SPAIN

WSWS: Spain: Madrid threatens withdrawal of Basque autonomy

Relations between the Spanish government in Madrid and the local government of the Basque Autonomous Region have worsened since the recent local elections.

Madrid has threatened to suspend the region’s autonomy for the first time since it was granted under the 1979 Constitution. Criminal charges have been filed against members of the Basque parliament.

The tension has been mounting for some time. The Basque region has been used by the Popular Party (PP) government of Jose-Maria Aznar as a test bed for a widespread assault on democratic rights. Aznar’s active support for the American-led onslaught against Iraq alienated him from a large part of the Spanish population (up to 91 percent opposed the war). He had also been an enthusiastic supporter of the post-September 11 “War on Terror,” seeing in it an opportunity to suppress finally the Basque separatist terror group).

Repression against Basque separatist parties has been mounting steadily. Last year’s Political Parties Law allows the state to ban any political party that “supports,” “justifies” or “covers” for terrorists. (Significantly, application of this law is not restricted to the Basque region.)