29 years since Miguel Ángel Blanco's murder: the ongoing political cost

29 years since Miguel Ángel Blanco's kidnapping: the economic and political cost still being paid

Do you remember that July in 1997? All of Spain held its breath during the kidnapping of Miguel Ángel Blanco, a local councillor from Ermua murdered by ETA. It triggered the so-called "Espíritu de Ermua" (Ermua Spirit), a massive grassroots mobilization demanding an end to terrorism. Twenty-nine years later, the debate over what it cost to defeat ETA—and what it continues to cost—remains open. And the figures, though often avoided, are uncomfortable.

The price of peace: how much has Spain paid?

ETA murdered nearly a thousand people. Its dissolution in 2018 did not stop the flow of economic consequences. From compensation for victims to the maintenance of a prison policy that has brought ETA members convicted of violent crimes closer to reintegration, the State has spent billions. However, the most pressing economic debate today is the political price of maintaining governability: the support of Bildu (a pro-independence party) has been decisive for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez. In exchange, concessions have been activated that many view as a rescue for the ETA-linked environment.

Some argue that peace should not be negotiated, but imposed. On the other side, it is argued that police and judicial action was not enough and that a negotiated end was inevitable. The truth is that the opportunity cost of not having applied a tougher hand—the "Bukele" approach that some invoke—is measured in decades of taxes used to subsidize prisoners and support parties that have not condemned terrorism. The exact calculation has not been made, but the social perception of injustice has.

Persistent theories: the background noise

Every anniversary, marginal narratives resurface: that the ETA logo resembles a Jewish pharmacopoeia, that there were solar rituals, or that the philosopher Savater was a Freemason. These are nonsense, yet they reveal a deep distrust in the official narrative. For many, the "Espíritu de Ermua" was neutralized by real politics—the politics of pacts—and the end of ETA was bought, not won. Whether true or not, that narrative hampers reconciliation and, above all, fuels a skepticism that extends to other Government economic policies.

Ultimately, 29 years later, the country continues to pay a double bill: the one left by ETA and the one generated by the transition toward peace. And as long as the ballot boxes require Bildu's votes, the debate will not close. Perhaps never.