Oskar Matute García de Jalón (born 5 October 1972) is a Spanish politician and a member of the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Ma ...

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") , i ...

. He was previously a member of the

Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament (Basque: ''Eusko Legebiltzarra'', Spanish: ''Parlamento Vasco'') is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible. The Parliament mee ...

Early life

Matute was born on 5 October 1972 in

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo ha ...

, Basque Country. He grew up in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

but currently lives in Barakaldo. He has degree in

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...

from the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initially ...

Career

Matute was an activist in the

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

against compulsory

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

in Spain and the

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Elkarri movement. He was also a member of the Viento Sur and Ezker Gogoa foundations, and Lokarri and Euskadiko Langile Komisioak. Matute was co-ordinator for the presidency of the

United Left–Greens United Left–Greens ( eu, Ezker Batua–Berdeak, EB–B) was a left wing environmentalist political party in Spain. Javier Madrazo led the party as general coordinator from 1994 to 2009. In the 1994 Basque elections EB won 93,291 votes (9.15% ...

(Ezker Batua–Berdeak, EB–B) and the federal presidency of the United Left (IU). He became a member of the EB's executive representing the Ekaitza faction. Ekaitza had been formed in 1993 by those supporting Basque sovereignty, the

right to 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 stat ...

, alternative social movements and citizen participation in political decisions. Following the 1998 Estella Pact (of which EB–B was a signatory), Ekaitza transformed into Batzen with Matute as its spokesperson. Matute was also a member of

Espacio Alternativo Anticapitalistas ( Catalan: ''Anticapitalistes'', Euskera: ''Antikapitalistak'', English language: Anticapitalists), known as Izquierda Anticapitalista (Anti-Capitalist Left, IA) until January 2015 and as Espacio Alternativo (Alternative Space ...

(EA, Alternative Space), part of IU. At the 2001 regional election Matute was placed 2nd on the EB–B's list of candidates in the

Province of Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

but the party only managed to win one seat in the province and as a result he failed to get elected to the

. However he was appointed to the Basque Parliament in January 2002 following the resignation of

Javier Madrazo Javier may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Javier, in video game '' Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' * Javier Rios, a character in the Monsters, Inc. franchise. * ''Javier'' (album), a 2003 album by the American singer Javier Colon, known ...

. At the 2005 regional election Matute was placed 2nd on the EB–B's list of candidates in the Province of Biscay but, again, the party only managed to win one seat in the province and as a result he failed to get re-elected to the Basque Parliament. However he was re-appointed to the Basque Parliament in July 2005 following the resignation of Javier Madrazo. At the EB–B's 7th Assembly in June 2008, held at the

Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall The Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall (''Palacio Euskalduna'' in Spanish, ''Euskalduna Jauregia'' in Basque) is located in the city of Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain), beside the Estuary of Bilbao, built in part of the area that was fo ...

in Bilbao, Matute challenged incumbent Javier Madrazo for the party's general co-ordinator position but was defeated after only receiving 22% of the votes. Matute founded Alternatiba Eraikitzen (Alternative in Progress) a socio-political organisation which became the Alternatiba (Alternative) political party. He left EB–B in April 2009. Alternatiba joined

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, Navar ...

when it was founded in 2011. At the 2011 local elections Matute was placed 25th on the Bildu's list of candidates in Barakaldo but the alliance only managed to win four seats in the municipality and as a result he failed to get elected. He contested the 2012 regional election as an

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, Navar ...

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...

candidate in the Province of Biscay and was re-elected to the Basque Parliament. Matute contested the 2016 general election as an EH Bildu candidate in the

and was elected to the

. He resigned from the Basque Parliament in July 2016. He was re-elected at the 2019 general election. Matute is national spokesperson for Alternatiba and national co-speaker for

Electoral history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matute, Oskar 1972 births Alternatiba (Basque political party) politicians EH Bildu politicians Living people Members of the 7th Basque Parliament Members of the 8th Basque Parliament Members of the 10th Basque Parliament Members of the 12th Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain) People from Barakaldo United Left–Greens politicians University of the Basque Country alumni Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain)