Independence movements

History of Basque autonomy since 1979

From the 1979 Statute of Gernika referendum, through the end of ETA's armed campaign (2011-2018), to EH Bildu's rise and the 2024 regional election.

Reading time
2 min read
Published
Status verified as of

Suggest a correction

The 1979 Statute of Gernika

On 25 October 1979, voters ratified the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country (the Statute of Gernika) by referendum, despite abstention exceeding 40% of the electorate.[1] The Statute established the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, comprising the historical territories of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, as an addition to the 1978 Spanish Constitution.[2]

· Referendum or popular consultation

Statute of Gernika referendum, 1979

A referendum approved the current Statute of Autonomy establishing the Basque Country as an autonomous community of Spain.

The end of ETA's armed campaign

On 20 October 2011, ETA, the armed nationalist group that had campaigned for Basque independence, announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity."[3] It announced on 7-8 April 2017 that it had surrendered all its weapons and explosives.[4] On 2 May 2018, it made public a letter dated 16 April 2018 announcing that it had "completely dissolved all its structures and ended its political initiative."[5] This process accompanied a broader shift of Basque nationalist politics toward electoral participation.[6]

· Other

ETA dissolution, 2018

The armed nationalist group ETA formally dissolved, seven years after declaring a ceasefire and completing disarmament the previous year.

The rise of EH Bildu

EH Bildu was founded as an electoral coalition of Basque nationalist and pro-independence parties, first contesting elections as Bildu in 2011 and adopting its current name in 2012.[7] At the 2023 Basque foral elections, it won 290,749 votes (28.73%) and 51 seats across the three foral councils.[8]

The 2024 Basque Parliament election

At the election of 21 April 2024, on a turnout of 60.0%, the PNV and EH Bildu tied on 27 seats each, at 34.8% and 32.1% of the vote respectively; the PSE-EE won 12 seats, the PP 7, Sumar 1 and Vox 1.[9] Commentary described the PNV's result as a "Pyrrhic victory," since it won the most seats despite losing 3.9 percentage points of vote share.[10] Imanol Pradales (PNV) formed a majority coalition government with the PSE-EE, taking office in June 2024.[11]

· Election

Basque regional election, 2024

The PNV and EH Bildu tied on seats, with the PNV forming a coalition government despite a declining vote share.

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country (Statute of Gernika) was ratified by referendum on 25 October 1979, despite abstention exceeding 40% of the electorate.

    • Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country of 1979 (Wikipedia) link, Referendum section. Source record
  2. 2.

    Claim: The Statute of Gernika established the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, comprising the historical territories of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, as an addition to the 1978 Spanish Constitution.

    • Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country of 1979 (Wikipedia) link, lead section. Source record
  3. 3.

    Claim: On 20 October 2011, ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity."

    • ETA (separatist group) (Wikipedia) link, Ceasefire and end of violence section. Source record
  4. 4.

    Claim: ETA announced on 7-8 April 2017 that it had surrendered all its weapons and explosives, becoming a fully disarmed organisation.

  5. 5.

    Claim: On 2 May 2018, ETA made public a letter dated 16 April 2018 announcing that it had "completely dissolved all its structures and ended its political initiative."

  6. 6.

    Claim: ETA's 2011 ceasefire, 2017 disarmament and 2018 dissolution accompanied a broader shift in Basque nationalist politics away from armed activity and toward electoral participation.

    • The dissolution of ETA: A political balance sheet of Basque nationalism (World Socialist Web Site, June 2018) link, summary of the political transition. Source record
  7. 7.

    Claim: EH Bildu was founded as an electoral coalition of Basque nationalist and pro-independence parties, first contesting elections as Bildu in 2011 and adopting its current name in 2012.

  8. 8.

    Claim: At the 2023 Basque foral elections, EH Bildu won 290,749 votes (28.73%) and 51 seats across the three foral councils.

  9. 9.

    Claim: At the Basque Parliament election of 21 April 2024, on a turnout of 60.0%, the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) and EH Bildu tied on 27 seats each (34.8% and 32.1% of the vote respectively); the PSE-EE won 12 seats, the PP 7, Sumar 1 and Vox 1.

  10. 10.

    Claim: Commentary described the PNV's result as a "Pyrrhic victory," since it won the most seats despite losing 3.9 percentage points of vote share compared with the previous election.

    • 2024 Basque regional election (Wikipedia) link, summary of the result's significance. Source record
  11. 11.

    Claim: Imanol Pradales (PNV) formed a majority coalition government with the PSE-EE following the 2024 election, taking office in June 2024.

    • 2024 Basque regional election (Wikipedia) link, Government formation section. Source record

Source note

Show in the notes list

Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/basque-country/history · last substantive update 24 September 2026.