Aralar 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 ...

and separatist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

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") , ...

. It was opposed to the violent struggle of

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, ...

History

Aralar was born in the 1990s from a critical tendency within

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) and Euskal Herritarrok (EH), led by Patxi Zabaleta. The tendency had its main base in

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. The breaking of ETA's truce in 2000 provoked Herri Batasuna's reformation into

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 ...

, to have presence in all Euskal Herria. Following disagreements over the internal organization of Batasuna, Aralar broke away to form a separate political party. In 2004 the youth wing of Aralar, Iratzarri, was founded. In the May 2003 election for the Navarre Assembly, Aralar obtained 24,068 votes (8.02% of the valid votes) and four seats and in the same community obtained 4.76% of the valid votes in the municipal elections and 18 local councillors. In 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 ...

it obtained 30 councillors and 1.51% of the valid votes. Aralar contested the

Spanish general election, 2004 The 2004 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 14 March 2004, to elect the 8th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 259 seats in the Senate. The elector ...

in the Basque Autonomous Community in coalition with

Zutik Zutik ( en, Stand up) was a political party in Basque Country, Spain which was dissolved in 2009. Zutik was formed in 1991 through the merger of the EMK and LKI—the Basque branch of LCR. Within Zutik there is a current affiliated to the ...

but failed to win any seats, polling 3.09% of the valid votes. The party contested in

as part of the coalition

Nafarroa Bai ''Nafarroa Bai'' ( eu, Navarre Yes) was a Navarrese coalition in Spain of Basque nationalist and regional left-wing parties created in 2004 for the Spanish General election. History The coalition comprised Aralar, the Basque Nationalist Party, ...

(NaBai), together with

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),

Batzarre Batzarre ( en, Assembly) is a political party in Navarre, Spain. It has a branch in the Basque Autonomous Community known as Zutik. It bids to win the political space to the left of the Basque nationalists and the Spanish socialists, the latter e ...

, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and independents, obtaining a seat for the independent

Uxue Barkos Uxue may refer to: People * Uxue Barkos, Spanish politician and journalist * Uxue Ezkurdia, Spanish handballer * Uxue Garmendia, Spanish footballer * Uxue Amaya Guereca Parra, Mexican volleyball player * Uxue Iparragirre, Spanish footballe ...

and 18.04% of the whole of valid votes, which was the highest percentage and number of votes for a Basque nationalist list in Spanish General Elections in

. In the 2005 Basque elections, Aralar entered 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 ...

with one seat and 2.33% of the votes. This seat was held by

Aintzane Ezenarro Aintzane Ezenarro Egurbide ( Getaria, Spain, 1971) is a Spanish politician. She is the Aralar's spokeswoman in the Basque Parliament since 2005 Basque parliamentary election. She is also councillor of her hometown, Getaria. Aintzane Ezenarro st ...

. In 2007 it won 4 local Assembly seats and 130 local council seats in the Basque Autonomous Community, in coalition with Ezker Batua, and 5 local Assembly seats and 30 council seats in

, within Navarre Yes. Aralar contested the 2008 General Elections in the Basque Autonomous Community polling 2.67% of the total votes, 0.42% less than Aralar-Zutik coalition's result four years ago. In Navarre the party kept the Nafarroa Bai coalition, which obtained the 18.53% (+0.55) and one seat, still held by Barkos. In the 2009 Basque elections, Aralar increased its presence in the

with four seats and 6.04% of votes. The head of the parliamentary group is still

. In 2 December 2017, Aralar dissolved itself.

References

External links

Aralar's Official webpage
(in Basque and Spanish)
Iratzarri
{{Spain political parties 2000 establishments in Spain Political parties established in 2000 Political parties disestablished in 2017 Political parties in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Political parties in Navarre