Galician nationalism is a form of nationalism found mostly in

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, which asserts that Galicians are a nation and that promotes the cultural unity of Galicians. The political movement referred to as modern Galician nationalism was born at the beginning of the twentieth century from the idea of

Galicianism Galicianism is a regionalist political movement in Galicia. Origins The concept of Galicianism first appeared in the mid-nineteenth century. At that time in history it was initially known as "provincialism". Soon it was referred to as regiona ...

Ideology

Historians, geographers and ethnologists recognize the existence of a Galician ethnic group, forming a singular unit in a specific territory. However, this is a wide conceptualization that in political terms allows many possible variants. Inside Galician nationalism two main ideological currents can be found: * Autonomist: claims for an extended autonomy of Galicia, further

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

and (in occasions) the transformation of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

into a federal state where Galicia would eventually achieve

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

. * Pro-independence: campaigns for immediate and total

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

from

and northern territories from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

(''

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal, Asturias and León (province), Leon and the lat ...

''). Both autonomists and "independentists" have points in common, such as the defence and promotion of

Galician culture The culture of Galicia is the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the Galicia region of Spain and the Galician people. Literature As with many other Romance languages, Galician-Portuguese emerged as a literary language in ...

and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

, with some defending reintegrationism with Northern Portugal and

. Both also argue for the official and unequivocal recognition of Galicia as a nation and the defense of Galician speakers outside administrative Galician territory, in Galician-speaking areas of the Spanish regions of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

and

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of th ...

(''

Galicia irredenta ("Unredeemed Galicia") or ("Outer" or "External Galicia"), also spelled as and and also known as or ("Eastern Strip"), is a term used for all Galician-speaking territories located outside of Galicia. These are all located in Spain, in ei ...

''). It is often considered that the ideological framework of contemporary Galician nationalism was set in

Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez Castelao Alfonso Daniel Manuel Rodríguez Castelao (30 January 1886 – 7 January 1950), commonly known as Castelao, was a Galician politician, writer, painter and doctor. He is one of the fathers of Galician nationalism, promoting Galician identi ...

's key work ''Sempre em Galiza'' (lit. "Always in Galicia"), published in 1944.

Political nationalism in society

Galician nationalist candidates received 19% of the vote in the elections of 2005 and 16% in 2009. From 2005 to 2009 Galicia was ruled by a coalition government between the

Socialists' Party of Galicia The Socialists' Party of Galicia ( gl, Partido dos Socialistas de Galicia, PSdeG–PSOE) is a centre-left political party in Galicia, Spain. It is the Galician affiliate of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). It defines itself as a Gal ...

(PSdeG-PSOE) and the

Galician Nationalist Bloc The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( gl, Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG ) is a political alliance of left-wing Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front". Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Man ...

(BNG). Unlike in other Spanish autonomous communities the conservative and pro-Spanish

People's Party of Galicia The People's Party of Galicia ( Galician/Spanish: ''Partido Popular de Galicia'' , PP or PPdeG ) is a conservative political party in Galicia, Spain. It is the Galician affiliate of the Spanish People's Party. Prior to the 2005 Galician elec ...

(PPdeG) includes

galicianism Galicianism is a regionalist political movement in Galicia. Origins The concept of Galicianism first appeared in the mid-nineteenth century. At that time in history it was initially known as "provincialism". Soon it was referred to as regiona ...

as one of its ideological principles. Even the Spanish Socialist Party has a quite strong regional flavour in Galicia. This issue somehow explains electoral behaviour in Galicia and why nationalist parties have a reduced representation when compared to

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

and the Basque Country, as voters in Galicia may choose to go for Spanish parties promoting Galicianism depending on the circumstances. Spanish parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country do not have such a strong regional identity, but the Socialist Party in Catalonia has recently incorporated nationalist elements in its political discourse. A possible explanation for this political behaviour in pro-Spanish parties is that Galician identity is so embedded in Galicians that any political party willing to participate in elections must at least show some degree of interest in the promotion of Galicianism, but how it is done may vary greatly. The Bloque Nacionalista Galego is itself a coalition of parties, which endorse independence, but not all individual members and parallel organizations within it support that idea. At present, BNG claims for sovereignty and independence, both political and economic. Other nationalist parties stand for outright independence, and until recently they only had representatives in local councils and not in the

Galician Parliament The Parliament of Galicia () is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is formed by 75 deputies (). Deputies are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call ...

. In the 2012 election the newly formed

Galician Left Alternative The Galician Alternative of the Left ( gl, Alternativa Galega de Esquerda, AGE) was an electoral alliance of left-wing independentist and federalist political parties in Galicia, Spain. History It was formed in early 2012, following a schism with ...

, which includes pro-independence groups, overtook the BNG in Parliament, winning 9 seats. The present Galician Statute of Autonomy (1981) defines Galicia as a

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of t ...

. The Galician Government is currently drafting a new Statute of Autonomy where Galicia will most probably be defined as a

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by th ...

(with declaratory but not legal value).

Nationalist political parties and nationalist organizations

* Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG) - "Galician Nationalist Bloc" (coalition of parties ranging from

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...

to socialism and communism; pro-independence). ** Unión do Povo Galego (UPG) "The Galician People's Union" (

communist 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, ...

; pro-independence). ** Galician Movement for Socialism (

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 ...

; pro-independence). ** Abrente-Galician Democratic Left ( socialdemocratic; federalist). ** Galiza Nova - Young Galiza, the main youth organization of the BNG (

Socialism 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 th ...

;

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

; pro-independence). *** Union of the Galician Youth - youth organization of the Galician People's Union (communist; pro-independence). ** Isca! - youth organization of the Galician Movement for Socialism (

; feminism; pro-independence). * Anova-Nationalist Brotherhood (

; pro-independence). **

Galician People's Front The Galician People's Front ( gl, Frente Popular Galega) is a Galicia (Spain), Galician political organization with a socialist and Galician independence, independentist ideology. History After the Galician People's Union (UPG) accepted the parti ...

(FPG) - (

Leninism Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establish ...

; pro-independence). ** Encontro Irmandiño (EI) - " Irmandiño Gathering" (

Direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are repres ...

;

Alter-globalization Alter-globalization (also known as alternative globalization or alter-mundialization—from the French alter- mondialisation—and overlapping with the global justice movement) is a social movement whose proponents support global cooperation and ...

;

Anticapitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as s ...

; pro-independence. ** Xeira - youth organization of the

(

; pro-independence). * Cerna - (

;

; pro-independence). * Commitment to Galicia - ( socialdemocratic; federalist). **

Máis Galiza Máis Galiza (styled as +Galiza and +G) is a Galician political party which split from the Galician Nationalist Bloc The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( gl, Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG ) is a political alliance of left-wing Galician nationalist ...

"More Galiza" ( socialdemocratic; federalist). ** Acción Galega, "Galician Action" (

social liberalism Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

; federalist). ** Partido Nacionalista Galego - Partido Galeguista (PNG-PG) - "Galician Nationalist Party" (centre to centre-left;

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

). ** Galician Nationalist Youth - youth organization of CxG *

Alternativa Galega de Esquerda The Galician Alternative of the Left ( gl, Alternativa Galega de Esquerda, AGE) was an electoral alliance of left-wing independentist and federalist political parties in Galicia, Spain. History It was formed in early 2012, following a schism with ...

(AGE) - "Galician Left Alternative" (coalition of leftist parties created for the 2012 election, including ANOVA, Esquerda Unida-Izquierda Unida and EQUO, the former pro-independence and the latter federalist). *

Land Party The Land Party ( gl, Partido da Terra, ) is a Galicia (Spain), Galician political party that was established in 2011. Party platform The party platform, party's platform encompasses eight types of sovereignty: * Popular sovereignty, citizen sove ...

- (transversal; green politics). * Converxéncia XXI (CXXI) - "Convergence XXI" (liberal centre; European federalist, although not self-proclaimed nationalists). *

Terra Galega Terra Galega (TeGa, in English: ''Galician Land'') is a coalition of centrist and Galician nationalist political parties; it was established on November 4, 2005; but the name has been registered since May 2005. History It was formed by Centro De ...

(TeGa) - "Galician Land" (centre to centre-right; federalist). *

Galician Coalition Galician Coalition ( Galician: Coalición Galega, CG) is a political party in Galiza with a Galician nationalist and centrist ideology. Since 2012 CG is part of the coalition Compromiso por Galicia. History Coalition CG was born as an electoral ...

(CG) - (centre to centre-right; federalist). *

Partido Galeguista Demócrata The Partido Galeguista Demócrata (PGD, ''Galicianist/Galician Nationalist Democratic Party'') is a Galician centrist political party that claims to be the ideological heir of the Partido Galeguista. Until 2011 its name was ''Partido Galeguista ...

(PGD) - "Galicianist Democratic Party" (centre-right to centre-left;

). * Galician Workers Front - (

; pro-independence). * Nós-Unidade Popular (Nós-UP) - "Us-People United" (socialist; reintegrationist). ** Primeira Linha - "Front Line" (communist; pro-independence), associated with Nós-UP. **

BRIGA Briga can refer to: * BRIGA, a Galician independentist political organization * Brig-Glis, a Swiss city in the Brig district of the Canton of Valais * Briga Alta, an Italian comune in the Province of Cuneo * Briga Novarese, an Italian community in ...

- "Fight" or "Struggle", youth organization of Nós-UP (communist; pro-independence; feminist) ** AGIR - "REACT", student organization of Nós-Unidade Popular (communist; pro-independence). * Causa Galiza - "Cause Galiza" (

; pro-independence). *

Galician Convergence Galician Convergence (''Converxencia Galega'' in Galician language, CG) is a Galician political party with a moderate nationalist ideology, and which describes itself as centrist, socially progressive and economically liberal, europeanist, inte ...

- (centre to centre-right; federalist), * Assembleia da Mocidade Independentista (AMI) - "Assembly of the Independentist Youth" (

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (201 ...

, pro-independence,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

). *

Espazo Ecosocialista Galego Espazo Ecosocialista Galego (EcoSoGal, ''Galician Eco-socialist Space''), also known as ''Ecogaleguistas'', is a Galician political party which was formed on 26 May 2012 after a process of confluence of Galician left-wing militants mostly from var ...

- Galician Ecosocialist Space (

Ecosocialism Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...

, federalism). *

Confederación Intersindical Galega The Galician Unions Confederacy ( gl, italic=yes, Confederación Intersindical Galega, CIG) is a trade union in that was created after the merge of two previous unions: the INTG and the CXTG. It has a Galician nationalist and socialist ideology ...

- Galician Union Confederacy, main union in Galicia, specially close to the BNG (

; pro-independence). *

Central Unitaria de Traballadores The Central Unitaria de Traballadores (CUT, ''Workers Unitary Central'' or ''Workers Unitary Confederation'' in English language) is a Galician union created in the December 1998 after a split with the Confederación Intersindical Galega. The CU ...

- "Workers Unitary Central", union close to the

(

; pro-independence). * Sindicato Labrego Galego-Comisións Labregas - Agrarian union. Independent, but close to Anova-Nationalist Brotherhood. * FRUGA - agrarian union close to the BNG. *

Galician Student League The Galician Student League (LEG, ''Liga Estudantil Galega'' in Galician language) is a students' union, student union that advocates for a public education, in galician language, democratic, of quality and not Patriarchy, patriarchal. It is an ...

- student union. Independent, but close to the Galician Movement for Socialism (

; feminism; pro-independence). *

Comités Comités (''Committees'' in English language) is a student organization of Galiza. Formed from the union of the CAF-CAF (Comités Abertos de Facultade, ''Open College Committees'' in English) and the CAE (Comités Abertos de Estudantes, ''Open Stu ...

- student union. Close to Galiza Nova. *

Resistência Galega Resistência Galega ( en, Galician Resistance), sometimes referred to as REGA, is the term used by a series of left-wing and Galician separatist organisations and individuals to claim attacks in Galicia. The term was first used in 2005 when a man ...

- armed organization. Its actual existence is disputed.

References

* Beramendi, J. and Núñez Seixas, X.M. (1996): ''O nacionalismo galego'', A Nosa Terra, Vigo. * Beswicj, J.E. (2007): ''Regional Nationalism in Spain: Language use and ethnic identity in Galicia'', Multilingual Matters * García-Álvarez, J. (1998)
"Substate nation-building and geographical representations of 'The Other' in Galicia, Spain (1860-1936)"
in ''Finisterra'', no. 33, issue 65, p. 117-128. * Fernández Baz, M.A., (2003): ''A formación do nacionalismo galego contemporáneo (1963-1984)'', Laiovento. * Núñez Seixas, X.M.(1993): ''Historiographical approaches to nationalism in Spain'', Saarbrücken, Breitenbach. * Núñez Seixas, X.M.(1999): "Autonomist regionalism within the spanish state of the Autonomous Communities: an interpretation", in ''Nationalism & ethnic politics'', vol. 5, no. 3-4, p. 121-141. Frank Cass, Ilford. * Rios Bergantinhos, N. (2002): ''A esquerda independentista galega (1977-1995)'', Abrente Editora, Compostela. * Rodríguez Polo, X.R. (2009): ''O triunfo do galeguismo. Opinión pública, partidos políticos e comportamento electoral na transición autonómica'', Xerais, Vigo.

Notes

External links

''Causa Galiza''
organization which seeks to co-ordinate all pro-independence political parties and organizations in a single front
''Galiza Livre''
pro-independence news portal

Eurominority
(main site, in English and French) {{Authority control