Abertzale left ( eu, Ezker abertzalea, es, Izquierda abertzale; ) is a term used to refer to the parties or organizations of the Basque nationalist/separatist left, stretching from

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. This leftist character is highlighted in contrast to the traditional '' jeltzale'' nationalism represented by the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV), a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and

Christian-democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern 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, and the

Basque Nationalist Action Basque Nationalist Action ( eu, Eusko Abertzale Ekintza, es, Acción Nacionalista Vasca, EAE–ANV) is a Basque nationalist party based in Spain. Founded in 1930, it was the first Basque nationalist political party to exist running on a socialist ...

(EAE-ANV), active from 1930 to 2008. They represented the non-confessional Basque nationalist references when

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

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 Batasuna (; en, Unity) was a Basque nationalist political party. Based mainly in Spain, it was banned in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. The party is included in the "European Union ...

, an outlawed political party. More recently, in 1986, a left-wing splinter group of EAJ-PNV led by

Carlos Garaikoetxea Carlos Garaikoetxea Urriza (born 2 June 1938) is a former politician from the Spanish Basque Country. He became the second elected ''Lehendakari'' (President of the Basque Autonomous Community), after José Antonio Aguirre, who had held that ...

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 Amaiur was a left-wing Basque nationalist and separatist political coalition from the Basque Country and Navarre. The name of the coalition comes from the fortress of Amaiur in Navarre, which was one of the last Basque strongholds during th ...

and, finally,

EH Bildu EH Bildu, short for Euskal Herria Bildu ( en, link=yes, Basque Country Gather or Basque Country Unite) is a left-wing, Basque nationalist, pro-independence political coalition active in the Spanish autonomous communities of Basque Country, Nava ...

. A group of former members of Batasuna were identified by the media as independents of ''izquierda abertzale''.

References

{{Reflist Basque politics National liberation movements Rebellions in Spain Articles containing video clips Socialism Left-wing nationalism