The Basques did it because they could — and because they had to

The Basques had the means and the duty: the theory reviving the debate about Spain's Transition

At a time when the official narrative of Spain's Transition is wobbling, a thesis is resurfacing that assigns Basque nationalism an active and deliberate role in the fall of Francoism. The phrase "the Basques did it because they could and because they had to" sums up the idea that, thanks to its industrial power and tightly knit social fabric, the Basque Country was able to drive regime change, even through violent actions that were later hushed up.

The Basque industrial base as a lever
Supporters of this thesis point out that northern Spain, and especially the Basque Country, concentrated heavy industry and mining under Franco. This economic clout would have allowed the Basques to act independently of the central state. The social structure of "collas" — closed communities — would have made it easier to conspire and make decisions outside official control.

The ETA factor and institutional complicity
The discussion points to connections between the armed group ETA and political figures, such as the Mir family, who allegedly had a presence in the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party). It is mentioned that a former Socialist MP attended a meeting during the party's founding, suggesting possible links. This alleged complicity would have allowed violent actions to go unpunished or be instrumentalised to force political change.

Scepticism: paranoia or hidden truth?
Against these arguments, a majority current dismisses them as baseless conspiracy theories. They point out that the lack of evidence and the delusional tone of these accounts undermine their credibility. The suggestion that the state used ETA to justify reprisals or divert attention is seen as a narrative typical of fringe forums.

The question left hanging is whether those threads of power were really woven, or whether they are simply the reflection of a society looking for alternative explanations for a period we have not yet fully closed.

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