New Basque nationalist party forms against uncontrolled immigration

Former members of the Basque nationalist left found a party against uncontrolled immigration

A group of former members of the abertzale left (the Basque nationalist left), with former Gara journalist Joseba Iturria as its only public face, has begun building a new left-wing Basque nationalist party that, unlike the current options, openly rejects "uncontrolled mass immigration." The party plans to register with the Political Parties Registry of the Ministry of the Interior and hold its founding assembly on 9 January, with an eye on the regional, local and Navarre elections.

The draft programme defends the "sovereignty of Euskal Herria," its identity as a people and the right to self-determination. The migration issue is its distinguishing axis: it argues that the current model harms foreigners as well as "Basque young people and workers who see their rents rise and not their wages as more people arrive to compete for their jobs."

What the new party proposes on immigration

The text states that "there will not be work or housing for everyone who wants to come" and that "neither all of Africa nor Latin America fits in Euskal Herria." It advocates improving living conditions in countries of origin and stands by those who arrive seeking asylum or refugee status because of wars. It opposes migrants living on public benefits with no intention of entering the labour market.

The party warns that having unemployed immigrants on the streets is the reason why, proportionally, crimes, thefts, violent robberies, assaults and rapes committed by this group are far higher, a phenomenon it attributes to "uncontrolled migration" rather than to migrants themselves. As a result, it argues that those detained for several crimes against Basque citizens should leave Euskal Herria, through legal mechanisms allowing swift resolutions.

The space Vox leaves in the Basque Country

The movement is seen as an attempt to occupy the anti-immigration space that, in the Basque Country, only Vox had held. Some argue it is a brand designed to capture votes that would otherwise go to a Spanish party, while others call it a fictitious space. The debate also points to the message arriving too late and to nationalism having avoided the issue for a decade.

The underlying question is whether a left-wing nationalist party can sustain a restrictive discourse on immigration without breaking apart its electoral base. The 9 January assembly will be the first test.