Nationalism in Spain

The term nationalism can be defined as, the Oxford dictionary holds, the
advocacy of political independence for a particular country. In this sense, two
big nationalist tendencies can be found in Spain: one in the Basque Country,
and the other one in Catalonia. In this essay I will summarize their origins and
their influence nowadays.
Both nationalisms are a rather recent historical phenomenon: they arose by the
end of the nineteenth century, got stronger after the Spanish-American war in
1898, and have been a determinant component of the Spanish political life ever
since, except during the dictatorships. Both movements are derived from the
regionalisms, which were a direct consequence of the Romanticism of the
nineteenth century. In this period, a stronger way to feel traditions and popular
identity resulted in the nationalisms mentioned before.
Regionalisms arose in many different areas in Spain, but it was only in
Catalonia and the Basque Country where powerful movements developed and
still persist. What could have been the reason that nationalisms in other regions
like Andalusia, Valencia, or the Balearic Islands have not become as
determinant as the first two? Within these areas, they could have been easily
strengthened due to linguistic and other reasons. Certainly, the Basque and
Catalan nationalist movements had some distinct features.
The history of these two nationalisms can be divided in five different parts: the
liberal regime of the Restoration period until 1923, Primo de Riveras
dictatorship until 1930, the Republic and the civil war until 1939, Francos
dictatorship until 1975, and the current democracy.
The Restoration permitted the birth and development of nationalisms. The
Regionalist League party led by Cambo became more and more important, with
its plans to control Catalonia in order to convert Spain into an Iberian
confederation and therefore promote a new imperialism. But the program did
not work: far from dominating Catalonia, nationalists were divided, and most of
the population supported the anarchists or republicans.
Altogether, the Catalan nationalism was an element fracture within the
Restoration, which led to critical situations, sometimes in the company of
revolutionaries or antidemocratic groups. On the other hand, during the
Restoration the Basque nationalism developed their propaganda and
organizations, ignoring the rest of Spain and having little or no influence on
events. Its story, in contrast to Catalan nationalism, is rather domestic.
In 1923, the regimes situation was unsustainable and the ultimate crisis arrived.
Primo de Riveras dictatorship began. While nationalisms did not support the
dictatorship, they did not oppose to it either, and Primo banned them all. With
the end of the totalitarian regime in 1930, political groups rapidly started to
reorganize in order to conquer positions. The main movement was driven to the
Republican alternative, which took shape in the Pact of San Sebastin in
August 1930, a very significant event since it marks the basic performance of
both nationalisms.

The Republic caused a sudden rise of Catalan and Basque nationalisms, due to
reasons closely related to the emotionality of the moment and the moral and
political collapse of traditional rights. This impact would be corresponded in the
rest of Spain by the Republican left and the PSOE. The latter was the true
arbiter of the regime, the stronger and more structured party, thanks, ironically,
to its partnership with Primo de Rivera. It was also a period of expansion of
anarchism.
In 1933, the PSOE and the Republican Left of Catalonia organized a coup
against the legitimate power. This rebellion marked the downfall of the Republic:
it was the beginning of the civil war, which would lead to Francos dictatorship.
Catalan and Basque nationalist resistance did not exist during the hardest stage
of the Franco regime. Only the communists and, to a lesser extent, some
anarchists fought against the new regime. Traditional nationalisms were
basically ineffective, their roots were weakened in the Basque Country, and
they almost disappeared in Catalonia. The new nationalisms arose largely from
the Christian-Marxist collaboration and adopted new features, including
terrorism or support for it.
When Franco died in 1975, parties were rapidly got reorganized and, keen for
change, they collected mass force. Many Republican groups were stranded,
and socialists and communists had to abandon their Marxist or Leninist
principles. The new power offered nationalists far superior statutes than the
ones from the Republic, hoping to dilute its breakaway features. That hope has
not been fulfilled, and the problem has progressively worsened.
The immediate consequence of these nationalisms is double. On the one hand,
they tend to separate and create hostility between the Basques and the
Catalans and other Spaniards, and on the other hand, Basque and Catalan are
divided into "good ones" or "bad ones", according to their support or opposition
to the nationalist doctrines.
Thus, there is nowadays in the Basque Country an increasing social division
and enmity between "good Basques" and the other Basque and Spaniards. A
high number of the population feels threatened, since hundreds of murders
have been committed. Meanwhile in Catalonia, conflicts in both politics and the
streets are more intense than ever.
Sources:
- Forcadell, C. et al. (n.d.) Nacionalismo e historia. [Internet] Available at
<http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/16/30/_ebook.pdf>
- Moa, P. (n.d.) Los nacionalismos vasco y cataln en la historia de Espaa.
[Internet] Available at <http://www.ilustracionliberal.com/10/los-nacionalismosvasco-y-catalan-en-la-historia-de-espana-pio-moa.html>
- Morales Moya, A. et al. (2013) Historia de la nacin y del nacionalismo
espaol. 1st ed. Barcelona: Crculo de Lectores.