Oskar Matute García de Jalón (born 5 October 1972) is 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 ...

politician and a member of the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

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 ...

. He was previously a member of the

Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament (Basque language, Basque: ''Eusko Legebiltzarra'', Spanish language, Spanish: ''Parlamento Vasco'') is the legislative body of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected ...

Early life

Matute was born on 5 October 1972 in

Barakaldo Barakaldo (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in Spain. Located on the Left Bank (Biscay), Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is pa ...

, Basque Country. He grew up in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

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 manageme ...

from the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country (, ''EHU''; , ''UPV''; officially EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Deusto, University of Bilbao, initial ...

Career

Matute was an activist in the

movement Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...

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 military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in Spain and the

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

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 (, 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%) and gained its first six ...

(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 Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international l ...

, 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 (, , ), known as Izquierda Anticapitalista (Anti-Capitalist Left, IA) until January 2015 and as Espacio Alternativo (Alternative Space, EA) from 1995 to November 2008, is a socialist political organisation that works as a confed ...

(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 ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. Biscay is one of the most renowned and prosperou ...

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 a ...

. 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 or Euskalduna Palace or Euskalduna Hall (''Palacio Euskalduna'' in Spanish language, Spanish, ''Euskalduna Jauregia'' in Basque language, Basque) is located in the city of Bilbao, Basque Country ( ...

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 (English language, English: 'Basque Country Gather' or 'Basque Country Unite'), is a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Basque nationalism, Basque nationalist and Separatism, pro-independence federation of poli ...

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 (English language, English: 'Basque Country Gather' or 'Basque Country Unite'), is a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Basque nationalism, Basque nationalist and Separatism, pro-independence federation of poli ...

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 parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

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) Members of the 15th Congress of Deputies (Spain)