The North American left-wing and Abertzale coalition EH Bai has organized its first congress. Fifteen years after the union of Abertzaleen Batasuna, Batasuna and Eusko Alkartasuna, the coalition sees the need to "reflect on the prospects of the future" and "join forces". They will have two main challenges: Consolidate the main policy orientations for the period 2022-2026 and renew the organisation of EH Bai, including the designation of a new direction.

Moving along the way

"The priority of EH Bai has been to promote social mobilizations and achieve broad institutional representation. Thus, the nationalist project is strengthened and the Iparralde process in the Basque Country is broken. In view of the evolution of the elections, since it was first presented to EH, the evolution is optimistic and is reflected in the previous legislative elections, in which we obtained 20,821 votes," we can read in the coalition document. To describe the fifteen years, the coalition highlights a number of elements: the peace process to resolve the political conflict in Euskal Herria; the broad consensus in favor of an institution for Ipar Euskal Herria – and the "important step" of the creation of the Basque Urban College in 2017; the capacity to fight and mobilize citizens.

Despite everything, EH Bai says that there is still "a long way to go": "On the one hand, the left-wing nationalist project still presents a large gap in the urban centre of Baiona-Anglón-Biarritz, which concentrates most of the population. On the other hand, although it has been positioned as the first force of the left, the French center-right still has a great hegemony and a majority in the Northern Basque Country".

In recent years, Ipar Euskal Herria has developed a "political process based on consensus and agreement" that, according to EH Bai, has generated a "new relationship of forces" before the French State: "There are new opportunities to continue creating new scenarios in the process of sovereignty." However, the coalition sees "great challenges": the continued demographic increase, the crisis of land speculation and housing, or the rise of extreme right-wing ideas.

The members of the coalition welcome the fact that, fifteen years ago, divisions between nationalists have been overcome and unity has prevailed: "In our view, this is a valuable achievement that will have to be developed in the future."

This first congress was announced at the press conference held on 19 July at the Capitality.