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In the Basque Country, the end of the war brought the huge social separation between the winners and the losers. During the following forty year that Francoism lasted, at once with economic growth, the opposition against the dictatorship spread. At first opposition’s protagonists were the unions and the political parties from before the war, but, from the 50’s on, new groups, specially ETA, started acting against Francoism.
THE RECOVERY AFTER THE WAR
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
After
the war ended, the Basque factories were reorganised and started working again.
The Basque Country started recovering its economy. However, at the end of WW2,
with Spain’s isolation, the sources to get raw material and fuel were limited
and the production decreased again.
1959
Stabilisation Plan supposed the end of the autarchy policy. The following year
the growth of the Basque economy was considerable, for several reasons:
immigration offered much labour, the private savings and the investments of the
foreign capital financed the industrial development and the protectionism of
the government offered the Spanish market to the Basque industries.
As a
consequence of all this, the big industries were located on the coast
provinces. In addition, as these areas overflowed, industries expanded to Alava
and Navarre. In Gipuzkoa, the need of financing promoted the cooperativism. The
development lasted until the 1973 oil crisis. That is when Basque industry’s
problems appeared: lack of competitiveness, the pollution of the environment,
the excessive consume of energy and the feebleness of the third sector.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT
After
the war, after eliminating the Autonomy Statute and Economic Concert, as the
repression against the nationalists and the left-wing workers was hard, any
kind of political activity needed to be hid. Beside the political repression
(detentions, killing, forced work…) the cultural repression was huge:
anything related to the Basque Country (Euskera, Ikurriña, lauburu…) was
forbidden.
In the
40’s, the bad living conditions provoked the malaise of Biscayan workers and
the strike of 1947. The following harsh repression abolished the hidden
structure of the unions and broke the cooperation of the political forces
against Francoism.
In the
50’s, the activities of the opposition were little. In 1952, during Franco’s
dictatorship, the group EKIN was created in Bilbo and, three years later, it
joined to EGI. In 1959, it eliminated the relation with EAJ and it changes its
name to Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). Its aim was to declare that the Basque
society was still alive even though it suffered Francoism’s repression. At
first, they only did sabotages, but, from 1960 on, when the police started
arresting people, they started the armed actions.
In the
60’s, the economic development brought social-noise. In 1962 strikes were given
but they did not solve anything, indeed, they increased the tension. Seeing
ETA’s actions and the opposition of Basque priests, Franco organised th Burgos’
war council against 16 members of ETA. Due to the protests in Spain and abroad
against the torture and death penalty, Franco had to stop it. Consequently,
instead of death penalty, he established prison penalty. Anyway, the opposition
against Francoism was bigger and bigger.
During
the last years of the dictatorship, the problems of the public order continued,
Carrero Blanco’s assassination in 1973 can be pointed out. This event provoked
a enormous conflict and, in addition, it brought the separation of ETA in 1974:
some wanted to impulse the political and armed fight (military ETA) and others
wanted an armed fight under political criterion and to collaborate with other
forces of the oppositions (political-military ETA).
In April
1975, the regime imposed hard measures in the South and thousand of Basques were
tortured and arrested. That April, as a consequence of the detentions, two
members of ETA (Txiki and Otaegi) and other three members of FRAP were
executed. This event provoked several protests but the repression was strong.
Finally,
the Francoism ended in the 20th November of 1975, at once with Francisco Franco’s
death. That was the moment in which the Transition started.
EUSKO JAURLARITZA IN THE
EXILE
When the
nationals, the francoists, took Biscay, Jose Antonio Agirre called all the
parties of the Popular Front to take part in the government concentration and,
as the Basque Country was under Franco’s control, he flee to Barcelona.
When the
war ended, he went to Paris, but when in 1940 the nazis took France, they
closed up the Eusko Jaurlaritza’s establishments and prohibited nationalist
publications, so the lehendakaris had to hide. In addition, many nationalists
took part in the French resistance against the nazis, forming the Euskal
Batailoia.
BAIONA’S PACT
When WW2
ended, the Eusko Jaurlaritza and the Republic Government were on the exile. In
1945, the main political forces in the Basque Country signed Baiona’s Pact
claiming the republic. Three years later it the pact was broken, as Jaurlaritza
separated from the communists. The lehendakari was forced to do this when they
signed the Donibane Lohitzune Agreement.
From
that moment on, Agirre lost his hopes and the frustration was huge when Franco
signed with the USA.
PARIS’ AGREEMENT
In 1956,
the International Basque Junta was created in Paris, leaded by Agirre and
claiming the Autonomy Statute of 1936. This created discomfort in the
government and PNV. the following year, the Eusko Jaurlaritza signed the Paris’
Agreement, rejecting the Republic and trying to get closer to the monarchists.
The agreement received critics from the nationalists, showing the Eusko
Jaurlaritza had nothing to do against Francoism.
In 1960,
when ETA was born, the opposition was stronger. Finally, while Spain was on the
transition to democracy, Eusko Jaurlaritza came back leadered by Carlos
Goikoetxea.