23 Historical Background of the Basque in Latin America: Integration and Tensions

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia1

Abstract Introduction The formation of the Basque diaspora in This paper presents the preliminary Latin America can be divided into sev- empirical findings of an ongoing PhD eral different periods. First, the so-called thesis examining the Basque diaspora in original diaspora, from the 16th to 18th Latin America, more specifically in Ar- century, of who were part of gentina and the political and ideologi- the Spanish colonial regime. The sec- cal tensions within this diaspora having ond can be traced to the 19th century, the Euskal Etxeak (or Basque houses or consisting of a mixture of impoverished clubs) as a focal point of analysis. Basque migrants seeking jobs, especially The objective of this paper is to dis- in and in , and of cuss the historical basis of the Basque refugees fleeing from the Spanish War migration to Latin America and to pres- of Independence and the Carlist wars. ent briefly some of the most important The third wave is identified by, but not or reality shifting moments of the con- only through, the considerable number flicts that have permeated a 600 years of refugees from the long diaspora. Those moments can be in the 1930’s. The fourth wave came identified as generational, found within during the 1970’s, with refugees from patterns of migration waves showing the Franco Dictatorship, ETA members that, despite the clear formation of a and sympathisers. In this paper I will diasporic identity, the most significant argue that each new wave of migrants developments at the diaspora were also brought tension to the diaspora, having a reflex of tensions and conflicts in the the Euskal Etxeak, or Basque houses, as homeland. a focus point. The main idea is to ana- lyse the different tensions and political Basque Diaspora and Diasporic discussions of this set of diasporic waves Identity in Latin America. Diaspora can be defined as the «trans- national collectivity, broken apart by, and woven together across, the borders 24 AEMI JOURNAL 2014 of their own and other nation-states, ing experiences and inherit traditions’ maintaining cultural and political in- (Oiarzabal, 2013:21). stitutions» (Tötölyan, 1991:5), also as This Basques at the diaspora - alto- a population dispersed from its home- gether with Basques in the homeland - land, with collective memory and ideal- form a nation, an ethnonational group isation or even mythical vision (Safran, (Connor, 1994), a group of people that 1991:83) of the homeland, as well as believe they are related since ancient a strong ethnic consciousness and sol- times, maintaining traditions and her- idarity with co-members of the group itage and passing it to the next gener- (Cohen, 1997:180) and an exacerbation ation, sharing a sense of uniqueness of allegedly common and ancestral traits (Smith, 1991) also with the Basques that are periodically reinforced (Billig, at the homeland, despite the fact that 1995, Renan, 2007). the Basque diasporic identity is much more than a mere reproduction of the [Diaspora can be defined as] collectives homeland identity - though many of of individuals who identify themselves, the conflicts within the diaspora follow and are identified by others as part of an in general lines those of the homeland imagined community that has been dis- -, but has added significant elements persed (either forced or voluntary) from of the host-nation and also maintained its original homeland to two or more traits long gone or abandoned in the host-countries and that is committed to the maintenance or restoration of this Homeland (Oiarzabal, 2013) and main- homeland. (Demmers, 2007: 9) taining a culture of ethnical separation or even purity (Zulaika and Douglas, The Basque Diaspora can be understood 1996), an ‘imaginary coherence’ for a as the community of ethnic Basques that set of identities (Hall et al, 2003). were born - or descended from those who were born - in the historical terri- Basque identities were shaped by tory of the Basque Country or Euskal Basques’ own experiences of migration Herria, comprising territories now di- and its complex interrelation with na- tion-state building processes taking place vided by (Iparralde or Northern throughout the American continent. The Basque Country, part of the department ethnic politics of Basque identity con- of Pyrénées-Atlantiques ) and struction spread throughout the American (Basque Autonomous Community and continent by the establishment of immi- Foral Community of Navarre) and mi- grant associations and the work of ethnic grated elsewhere or, in the case of this leaders in diaspora communities. (Oiarza- article, to the Americas from the 15th bal and Molina, 2009: 701) century up to today. It is possible to assume that the Basque This Basque imagined community (An- Diaspora is a community (Angulo Mo- derson, 2005), or imagined transna- rales, 2002) of constant construction tional community (Appadurai, 1997), is and re-construction of identities, a ‘sum made up of individuals that may never of geographies, times, generations, and meet each other, from Bilbao to Buenos individual identities, by-products of liv- Aires or San Francisco and Reno, but TSAVKKO GARCIA 25 the imagine themselves as members of culture, of having multiple or transna- the same ethnogroup, sharing common tional consciousnesses (Sorensen, 1995: traits, despite the differences. “The dif- 107). Basques are physically connected ferent Basque diasporic groups preserve to their host-countries, yet they remain their ethnic identities by considering psychologically and emotionally con- and ‘imagining’ themselves as a part of a nected to their Homeland. global Basque ethnic community” (To- According to Totoricagüeña toricagüeña, 2004:10), therefore, they (2004:102), the Basques managed to feel like members of the same Basque work with their ethnic identity alto- nation or ethnonational group (Con- gether with the civic identity, the one nor, 1994) and it has lasted for centuries of the host-country. The ethnic iden- and through different migration waves, tity as the defining basis of Basqueness de-territorialised (Ortiz 1999, 2004, is still emphasized within the diaspora, Haesbaert, 2002, 2004). the more civic identity has now become Despite political and ideological dif- the centre of the homeland nationalism ferences, as well as nationalistic points (Totoricagüeña, 2004: 54). of view, Basques in the Diaspora kept During the second half of the 19th seeing themselves as one group, one na- century Basque Houses or Euskal Etx- tion, forming a Diaspora or Diasporic eak were founded, structures that did Identity (Totoricagüeña, 2004:147; not existed before, as Basques tended to Oiarzabal, 2013:28) that synthesises organise themselves within the Real So- or combines both the Basque and the ciedad Bascongada de Amigos del País, host-country identities in a transna- that served as a mostly economic but tional way (Vertovec, 1999), meaning also political lobby towards the Amer- that relates Basques both socially, eco- ican colonies and also within religious nomically and culturally within multiple entities, such as the Orden Tercera de boundaries and societies. As Oiarzabal San Francisco (Alvarez Gila, 2010) or (2013:92) mentioned, ‘the self-perpetu- the brotherhood of Nuestra Señora de ation of Basque identity in the Diaspora Aránzazu (Aramburu Zudaire, 2002) is very much based on the pride and af- and aid and beneficial institutions fection for assumed characteristics, such (Muru Ronda, 1999:100, Cava Mesa, as uniqueness or singularity of such an 1996:137-139). identity’. The Basque diasporic identity is a Diaspora associations create transnatio- (re)configuration of both the home- nal networks that maintain varying de- land - ‘ancestral ties, kinship relations, grees of personal, institutional, cultural, common language of communication, social, economic, political and business historical and imaginary memories and ties with the homeland and with other religious beliefs’ (Gautam, 2013:7) - countries where there is a Basque presence: a globe-spanning network of and the host country identities, the attachments and allegiances. (Oiarzabal ideal of being Basque as well as being and Molina, 2009:699) a member of the host society. It is the idea of integration, but not of losing its 26 AEMI JOURNAL 2014 Basques founded the Euskal Etxeak 1. The arrival of Basques after the not only as sort of clubs for them to Carlist Wars, the War of Independence gather, but also as institutions to help and so on during the 19th century that those in need, specially the newcomers brought a fuerista ideology non-existent looking after a better life. In this sense, before within the diaspora. It was also a Basque clubs or houses - and in some moment where the construction of the places even hotels - are a place to experi- Spanish identity was being built and also ence home or to simulate environments the so called sub-national or peripheral of homeland (Totoricagüeña, 2004: identities within Spain (see Oiarzabal & 148) and a «place of sociability of the Molina, 2009). members of the Basque community», 2. The arrival of members of the PNV (Caula et al, 2002:55). To some extent, that brought with them the nationalist they also tended to emulate homeland Aranist ideology opposed to the previ- politics and even political disputes in ous fuerista ideology at the end of the political party and ideological lines, de- 19th century brought up more ten- spite some local and unique character- sion within the diaspora while they at- istics. tempted to spread their ideology and The Euskal Etxeak were a form to also started taking over the direction of strengthen ethnonational ties, as Erik- the Euskal Etxeak, not without a fight. sen (1993, 68) noted, «social identity The nationalist ideology of the PNV becomes most important when it be- and their members will permeate most comes threatened, which is often related f the lives of the diaspora and of the Eu- to some kind of change, such as immi- skal Etxeak during the 20th century. gration». The Euskal Etxeak - both the 3. During the 1970s the wave of a ones founded by Foralists, Carlists and consistent numbers of left-wing na- those who came from during tionalists will threaten to if not actually the 19th century and those founded challenge the PNV domination over the later by nationalists in the 1940’s and diaspora. so on - will play a central role during During the following years conflicts the 20th century of focal point of many will arise due to political and ideologi- tensions, political debates and conflicts. cal differences on the view of the Basque Tensions within different waves of path towards independence that will Basque migrants were something quite lead to splits within the Euskal Etxeak. common in the diaspora, but we can The formation of a Basque government observe at least three specific moments during the 1980s - with almost uninter- or major tension points, each coinciding rupted PNV dominion - and the inter- with the shift in migration patterns and net on the 1990s and later will give a the arrival of a new ideological approach boost to the conflicts as in on hand the to the Basque question, rights and even Basque government will fill the Euskal identity that can also be understood as Etxeak with money and promises, on inter-generational conflicts of new mi- the other hand the internet will allow grants challenging the domination of a the left wing nationalist organisations to previous or older group: spread their ideology. TSAVKKO GARCIA 27 It is important to note that this is not Río de la Plata (now Argentina, Uru- in any way an extensive list, nor is there guay, Paraguay and parts of Bolivia and any intention in resuming centuries of ), searched for men to go deep into migration and tensions in just three the territory in order to create villages, cases, but those are the most visible and, commercial outposts and to take pos- to some degree, profound conflicts that session of the land that, up until that led to paradigm shifts within the dias- point, belonged to various indigenous pora. populations. Additionally, after the independence Overview of the Basque Diaspora of Argentina and Uruguay (but also of and First Wave , and elsewhere in During the Spanish Colonial period, the Americas), the new leaders sought Basques enjoyed leading positions all to secure the rule of the newborn states over the American colonies (Bilbao and by populating vast areas such as the Douglas., 1975) constituting themselves Pampas (vast area of north-eastern Ar- as a self-aware ethnic group (Douglass, gentina and most of Uruguay) thus, 2006) and formed migration chains many Basques migrated there to work (Aramburu Zudaire, 2002) that where with cattle and on agriculture colonies based on cultural peculiarities and an (Douglass, 2006). ‘ancient and strong tendency towards Amongst other reasons for fleeing the mutual union of those originated in Basque Country were the many con- Vasconia, based in turn on a conscious- flicts within Spain and France at that ness of its collective identity and com- time, such as the Napoleonic Wars, the munitarian singularity’.2 First (1833-39) and the Second (1872- The influx of Basques to the Ameri- 76) Carlist Wars and the 1848 Revolu- cas before the 19th century was mainly tion on the French side as well as, years of political and economic leaders of the later, the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) colonial empire, as well as traders and and the Francoist dictatorship (Totori- merchants in many important and key cagüena, 2004). cities (Morales, 2002) such as Havana, I believe that we can identify four dif- Potosí, , etc and their num- ferent yet overlapping Basque migration ber might be bigger than what is sup- waves, which I seek to analyse on the posed Aramburu Zudaire, 2002). following pages. The periods are: The factors that led thousands of First, the so-called original Dias- Basques to migrate towards the Amer- pora from the 16th to 18th century of icas afterwards, not only as represent- Basques who were part of the Spanish atives of the political elites and the colonial empire, and already analysed Castilian Crown (Douglass, 2006) were in this first section, possessed the main many, but it is worth mentioning that characteristic of being a wave made up there was a growing need for labour in mostly of Basques who took part on the the so-called ‘new world’. Leaders of enterprise as admin- colonies in the Americas, such as the istrative figures or leading traders and merchants. 28 AEMI JOURNAL 2014 The second can be traced to the 19th The Second Wave century, a wave of impoverished Basque migrants seeking jobs, especially in Y es que el asociacionismo vasco Uruguay and in Argentina, and also of siempre estuvo en íntima conexión con refugees from the Spanish war of inde- movimientos políticos, en concreto con pendence and the Carlist wars. The first el carlismo y con el nacionalismo. En and second waves overlap at some point sus centros, los vascos hicieron práctica during the independence of the many política activa, siendo muchas veces American countries and the borders of escenarios de agrias disputas. Aparte each wave, or phase, cannot be precisely fundaron entidades exclusivamente políticas, con el fin de difundir las ideas defined as the process of substitution of nacionalistas de entre la the migration of Basque elites for peas- colonia establecida en Argentina. Fue ants and later of Basque refugees as the también muy importante la partici- process took over a century. During this pación de vascos en la organización y period, the Euskal Etxeak,3 or Basque divulgación de la ideología carlista en la houses, started to be founded and they República. (Ortiz, 1996:128) will be further analysed. The third wave can be described as The main or most visible theatre of the one of refugees from the Spanish disputes and tensions between the so- Civil War in the 1930’s and the role of called ‘old Basques’ and the second the members of the Basque Nationalist wave Basque migrants were the Euskal Party (PNV) which brought some ten- Etxeak, many of them founded on the sion to the Diaspora while politicising second half of the 19th century as aid it. institutions and spaces of sociability or The fourth wave is again a wave of even sociality (Maffesoli, 1996), under- refugees, but now mostly left-wing ones, stood as set of practices that go beyond during the 1960s and 1970s. Members the state rigid social control, a being-to- of ETA, families of political prisoners gether that is independent of a goal to and any left-wing nationalists perse- be achieved (Maffesoli, 1996). cuted back home. It was a wave with Tensions arose within such houses less human displacement, but with sig- as newcomers from the wars in Eu- nificant ideological repercussions in the rope came carrying political agendas years to follow. or ideologies that were not an issue or It is important to have in mind the relevant for the ‘old Basque migration’ difficulties of identity maintenance a (Douglass, 2006: 35). The new migrants member of a Diaspora faced while dis- brought a political discourse, as well as persed, away from home, and with a sense of ‘basqueness’ that was com- sporadic or even no contact with the pletely distant from the mostly ‘Lati- Homeland. nized’ (Douglass, 2006:35) old Basques that were for a long time away of the homeland, sometimes for generations. A struggle for power within the new- born Euskal Etxeas took place, in some TSAVKKO GARCIA 29 cases with serious fractures, also in ge- persisted with great force’ leading to cul- ographical lines, with Basques from tural movements for the promotion of Iparralde (France), Hegoalde (Basque regional languages and identities. Country) and Nafarroa (Navarre) or- The Spanish identity, thus could be ganising themselves in their own groups initially understood a civic one not op- or houses, which was the case of Mex- posed to the ethnic Basque, but com- ico City and its Casino Español, Centro plimentary, ‘an ideological synthesis’ Vasco and Basque club of the Federal (Núñez Seixas, 2004:53), not without District (Oiarzabal, 2013). moments of tensions and conflicts dur- During this period the Spanish iden- ing the process of nation and sate-build- tity was being built, with little suc- ing of Spain. cess according to de Pablo, Mees and Rodríguez (1999). On the other hand, In historical perspective statebuilding the nation building of Spain ‘supported has generally been a coercive and often local and regionally based ethnic iden- a violent process. Statebuilding involves tities in order to reinforce the roots of imposing a unified, centralised state and national identity among the population’ subjugating peripheral regions, securing (Oiarzabal and Molina, 2009: 703). border areas and imposing regulation, in- stitutions, taxation and control. This has In other words, during the 19th cen- been a violent process because it threat- tury, despite the weak penetration of ens the interests of recalcitrant actors and Spanish institutions in, for example, it encounters outlying resistance which the Basque Country up to the Carlist must be suppressed. It is also often accom- Wars, the Spanish identity itself con- panied by violent processes of national tained local or sub-national identities and ethnic exclusion. The consolidation or even regional identities (Álvarez Gila, of national political projects – including 1996:175) as parts of the Spanish one national identity – is a related process that (Oiarzabal and Molina, 2009), the idea has often been accompanied by significant of a civic Spanish identity carried within instability as groups with vying political the Basque own ethnic identity - as well visions compete for control of the agenda. as a Catalan or Galician ethnic identi- (Newman, 2013: 141). ties. According to Núñez Seixas (2004:53) As mentioned, despite the conflicts the 19th century Spanish state had a over the Fueros issue - that became the ‘lack of efficiency in its nationalizing starting point of the so-called ‘Basque process’ expressed by an ‘inefficient ed- Question’, according to Oiarzabal and ucational system, [...] a national army Molina (2009) -, 19th century Basques based in a discriminatory and classist still adopted the Spanish-civic identity, military service, a scarce diffusion and as it is important to note that the main Laurak Bat a lack of consolidation of its own na- idea of the founders was not tionalist symbolism’ and an inefficient the one of independence from Spain, administration of the state. Due to such rather of the restoration of the previ- Fueros problems, adds Núñez Seixas, the ‘social ous legal arrangement, of the , use of languages different from Castilian that gave broad internal liberty for the 30 AEMI JOURNAL 2014 Basques within Spain. It is not a mere more significant turning points (Irianni curiosity that the official name of the Zalakain, 2000), also the number of Laurak Bat was, at the time of its foun- Basques that migrated to the Americas dation, Sociedad Vasco-Española Laurac during the 19th century until the 30s Bat or Basque-Spanish Society (Ortiz, of the following century, in conservative 1996:128). numbers, reached 200 thousand people Ezkerro (2003) will describe that the (Tápiz, 2002:181). main or first reason for the foundation of the Laurak Bat of Buenos Aires (The It is true that there is an overlapping Four in One, meaning the union of the of waves, from the first to the second, as Basque historical regions of Navarre, the independence of the many countries Gipuzkoa, Araba and Bizkaia, all of in America happened not in the same them in the Spanish state) in 1879 was year, but within a century long period to “manifest from the ‘ethnic unity’ of of time, also refugees from the Carlist the four historical territories of the south War, for instance, starting arriving on of the Pyrenees, the ‘protest’ against the the first half of the 19th century. We ‘constitutional unity’ imposed by the can say, with some degree of certainty, armed violence” or the suppression of that the second wave started while the the Fueros by Spain following the Carl- ‘old Basques’ of the first wave were still ist Wars (Cava Mesa, 1996:144). acting as protagonists. The tension be- In other words, the foundation of Lau- tween these two waves will arise spe- rak Bat was, itself, a manifesto against cially on the second half of the century, the abolition of the Fueros (Cava Mesa, lasting up to eve of the 20th century. 1996:143), a strong and direct political What differentiates the first and sec- statement. In the following years new ond waves is the political refugee char- tensions will arise with yet another shift acteristic and the peasant characteristic within the diaspora, with the pression of (Douglass, 2006:71), much unlike the the nationalists in favour of an Aranist members of the previous wave that en- approach rather than purely foralist that joyed status and normally went to the would provoke ruptures (Cava Mesa, Americas willingly. 1996:146). Although, according to Douglass In Uruguay, the local Laurak Bat (2006) many of the Basque refugees (founded in 1876) faced in just six from the Carlist wars and so on, that years after its foundation a split when were skilled, had a profession such as of a small group decided to leave the club doctors, lawyers, etc, found themselves to found a new one, promoting the ab- in better positions within the host soci- olition of the Fueros and opposing the eties in Latin America (not only due the idea of a Basque unity (Irigoyen Artetxe, long standing presence of Basques that 1999:79). could receive them and make arrange- The Spanish-American War of 1898 ments, but also because of the language, may be a key turning point for Spain, as all of them spoke Spanish), but the but for most Basques, or at least for majority of migrants was made up of un- the migration waves, there were other TSAVKKO GARCIA 31 skilled and semiskilled peasants ‘seeking identity maintenance of the old Basque a better future in a new land’ (Douglas, migrants. The number of political exiles 2006:71) and hoping to «remain peas- was bigger than ever, as were the ten- ants against the advance of the big cities sions brought by them. The new pat- and the urban modernization»4 (Álvarez, ters of migration shifted from the one 2002:30). of economic hardship to, in the twenti- eth century, political oppression greater Nationalists Arrive than the one experienced at the second On the beginning of the 20th century half of the 19th century. the ideas of Sabino Arana - the founder The 19th century migration wave was of the modern in mostly made up of peasants (although the 19th century - arrived in the Dias- with a significant amount of migrants pora by the hands of Basques that were escaping wars and conflicts within both migration for economical reasons, Spain), while the 20th century wave was but also to work as propagandists of made up mostly by city workers and of the Aranist ideology (Tápiz, 2002:183). nationalist ideology individuals. Basque nationalism became yet another Considering specifically the na- source of tension within the Diaspora tionalist migrants, Tápiz Fernandez community and the Euskal Etxeas that (2002:183) divides in three the peri- led to fractions and even the foundation ods or phases in which the nationalist of rival ones in City and Bue- ideals of the PNV members reached, nos Aires (Douglass, 2006: 35). Also the developed and settled in the Diaspora, type of migration shifted once again. the first on from 1903 to 1910, a ‘mo- No longer impoverished peasants ment of growth and development of the went to America, but now many politi- nationalistic ideal in the Americas’5, the cal refugees from the Spanish Civil War second from 1910 to 1920, a regression (Álvarez, 2002:30,56), many of them of such ideals and, finally, from 1920 to with connections to the PNV (Spanish 1936, the full implementation of the Nationalist Party founded by Arana), nationalistic ideals, almost as a prepara- but also others with ties to the Spanish tion of the many refugees to come from Communist Party and so on forming a the Spanish Civil War. new and political wave of migrants dif- Only in the 20s the PNV started to ferent from the previous two waves, of grow in the Diaspora (as well as in the colonial elites to poor peasants and po- Basque Country itself). It is impor- litical refugees that weren’t at all nation- tant to recall, as does Tápiz Fernandez alists, as seeking the independence of an (2002), that the growing of the PNV imagined Basque Country. and of the nationalist ideology was not The following years, over 150 thou- linear and it was an ‘imported’ phenom- sand Basques flew from the Basque enon, meaning that it was born in the Country to the Diaspora, most of them Homeland and brought to the Dias- to the Americas, influencing directly on pora that, after some years and a certain the process of identity construction and amount of pressure, started to create roots and to dominate. 32 AEMI JOURNAL 2014 It is important to note that the PN- simple defence of the former status quo, Vistas first took control of the Euskal or the Fueros. The defence of the Basque Etxeas and then started expanding to the identity was, at that point, starting to colonies of Basque migrants, a move- become defence of the independence of ment that was somewhat easier that the the land of the Basques, from Araba to previous, as the ideal of a Basque nation Lesser Navarre, from Hegoalde to Ipar- and identity was already part of the ide- ralde and Navarre and that would set- ology of mostly Carlists Basques (Alva- tle definitively during the Spanish Civil rez Gila, 1996) War on the 1930s. The Basque Houses were, at that As Oiarzabal (2013:167), noted, point, on the one hand a sort of aid cen- ‘During the 1930s and onward, Dias- tre for those in need, and on the other pora associations and communities were hand a club for Basques to share and influenced by thousands of Basques who perpetuate their ‘Basqueness’. With the were forced into exile as a result of the arrival of nationalistic political-minded Spanish Civil War and World War II. Basques, mainly members of the ‘old This implied a certain degree of Basque Basques’ disliked the idea of turning nationalist politicization’. the Basque houses also in propaganda centres for the resistance against Franco [...] homeland politics are found ’embed- as well as for the independence of the ded’ in diaspora discourse or identity, Basque Country. culture, and homeland. The diaspora A struggle for power began, with ‘old political discourse is exemplified by Basques’ trying to keep the houses as means of multiple cultural and folkloric they were, a safe haven, and the new- activities and symbols. The so-called comers trying to turn them into politi- diaspora’s ’cultural’ ethnonationalist dimension makes assertions that are cal strongholds for pressuring Spain and political in nature. In other words, this the host countries to act against Franco dimensions disguises to some extent and to assure the ‘ancient rights’ of the manifestations or expressions of Basque Basque people. nationalism. (Oiarzabal, 2013: 171) The idea of ethnonational and iden- tity maintenance of the first Euskal Etx- It is interesting that in the 1970s most eak, public spheres or centres for the of the Euskal Etxeas changed their dissemination of Basque culture, music, statutes to impose some ‘non-political’ history and etc was somehow subverted or ‘apolitical’ status to them (Totori- by newcomers with ties to the PNV and cagüeña, 2004:75) when of the arrival with nationalistic/Aranist ideology that of left-wing political refugees, many of demanded more from the diaspora. them of ideology. They turned the Euskal Etxeak into political strongholds for pressuring Spain and the host countries demanding a politicisation, an ideological commit- ment to the independence of the Basque country that went further ahead of the TSAVKKO GARCIA 33 New Nationalists or Basque Land and Freedom) or ETA members as well as a small percentage Excluding , the PNV had the of exiles still fleeing from the Francoist advantage of a developed network and regime and a few running from ETA it- established communications with dias- self. pora Basque centres, and the majority of ETA was, according to Granja Sainz Civil War exiles were familiar with PNV (2000:76), the result of the radicaliza- names, strategy and goals. The ETA disa- tion of a younger generation that would greement with the PNV, and subsequent put an end to the PNV monopoly, to splits within ETA, confounded an already extremely complex nationalist movement. say, of the Basque society (Granja Sainz, The change in rhetoric of the New Left to 2002:179), and that would be successful class struggle and class identity rather than in creating ‘a community with a totaliz- ethnic and cultural struggle and identity ing vocation (2002:180). The PNV kept was not well received by Basques who had its hegemony over the Basque Country not lived in the provinces perhaps for dec- population, the same happened to the ades. (Totoricagüeña, 2004:75) diaspora, but now faced a challenge with a more radical group disputing the The majority of the third wave mi- same spaces. gration wave was made up mainly of Among those spaces, were the Euskal Basque nationalists with connections Etxeas. One of the main difficulties of to the PNV that fought against Franco ETA exiles were not only the fact that and that arrived at the Diaspora with a PNV was already well implanted all few of the Basque institutions abroad over the diaspora, but as well its eth- (Basque clubs) already on the hands nic instead of racial ideal of Basqueness of sympathizers that, during previous (Granja Sainz, 2000) and, of course, due years, as I mentioned in the previous to the socialist ideals of those exiles in- section, clashed with members of the stead of the catholic/conservative ideol- previous wave(s) and seized control of ogy of the PNV. many Euskal Etxeas. Those were the ones who competed [...] the Basque diaspora is reifying the for the control of the Euskal Etxeas in Basque nationalist project of building a their exile against the Basques from the nation-state based on an imagined ance- previous waves in terms of imposing stral territory formed by seven historical nationalistic ideals, despite the fact that provinces under the nineteenth-century members of both waves tended to be nationalist motto of Zazpiak Bat. (Oiar- zabal, 2013:154) Christian conservatives as well as inte- gristas. The fourth wave, on the other hand, As mentioned in the previous section, was made up almost entirely by left- during the 1970’s some of the Euskal wing refugees that were also in general Etxeas changed their statutes to impose nationalists or Abertzale, with some sort some ‘non-political’ or ‘apolitical’ sta- of link to ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, tus to them (Totoricagüeña, 2004:75), in other words, they kept defending to 34 AEMI JOURNAL 2014 some degree the independence of the erwise so-called ‘apolitical’ institutions Basque Country on the lines of old Ara- (Oiarzabal, 2007; 2013) - despite the nism sometimes, in more a ‘modern’ fact that most if not all Basque organisa- way, but forbade the political activities tions claim a territorial unity that is part of the newcomers, generally left-wing of a nationalistic ideology, an imagined nationalists or Abertzales. community with nationalist ideals and According to Totoricagüeña goals of independence. (2004:94-96) during the 1990s one way The Euskal Etxeas are political insti- for homeland political groups such as tutions per se and they have also been the Herri (the radical left wing used or manipulated by consecutive party of that time) to communicate PNV-led Basque governments since the with the diaspora was through sending end of the Franco dictatorship (Oiarza- e-mails and publications to the Euskal bal, 2007:110-125) sometimes as prox- Etxeas for it, then, be distributed among ies for the spread of the PNV view of members, but many times the material Basque nationalism, other times as was simply deleted or destroyed by the, ‘ambassadors’ of the Basque Country then, PNV-led clubs. or simply as a tool for propaganda, to show, for instance, that Basque Country Excluding Australia, the PNV had the is more than ETA and that Basques are advantage of a developed network and a peaceful people. established communications with dias- Younger members of the Euskal Etx- pora Basque centres, and the majority of eas, refugees and sympathisers of ETA’s Civil War exiles were familiar with PNV struggle putted pressure on the Euskal names, strategy and goals. The ETA Etxeas to support the fight of the Basque disagreement with the PNV, and subse- group - considered also a fight for the quent splits within ETA, confounded an already extremely complex nationalist Basque Country and the Basque people movement. The change in rhetoric of - and that triggered consistent pressure the New Left to class struggle and class from local governments, some with ties identity rather than ethnic and cultural to the Spanish Francoist regime of the struggle and identity was not well recei- posterior democratic regime. The po- ved by Basques who had not lived in the litical activities of some of the ”radical” provinces perhaps for decades. members of the diaspora and of the eu- (Totoricagüeña, 2004:75) skal Etxeas started creating embarrass- ment and trouble for the directors of the It is important to keep in mind that the clubs (Totoricagüeña, 2004). migration wave of the 70s is not as big Oiarzabal (2013:180-181) gives us an in terms of the number of arrivals as the example of the political tensions within previous ones, but it was, anyway, con- the Euskal Etxeas for the support of sistent in a sense that it created visible some of its members or organisations tensions even today in the Euskal Etxeas within its structure by describing the and on the diaspora itself as it imposed expulsion of the Eusketxe (Eusko Kultur a need to take a political stand in oth- Etxea, or Basque Culture House) of the premises of the Laurak Bat in 2004. TSAVKKO GARCIA 35 According to Oiarzabal the Eusketxe, Conclusion an umbrella for the Ekin editorial and The Basque clubs were initially safe the Euskaltzaleak (Basque-language in- havens and aid centres for Basques in itiative), was evicted from the Laurak which they were able also to promote Bat, in Buenos Aires, after decades due their language, culture, dances - their to the support of the group for left wing identity - to newer generations and also ‘radical’ nationalist ideology and Basque worked as a place for those who were political prisoners (ETA and alleged born in the Basque Country to feel ETA members). home among equals. The first tensions came, in some Dictatorial regimes in Argentina and Uru- cases like the Euskal Etxea of Monte- guay supplied daily reminders to Basques video, just a few years after its foun- in those countries of how life in home- dations, Basques who felt more or just land continued. Worldwide attention to alike Spanish ended up splitting and the plight of the Basques as an oppressed founding their own clubs, Basques from people lent credence and justification for the French side (or Iparralde) or from ETA actions. However, soon media cover- Navarre also, in some cases, sought to age focused on ETA activities themselves, not the rationale or objectives behind create their own institutions. them, leading host-country populations The initial pledge for respect of the to equate Basques with violence and ter- Fueros soon changed for a more nation- rorism, a burden that diaspora Basques alistic approach and within a period of everywhere have had to carry. time of less than 50 years the Euskal Etx- (Totoricagüeña, 2004:77) eas were in general connected or under the influence of the PNV and their Groups such JO TA KE Rosario, Aso- ideology. Then, new nationalists came ciación Venezolana de Amigos de Eu- around, new ideas and a different view skal Herria (Venezuelan association of of the needs of the Basque Country and Friends of the Basque Country), Asoci- its independence process, sometimes a ación Diaspora Vasca (Basque Diaspora more radical approach, but in general Association), the Euskal Herriaren La- Basque clubs in Latin America tended gunah (Friends of the Basque Country), to welcome refugees and sustained long the Red Independentistak (Independ- debates on the ‘ETA issue’, many times entist Network) among others have, disagreeing with the Basque govern- for decades, online and offline, if not ment in condemning or not the group competing, sharing space and the minds or its political violence. of the Basques in the Diaspora, promot- From the basic promotion/mainte- ing a more radical nationalistic agenda, nance of ethnonational identity (Con- maintaining ties with the Basque Na- nor, 2004) to proxies of the Basque tionalist or Abertzale left wing parties in government (not without tensions and the homeland and spreading support for disputes) and spaces for the promotion Basque political prisoners. of a diasporic identity and of home- land-diaspora politics, the Euskal Etxeas are not only the reflex of the homeland, 36 AEMI JOURNAL 2014 but also autonomous and in constant References move and evolution entities that, for Álvarez, Adriana, Historia del Centro sure, reflect the complicated and special Vasco Denak-Bat: Mar del Plata, (Vito- relationship between homeland and di- ria-Gasteiz, Servicio Central de Publica- aspora. ciones del Gobierno Vasco, 2002). 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América: Los Vascos en la Pampa Húm- TSAVKKO GARCIA 39 eda, (Bilbao, Universidad del País Vasco, Notes 2000). 1 PhD candidate in Human Rights at the Univer- sity of Deusto-Deustuko Unibertsitatea (Basque Zulaika, Joseba and Douglass, Wil- Country-Spain) and CAPES foundation fellow liam A., Terror and taboo: The follies, fa- - BEX 2687-13-5 (Brazil); BA in International bles, and faces of terrorism, (Psychology Relations (PUCSP - Brazil) and MA in Com- Press, 1996). munication (Cásper Líbero - Brazil). Contact: [email protected],raphael.garcia@opendeusto. es, www.tsavkko.com.br, +34 617 687 224 2 In the original: ”antigua y arraigada tendencia a la unión mutua de los originarios de Vasconia, basada a su vez en una conciencia de identidad colectiva, de singularidad comunitaria” in Álvarez Gila, Oscar and Morales, Alberto Angulo, Las mi- graciones vascas en perspectiva histórica (s. XVI-XX) (Bilbao: UPV/EHU, 2002), 158. 3 Euskal Etxea is the singular version, while Euskal Etxeak the plural. 4 ”continuar siendo campesinos frente al avance de las grandes ciudades y del proceso de modern- ización urbano”. 5 ” momento de crecimiento y de desarrollo del ideal nacionalista en América”