Spain failed to present a model of a ‘co-existing’ nation

Spanish premier is blamed for taking tough stances in dealing with ETA

BARCELONA - Ricardo Gonzalez

January 2003

After the fall of the Soviet Union, many scholars predicted a peaceful world for the coming decades. The most famous among them, Fukuyama, defined it as “the end of history”. However, the 1990s saw a surge in wars worldwide, most of them due to ethnic and national rivalries.

When addressing these conflicts, many experts look at Spain as a successful model of integration of several national identities. Nowadays, the success of this model is at stake.

There is a remarkable cultural diversity in Spain. Apart from Spanish, three other languages are officially recognised in this kingdom: Galician, Basque and Catalan. In the regions were these languages are spoken, they are taught at schools and used in the media. In other words, they share the “public space” with Spanish.

The language is at the center of a strong cultural identity in Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque. Large parts of the population in these three territories believe that this cultural diversity is constituent of a national identity different from the Spanish one.

Since 1978, these regions enjoy a significant degree of autonomy witch includes having their own parliament and government. These institutions deal with areas such as education, culture and environment.

Despite some legal disputes between the central and regional powers, the pseudo-federal Spanish system was consolidated in 1996. Most people in all the regions, even in those that had never asked for autonomy, were satisfied with the system.

The only problem was the existence of an armed group, ETA, that seeks independence for the Basque and the establishment of a socialist regime. This group was established during the 1950s, when the oppressive dictatorship, under Franco, did not allow any kind of cultural expression other than the official one.

General Franco, the dictator, died in 1975, which made possible the transition to a democratic system that recognizes cultural diversity and the right of regions to self-government.

These changes, though, did not prevent the ETA from continuing its violent fight, which still enjoys the support of 10 to 15 percent of the Basques.

In 1996 the Popular Party (right wing) won Spain’s elections, and Jose Aznar was elected prime minister. He changed the approach towards the Basque conflict, advocating tougher measures and refusing any dialogue with ETA.

This strategy, along with its centralist and nationalist policies, has created an ever growing confrontation with the moderate Basque Nationalist Party, (BNP), which holds power in the regional government.

This party believes that the aspirations for independence should be carried out by all democratic means It also believes that the end of the conflict is only possible through negotiats with ETA.

Consequently the Basque leader Ibarretxe, launched in September a proposal to change the status of his region into a “free associated state”.

But Aznar refused to discuss the concession of further autonomy to any region. Serious confrontation is now on the agenda since Ibarretxe is planning to subject his proposal to referendum even if it is declared illegal by the central government. This move is seen as a real challenge and Aznar has threatened to suspend the Basque autonomy.

Aznar’s nationalist policies and his manifestations of force do not only provoke unease in the Basque country. They have also lead to the radicalisation of the nationalist tendencies in all regions. Results in the Catalan regional elections held in November showed a surge in Catalan nationalism too. This fact will speed up the demands for a greater degree of autonomy.

Amid this climate of increasing political tension, elections will be held in Spain in March. Rajoy, Aznar’s successor, is expected to win. In all cases, depending on the results of these elections and the stances adopted by the main political actors, tough regional tensions could arise in Spain. No one foresees a violent outburst, mainly because of Sapin’s membership in the European Union, but the success of the Spanish model to deal with national diversity is clearly at stake.