Basque Political Parties, Autonomy and Civil War
Basque Political Parties and the Path to Autonomy
Right-Wing Parties: The Re/Comunion Tradicionalista, primarily Carlists, held significant influence in Navarre and Araba. They had paramilitary forces known as requetés. Other right-wing groups included Monarchists (Renovación Española, led by Calvo Sotelo) and CEDA (led by José María Gil Robles).
Nationalist Parties: The PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) was a moderate Catholic party, the most powerful in the Basque Country (BC), with influence across various societal sectors. Accion Nacionalista Vasca was a smaller party that splintered from the PNV.
Republican Parties: A minority in the BC, they opposed the PNV due to its ties with the Church and some were against granting autonomy to the BC.
Labor Parties: The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) and UGT (General Union of Workers) were influential in industrial areas like Nervión, Eibar, and Irún. Indalecio Prieto of the PSOE supported Basque autonomy.
The Quest for Autonomy
Following the proclamation of the Republic, Catalonia and Euskadi sought to regain their historical rights. The 1931 Constitution provided a legal framework for autonomy. However, the relationship between the Spanish government and the PNV was strained. Indalecio Prieto opposed the idea of the BC becoming a ‘Gibraltar Vaticanista’.
In 1931, the Euskal irakaskuntza drafted the Estella Statute of Autonomy. It faced repeated rejection in the Cortes due to a controversial article regarding the BC’s relationship with the Holy See. After the failure of the Estella Statute, the diputaciones appointed comisiones gestoras to draft a new one.
The new statute required approval via referendum and then by the Spanish Cortes. In Navarre, 60% voted against it, prioritizing the defense of the Catholic religion. In the three Basque provinces, the referendum was approved in 1933, but the Spanish Cortes, then controlled by the right, did not approve it.
Basques had to wait until 1936 for the statute of autonomy, granted by the Popular Front government during the Civil War to secure PNV support. The statute lasted from July 18, 1936, until 1939.
The Spanish Civil War in the Basque Country
The Civil War pitted the Nationalists (military rebels, backed by the Church, right-wing parties, and conservative landowners and industrialists) against the legally established Republic (backed by the Popular Front coalition, anarchists, communists, small bourgeoisie, peasants, and workers).
Causes of the Civil War: The military uprising failed partially, but the rebels controlled enough territory to continue the fight. The right did not accept the Popular Front’s victory. The uprising was plotted by Sanjurjo, Mola, Queipo de Llano, Franco, Calvo Sotelo, Falange, and traditionalists. The plot failed to seize the government or the national gold reserve. The rebels claimed to fight against chaos, anarchy, and communism, to save Spain, restore order, and protect religion and the Church.
The population resisted the uprising, with workers and peasants fighting back. The Republican government did not receive support from Western democracies. The Communist Party recruited international volunteers. The rebels received secret Nazi help and open Italian collaboration, with Franco’s African army joining the fight.
Nationalist Side: They defended a concept of Spain based on national unity, tradition, and Catholicism. The army played a central role, with Franco holding both military and political authority.
Republican Side: The uprising triggered a popular revolution with violence against the wealthy and the Church. In the BC, the Catholic and conservative PNV assumed political control.
The Military Conquest
Araba: The right-wing parties were strong here, and it was the only Basque province to surrender to Franco’s forces. Lieutenant Colonel Alonso Vega, with the help of requetés from Navarre, occupied Vitoria, and the deputies fled to Bilbao.
Gipuzkoa: The rebellion failed from the start. The Guardia de Asalto and Guardia Civil remained loyal, and with the help of Basque nationalist deputies, they prevented the uprising. Manuel de Irujo issued a manifesto rejecting the coup and supporting the government.
Bizkaia: The military coup did not take place, as Echevarria Novoa controlled the situation from the beginning.
Military Fronts
Gipuzkoa Front: General Mola organized the conquest from three fronts: Bidasoa, Alsasoa, and the Berasategi valley. Irún was occupied in September 1936, followed by Donostia on the 12th. The evacuation of Donostia to Bilbao was done by ship. Eibar was the last town to be taken, on the same day as the bombing of Gernika.
Biscay Front: The offensive against Biscay began in March 1937. The Iron Belt was built around Bilbao to resist the fascists. The designers of the belt were caught trying to give the maps to the enemy and were executed, except for one who escaped. The Francoist offensive aimed to take Bilbao for its industry. Italian troops bombed Durango, killing civilians for the first time in history. In April, Gernika was bombed by the Condor Legion, and Franco blamed the Basque government. The bombing became a symbol of Basque autonomy, and the lie persisted until Franco’s death.
In May, the Republic gave command of the army to José Antonio Aguirre. Bilbao fell to Franco, and the government ordered the destruction of the industry, but it was not carried out. Franco then abolished the concierto económico, and the Basque government signed the Santoña Pact.
The Basque Oasis
In October 1936, the statute of autonomy was approved. Due to the war, the councillors in the Republican zone elected José Antonio Aguirre as Lehendakari in the Casa de Juntas de Gernika. The first Basque government was composed of all political parties, but the PNV held the most important posts. Due to the war, the BC became practically an independent country.
The government created the Diario Oficial del País Vasco, the ikurriña (Basque flag), the ertzaintza (Basque police), and the Basque University. This period was known as the ‘Basque Oasis’ due to the relative peace, lack of social revolution, respect for the Catholic Church, and wider political pluralism than in Spain.