Politics, Culture, and Sociability in the Basque Nationalist Party by Roland Vazquez

Author:Roland Vazquez [Vazquez, Roland]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General, Anthropology, Cultural & Social, Ethnic Studies
ISBN: 9780874178234
Google: uiyVDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Published: 2010-11-28T05:36:18+00:00

This is not an exhaustive depiction of the political opportunity structure that would determine the conditions for these groups to arise as social actors in both the local and translocal panoramas. Nevertheless, it is important to stress a few related points. Euskadi was characterized by a strong history of extrapartisan activism. Influences had come through neighborhood organizations, cultural groups, labor unions, women’s rights groups, environmental groups, the antimilitary movement, and union activity (see, e.g., del Valle 1988; Zirakzadeh 1991; Barcena et al. 1995). This climate provided a model for political action. The success of collective action in mobilizing people around individual issues and/or local interests further served to invigorate such action.

For many people, the promise of the transition as a vehicle for political change was simply not realized. One friend, referring to both herself and her husband, stated: “We don’t vote anymore. We haven’t voted in a long time. The only possible parties were the abertzale parties, and they have deceived us.”4 Another, a political science student, greatly valued the privilege of voting but, in the face of no party he considered acceptable, consistently cast a blank vote. Others voted for the best of what they believed to be bad choices. A strong sense of a widening gulf between citizens and parties in both ideologies and practice was expressed, occasionally angrily, due to perceived cases of reprehensible conduct, greed, and lack of initiative. This can be seen in the categorical contrast, even at the local level, between “politician” and “townsperson.” This distance could even take comic form. When I told seventy-five-year-old Manolo about a television program that satirized Basque politicians in puppet form, his quick response was: “But they’re all puppets, don’t you think?”

This feeling also fed the discontent that spawned antisystem activity. The field of abertzale left movements, however, represented nothing new in the political panorama. Its unwillingness to play by the rules of the game represented a “blackmail” threat to the prosystem parties and the party system. Years of activity, however, rendered it a known commodity. It served as a foil for the prosystem parties, mapping an already familiar, well-crystallized political narrative onto the party system. In contrast, the newer, increasingly numerous movements took institutions (and parties) as a point of departure. Their activity took place outside of the institutional aegis. Their growing political space encroached on all sides, reconfiguring the panorama. This was true in both their intentions and their potential for appeal and influence—another factor in their perceived threat to the parties.

The protagonism of new initiatives was a sign of their centrality to the political process (cf. Offe 1984:243), as well as of a growing gap between the rigid partisan orthodoxies and society. They both created and responded to new political spaces, thereby wresting protagonism from the party system, while also exerting a partial pressure on it to realign. This was clearly recognized by the parties and was obvious in the increased credibility of and media attention to associations—especially peace groups, which the parties perceived to be at their expense.

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