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 an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and separatist
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. It was opposed to the violent struggle of
ETA.
History
Aralar was born in the 1990s from a critical tendency within
Herri Batasuna
Herri Batasuna (; ; HB) was a Far-left politics, far-left Basque nationalist coalition in Spain. It was founded in 1978 and defined itself as abertzale left, abertzale, left-wing, socialism, socialist, and supported the independence of the Basque ...
(HB) and
Euskal Herritarrok (EH), led by Patxi Zabaleta. The tendency had its main base in
Navarre. The breaking of ETA's truce in 2000 provoked Herri Batasuna's reformation into
Batasuna, 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 it obtained 30 councillors and 1.51% of the valid votes. Aralar contested the
Spanish general election, 2004
A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 14 March 2004, to elect the members of the 8th . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 259 seats in the Senate. Incumbent prime minister José María Azn ...
in the Basque Autonomous Community in coalition with
Zutik
Zutik () was a political party in Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain which was dissolved in 2009. Zutik was formed in 1991 through the merger of the Communist Movement of Euskadi, EMK and Liga Komunista Iraultzailea, LKI& ...
but failed to win any seats, polling 3.09% of the valid votes. The party contested in
Navarre as part of the coalition
Nafarroa Bai (NaBai), together with
Eusko Alkartasuna (EA),
Batzarre, the
Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and independents, obtaining a seat for the independent
Uxue Barkos 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
Navarre. In the
2005 Basque elections, Aralar entered the
Basque Parliament with one seat and 2.33% of the votes. This seat was held by
Aintzane Ezenarro. In 2007, it won four local Assembly seats and 130 local council seats in the Basque Autonomous Community, in coalition with
Ezker Batua, and five local Assembly seats and 30 council seats in
Navarre, 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
Basque Parliament with four seats and 6.04% of votes. The head of the parliamentary group is still
Aintzane Ezenarro. On 2 December 2017, Aralar dissolved itself.
References
External links
Aralar's Official webpage (in Basque and Spanish)
Iratzarri
{{Spain political parties
2001 establishments in Spain
2017 disestablishments in Spain
Political parties established in 2000
Political parties disestablished in 2017
Political parties in the Basque Country (autonomous community)
Political parties in Navarre