Euskadiko Ezkerra (EE; en, Basque Country Left) was a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

political organisation. It was founded as a coalition of Euskal Iraultzarako Alderdia (EIA, ''Basque Party for Revolution'' or ''Party for Basque Revolution'') and other Basque Marxist forces in 1977 to present lists for the Spanish general elections in the constituencies of Vizcaya,

Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

and

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

, while Navarrese Left Union (UNAI), an allied coalition, was to present a list in the constituency of Navarre.

History

EE's list in Guipúzcoa won one seat in the Spanish Congress for Francisco Letamendia, one in the Senate for Juan María Bandrés, a lawyer for

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, ...

members, and none in the other constituencies. Many prominent members of EE eventually separated from the coalition and integrated into

Herri Batasuna Herri Batasuna (; en, Popular Unity; HB) was a far-left Basque nationalist coalition in Spain. It was founded in 1978 and defined itself as abertzale, left-wing, socialist, and supported the independence of the Greater Basque Country. It was r ...

(HB). EE called for "no" in the Referendum for

Spanish Constitution The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the democratic law that is supreme in the Kingdom of Spain. It was e ...

in 1978. Several of the members of ETA (pm) joined peaceful political action in EE after they abandoned violence and negotiated pardons from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

government. In 1982 it merged with some sectors of PCE-EPK (the Basque branch of PCE) and became a party under the name EE-IPS, ''Euskadiko Ezkerra-Izquierda para el Socialismo'' ("Left for Socialism"), while often using the simpler name Euskadiko Ezkerra. Its general secretary in this period was Mario Onaindia, a former ETA member during the

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

era, later replaced by Kepa Aulestia. EE called for a "no" on the membership of Spain in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in the referendum held in 1986. While the "yes" vote won nationally, the "no" campaign triumphed in the Basque Autonomous Community. After the split of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and the creation of

Eusko Alkartasuna Eusko Alkartasuna (; en, Basque Solidarity; es, Solidaridad Vasca; french: Solidarité basque) is a Basque nationalist and social-democratic political party operating in Spain and France. The Basque language name means ''Basque Solidarity'' an ...

(EA) in 1987, EE established several coalitions with the latter. In 1991 EE entered in the government of the

Basque Autonomous Community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

in coalition with both PNV and EA. Later, in 1991, a majority of party affiliates approved a merger with Socialist Party of the Basque Country (PSE), the branch of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

(PSOE) for the Basque Autonomous Community. The resulting party is the current PSE-EE. However a section of Euskadiko Ezkerra disagreed with the PSE merger, and, since the Euskadiko Ezkerra name was retained by the majority of members who approved the merger with the PSE, the remaining faction went on to create a new party, Euskal Ezkerra (EuE, ''Basque Left'') which, in turn, merged soon after with Eusko Alkartasuna.

External links

* Gaizka Fernández Soldevilla, ''Agur a las armas. EIA, Euskadiko Ezkerra y la disolución de ETA político-militar (1976-1985)'', en ''Sancho el sabio''. Revista de cultura e investigación vasca, ISSN 1131-5350, Nº 33, 2010, pp. 55–9

{{Authority control Political parties established in 1977 1977 establishments in Spain Political parties disestablished in 1991 1991 disestablishments in Spain Political parties in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Basque history Defunct socialist parties in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Defunct nationalist parties in Spain Left-wing nationalist parties