Basque product boycott hits Iberdrola, BBVA and asphalt

Boycotting Basque products clashes with an endless list of companies

Boycotting Basque and Navarrese products effectively means giving up trains, trams, door locks, and road asphalt, according to discussions in the thread. The proposal to stop buying from Euskadi or Navarra was launched without clarity on which brands to avoid, but compiling that list proved the opposite: these companies are embedded in almost every daily activity. Participants cited names like Iberdrola, BBVA, CAF, Irizar, and Petronor, alongside car steel and factory energy.

Which Basque and Navarrese companies should be avoided?

The most comprehensive list in the debate includes Iberdrola (€39,113 million), BBVA (€21,066), Mondragón Group (€11,404), and Siemens Gamesa (€10,198). Below them are Gestamp Automoción (€8,093), Petronor (€5,243), CIE Automotive (€3,269), CAF (€2,943), Kutxabank (€1,166), Vidrala (€1,084), Dominion (€1,035), Uvesco (€936), Sidenor (€744), Eulen and Euskaltel (€697 each), and Ingeteam (€675). These figures, some dated 2020, cover more than twenty companies.

The same count adds brands not immediately associated with the north: Firestone and Bridgestone tires, Guardian glass, Gamesa wind turbines, Irizar buses, ArcelorMittal and Sidenor steel, Naturgas supplies, and many civil construction firms. The list mixes ownership, headquarters, and production sites, blurring the boycott's criteria.

Trains, locks, and asphalt: the impossible boycott

Applied strictly, this leaves consumers without public transport or doors. Renfe trains, city metros, CAF trams, home locks, road asphalt, Petronor fuels, and Gamesa electricity fall into the package, as noted in the thread. A recurring joke is that your own door lock might be Basque, so the boycott starts at home—though one user replied their lock is Italian.

Several messages highlight a complicating factor: Spain is undergoing rearmament, and many sector projects are awarded to temporary business unions including strategic companies based in the Basque Country.

Who owns BM if its distributor is in Cantabria?

The corporate trail of BM Supermercados undermines regional labels. According to the thread, the chain belongs to Uvesco, formed in 1993 by merging Cantabrian VES and Basque Unialco, headquartered in Irun with a distribution center in Castro Urdiales, Cantabria. Uvesco is part of the Madrid-origin IFA group, which also covers Ahorramás and Gadis. At best, only store locations remain Basque.

This example illustrates that a business's regional identity is an administrative construct, not an essence.

Boycott alternatives: Iveco over Mercedes

Where choice exists, the proposal suggests deciding based on manufacturing plants. Choose a Valladolid-built Iveco van over a Vitoria-made Mercedes. Pick a Valladolid Clio or Zaragoza Corsa over a Navarre Volkswagen Polo. Avoid Petronor fuel. Do not hire BBVA or Iberdrola services. The goal is maximum impact without leaving home, turning shopping into industrial accounting.

Underlying thesis: deindustrialization and European redistribution

One participant offers a broader reading: Basque and Catalan independence movements distracted those regions while they deindustrialized, allowing Valencia and Murcia orchards to be bought at scrap prices. They argue the EU no longer buys ships, planes, cars, fabrics, or weapons, but does buy oranges, melons, and peaches.

This economic view asks who produces value and who merely distributes it. It explains the conflict's intensity: each side believes the other sells ruin under a flag.

Why some reject boycotting fellow Spaniards

The most common objection is consistency. Boycotting requires certainty that the owner despises you; taken seriously, this would extend to England, Germany, France, or the Netherlands, countries that do not hold Spain in high esteem either. This school concludes that boycotting neighbors solves nothing.

Opposing views distinguish regional from ideological boycotts. They argue stopping purchases depends on the owner's behavior, not their postal code: for instance, shops flagged after owners appeared at political events.

Electoral dynamics complete the picture. Municipal election maps from May 28 and the growing weight of Bildu are used by both sides. Some note young voters do not associate the brand with violence, while others warn reopening that chapter is a mistake. Meanwhile, non-voting Basques ask not to be lumped into the fight.

Given this corporate web, the next electoral cycle will likely revive the boycott label and recycle company lists. Yet, realistically, the shopping cart still outweighs the origin of the door lock.