Separatism and geopolitics
Left, right, regionalism, nationalism, globalism

April 25, 2024

Last weekend elections were held in the Basque Country. The two separatist parties PNV and Bildu won. „Historic success for the left“ writes the German platform nd Journalismus von links (Journalism from the left) and the more bourgeois Costa-Nachrichten distinguishes between the separatist Basque parties i.e. „between the moderate nationalists of the PNV (35.2%) and the nationalist left-wing party EH Bildu (32.5%).“ Bildu won 6 seats, while the PNV lost 4 seats.

In view of the terms „left“, „nationalist left party“, „moderate nationalists“, etc., I do have some questions regarding the classification in times of recognizably growing importance of global geopolitics. This doesn't just apply to the Basque Country, but to all Spanish autonomous regions with separatist movements. I've written these questions down, although I'm not familiar with the Basque Country, I'm more familiar with Catalonia and Valencia.

Left or Right?

Generally speaking, „left“ stands for progressiveness, equality and solidarity among the working classes. „Right“ stands for conservative to the point of extreme nationalism and authoritarianism. The leading separatist party in Catalonia even calls itself the „Republican Left of Catalonia“ (ERC) and sees itself as social democratic or socialist. However, there is no talk of solidarity between working Catalans and Spaniards. Is a „nationalist left-wing party“ then left or right or both (cross-front)?

Compromís sees itself as left-wing and is a party alliance in Valencia made up of the „Valencian Nationalist Bloc“, the „Valencian People's Initiative“ and the „Green Ecologists of Valencia“¹. This party was previously in government in coalition with the social-democratic/socialist PSOE and was the most extreme representative of language imposition and supporter of the „Països Catalans“, a Catalan imperial idea. Here too, the question is left or right or both?

In the Basque Country, both Bildu and the PNV² had links to ETA, an organization that had previously used terrorism to separate itself from Spain. The GAL „Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación“ was a terrorist organization against ETA. There are very strong indications that they were used by the state - perhaps even with the support of the former Social Democrat Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales³. Is terror left or right or both?

Regions - Nations - States

Forms of social organization are historically and locally determined. Tribal societies are probably the oldest form, but still exist today. Principalities, monarchies, nations and states are more modern. Ancient Greek democracies waged wars against each other, which has not fundamentally improved today.⁴ Which form of social organization promotes peace?

A modern nation refers to a group of people with common cultural or ethnic characteristics, while a state is a political entity that rules over a territory. In the Spanish state, all parties agree on the fundamental political issues. This applies to the conservative Catalan Junts, ERC, Compromís, Bildu, and PNV as well as VOX and the PP, and PSOE with their respective regional appendages. They belong to the West, NATO and the EU, are in favor of representative democracy, proclaim freedom of expression, human rights, etc. The only major difference between the Spanish and regional nationalists is the question of independence. In principle, the new state would have the same constitution as Spain or any other EU state. With one difference: how democratic could this state be when the current separatist regional governments already rule with undemocratic language constraints?

Donbass and Crimea have separated from Ukraine in referendums. Shouldn't this be thoroughly analyzed and discussed by all separatists? Was it ok or not and why? Does the support belong to the Ukrainian separatists or to the Kiev government, which is fighting the separatists with weapons also supplied by Madrid?

Global decisions - EU, WHO, WEF and NATO

In the last few decades since the fall of the Soviet Union, global politics has changed dramatically. The EU states in particular have increasingly ceded what remains of their sovereignty to the EU Commission⁵ , which is not formed by direct elections in the individual countries.

The EU - founded as an economic union - is increasingly determining the policies of the states bound by it. The people have never voted on this either, nor on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. The two referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005 failed, so it was decided to act without referendums and the Treaty of Lisbon was concluded in 2007 with the creation of a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). In March of this year, this militaristic policy reached its temporary climax with the promise of five billion Euros in arms supplies for Ukraine. This practice of increasing powers was described by the former President of the EU Commission.⁶ I can remember uprisings and violence by separatists in the Basque Country and Catalonia against Madrid, but not uprisings against this authoritarian and war-promoting policy of the EU. Why?

A global pandemic was declared in 2020. Almost all of the world's governments followed the recommendations of the cleverly privately financed WHO⁷ (World Health Organization). Now more and more countries around the world are criticizing the corona policy. As a result, the WHO has made a draft resolution according to which all states should completely surrender their sovereignty in health matters to it, which would mean that the WHO's recommendations would in future be commands that national parliaments cannot oppose. It also states that the WHO's directives can only be issued by its president. The Spanish regional parliaments would also have to comply. This draft resolution is to be voted on as early as May and if it goes through, the highly controversial Director-General Dr. Ghebreyesus⁸ will decide where lockdowns with business closures, restrictions on freedom etc. will have to be implemented in future. What sense does it make to submit directly to the dictates of the WHO instead of taking the detour via Madrid? Wouldn't it make more sense to reject the WHO together with other governments? (latest news: WHO rowing back?⁹)

The WEF (World Economic Forum) is another instrument of the ruling globalizing billionaires. The DeutscheWirtschaftsNachrichten writes: „According to a report by the World Economic Forum, the organization is aiming for a world without private property by 2030. For example, a corresponding article is entitled: 'Welcome to the year 2030: I own nothing, have no privacy and life has never been better'.“ Of course, this doesn't mean that billionaires will be dispossessed, but 99% of people in Spain's regional regions will be, just like in Madrid or Seville. Shouldn't we talk about this?

Spain is a member of NATO, an organization that calls itself a North Atlantic defence alliance, but which is now expanding its activities to the whole world in violation of its statutes. This is not limited to the Indo-Pacific, but also includes Argentina as a NATO member. A Spanish soldier has now died during NATO maneuvers in Poland in preparation for war against Russia. Should Basque and Catalan soldiers then also march together with Spanish soldiers towards Russia, preferably against the separatists in Donbass and Crimea? Or do they want to join the overwhelming majority of humanity, the global South and the BRICS states¹⁰ for a multipolar world?

The most important question

Global issues are increasingly boiling down to war and peace and they are obviously not to be decided by the people. They are to be fought by them. Are all these arguments about independence from the Spanish state and the confusion of terms around left and right only good for distracting attention from more important issues?

Footnotes

¹Bloc Nacionalista Valencià (BLOC), Iniciativa del Poble Valencià (IdPV) and Verds Equo del País Valencià (VerdsEquo)

²The PNV began to disassociate itself from acts of terrorism by ETA relatively early on after the end of the Franco era. Today, Basques are involved in "Bildu, some of whom used to demonstrate against ETA and others who sympathized with them" Costa Nachrichten

³González has always denied any involvement!

⁴Just think of the wars and ongoing conflicts in the territories of the former Yugoslavia.

⁵The European Commission is elected by the members of the European Parliament after being nominated by the European heads of state and government. It must then be confirmed by the European Council. The European Council consists of the heads of state and government of the EU member states. You could see how this works in the last EU election. Manfred Weber was the lead candidate of the conservative European People's Party. After this election, however, Ursula von der Leyen, a corrupt and loyal servant of the US government and the WEF, was appointed EU Commissioner.

⁶Jean-Claude Juncker: „We decide on something, leave it lying around, and wait and see what happens. If no one kicks up a fuss, because most people don't understand what has been decided, we continue step by step until there is no turning back.“

⁷The WHO only coyly reports on its funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, for example. You can find out about other financiers elsewhere, e.g. in the German magazine Focus: „Bill Gates and the WHO: Who finances the World Health Organization?“

⁸German magazine Focus: Serious accusations: WHO chief allegedly involved in genocide in Ethiopia

⁹The freedom corner: „The WHO is BACKING DOWN on the pandemic treaty“

¹⁰193 countries are members of the UN. Around 50 countries belong to NATO and other US allies such as Australia. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa belong to the BRICS, and several countries have applied for membership, which is why they are already referred to as BRICS+. The Global South is increasingly turning away from the USA and NATO. This cumulated in the end south of the Sahara: Niger ends military agreement with US, calls it 'profoundly unfair'

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