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revelation of these deeds helped to bring
down the González government in 1996.
The administration led by J
OSÉ
M
ARÍA
A
ZNAR
of the conservative Popular Party
vowed a commitment to legal measures,
at the same time promising vigorous
action. Yet a partial truce in 1998-99 failed
to resolve the Basque question. Spain was
by this time receiving help from the
French government. Paris had begun
rounding up key leaders of the ETA move-
ment who had built up a network of sup-
porters in France. Most of these captives
were handed back to the Spanish courts.
Increasingly hard pressed in the first years
of the new century, ETA seemed to be los-
ing its momentum.
The events of March 2004 introduced a
whole new dimension. The Aznar adminis-
tration at first blamed the bombings of
Madrid-bound commuter trains that killed
nearly 200 people on Basque terrorists. The
parliamentary elections that were already
scheduled for that week resulted in the
return of the Socialists to power, for many
voters believed Aznar and his associates
had lied about Basque involvement. As the
true authors of the Madrid atrocity were
proved to be Islamists angered by Spain's
support of U.S. intervention in Iraq, the
role of ETA in Spanish affairs seemed almost
forgotten. The new prime minister, J
OSÉ
L
UIS
R
ODRÍGUEZ
Z
APATERO
, concentrated on
Spain's relations with Muslims abroad and
within his own country. ETA seemed almost
obliged to set off bombs and fire guns in
subsequent months to remind Spaniards
that Basque demands still needed to be
addressed. During 2005, however, even
debates about regional autonomy were
largely diverted to new claims made by Cat-
alan nationalists. In March 2006 the leader-
ship of ETA announced a “permanent
cease-fire,” later rescinded in September.
Basque provinces (Provincias
Vascongadas)
Located in northwestern Spain, the prov-
inces of Guipúzcoa, Álava, and Vizcaya,
with a total area of 2,800 square miles, con-
stitute an autonomous region, the Basque
Country, possessing an unusual sense of
distinct identity. The Basque, a people of
mysterious origin and with a language that
cannot be linked to any other European
tongue, have preserved cultural traditions
that have set them apart for centuries,
despite their political subjugation to the
Castilian monarchy since the late 14th cen-
tury. Their prudent overlords left them in
possession of their highly democratic laws
and local government institutions until the
late 19th century. In more recent times,
however, the process of centralization has
brought repeated confrontations. Granted
de facto sovereignty by the Second Repub-
lic at the beginning of the S
PANISH
C
IVIL
W
AR
, the Basque fought against the fol-
lowers of F
RANCISCO
F
RANCO
and were con-
sequently partially repressed during his
dictatorship (1939-75). Since 1969 mili-
tant nationalists have carried on a cam-
paign of political violence in the name of
Although the democratic regime that suc-
ceeded Franco has made concessions to
Basque regional autonomy, extremists
have carried on their struggle with few
interruptions for more than 25 years.
Nearly a thousand people have been killed
in this conflict, which has occasionally
spilled over into the Basque-populated dis-
tricts of southwestern France.
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