, both the Basque regional government and the ruling Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) made efforts at the time to express a moderate stance on the Catalonia issue without hesitation.

Recently, however, movements differing from the aforementioned stance have become prominent. In this sense, the discussions in the "Commission on Autonomy," established in the regional parliament last year and scheduled to present a draft for a new political status for the Basque Country this October, are considered particularly important. This is because in this commission, which is composed of representatives from the political parties in the regional parliament, the three parties that received over 70% of the votes in the regional elections (PNV, the pro-independence left-wing party EH-Bildu, and the Basque branch of the Spanish left-wing party Podemos) have indicated their intention to defend the Basque right to self-determination. Although many points remain uncertain regarding how this demand for self-determination will be realized, the possibility that it could eventually lead to a referendum on independence cannot be denied. The fact that the ruling PNV is clearly asserting the Basque right to self-determination—in contrast to the cautious stance it showed when the Catalonia crisis intensified—is attracting widespread interest.

Furthermore, the grassroots organization "Gure Esku Dago" (It is in our hands), which in 2014 organized a "human chain" event 123 kilometers long with over 100,000 participants seeking the right to self-determination, has called for a new "human chain" activity this June connecting the three provincial capitals of the Basque Autonomous Community. A large turnout of residents is expected.

While it is difficult to imagine 2018 becoming the year of a "Basque crisis" following the Catalonia crisis, it is necessary to pay attention to future developments in the Basque Country as it follows its own path while being influenced by the situation in Catalonia.

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.