DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMATION OF ETA, THE : CAUSES, ACTORS AND CONSEQUENCES

In the general elections of July 2023, EH Bildu, ETA’s heir party that has still not condemned its crimes
–“ETA’s figurehead”, according to the Supreme Court– obtained 333,362 votes, far ahead of the second Basque nationalist political force, the PNV (Partido Nacionalista Vasco - Basque Nationalist Party), which received 275,782 votes. For the first time in democracy, a party that has already been outlawed - under other names - for belonging to a terrorist organisation, has now amply surpassed the hegemonic party in the Basque Country by more than 55,000 votes. This fact, and its increasing prominence in Spanish political life, has led the CEU Observatory for Victims of Terrorism of the Centre for Studies, Training and Social Analysis (CEFAS) to produce this report, which attempts to explain how it has been possible to democratically legitimise a political option based on violence, extortion and the rupture of the unity of Spain. In short, this paper aims to examine the causes, actors and consequences of the whitewashing of ETA and its political project.

(From the Executive Summary)