When people in Euskal Herria are appointed who do not correctly dominate the Basque Country to be a member of the government, director of EITB or rector of the UPV/EHU, if there is no social and political scandal, it means that something is wrong and that the situation is really serious. And the government that does so will not use Euskaraldia again to justify its malpractice?

These days we have just heard the words of the Minister of Justice and French of Quebec, Simon Jolin-Barrette: “In the history of a nation there are moments that mark collective consciousness. This year we are celebrating one of those moments. 43 years ago, in 1977, the National Assembly of Quebec approved the Charter of the French Language.”

As Simon Jolin-Barrette explains, “43 years ago Quebec was French-speaking, today it is and should be in the future. It’s an unnegotiable principle,” despite the fact that in Quebec there are many who use English. Collective rights take precedence over individual rights. So far we have not met any president who said that in Euskal Herria about the Basque country. When will we recognize that Euskal Herria was and should be Basque until two centuries ago and that this is unnegotiable?

The leader of Quebequés admits it, in the year 101. The Language Law has changed their lives in many ways. “The French language has allowed Quebec to assert itself, sign up aloud and keep it online,” as the French became a tool to ensure social cohesion. French has not been a problem in Quebec, on the contrary, it has been the axis of its identity.

In Euskal Herria, it was also during the Franco regime. Freedom, the Basque and Basque political project were the same in that thought and in that political struggle. One of the main contributions of ETA, 60 years ago, to the Basque People, that is, when it replaced the previously dominant Basque Fede-Erdaldun hegemonic of the PNV by Laizism-Socialist Vasco, the Basque Country and the Basque culture became the axis of our future liberating project. Where are we now? They want us to believe that Euskera is a problem for cohesion, for the accumulation of forces and also for independence, some even from home.

But forty-three years have passed and Quebec’s profile and needs have changed, also in the Basque Country. Please note that the globalisation of markets and the knowledge economy, the democratization of higher education, the interconnectivity of populations, the right to the transformation and organisation of workplaces… all influence the future of our own languages.

Like many other Quebequeses, the new data on the French language is of concern to the Government of Quebec. Progress has been made, but the slowdown comes, as in Euskal Herria. That's why they want to renew 101. Language Law. And in the Basque Country? What are we in the three administrative spaces that divide our country? We have made progress in Ipar Euskal Herria. In Hego Euskal Herria the process of normalization has slowed down, and we are going back on the use… In all this, what has to do is to see that the Basque Country is not yet official in the whole of the Basque Country and, therefore, does not have a national policy of reeuskaldunization. This is the political and social context of this second edition of Euskaraldia.

The French minister stressed that “over the past 40 years, talking about Quebec has meant talking about the native language, about our language. This French language, which is our hallmark of identity and which is at the heart of our identity over the centuries, allows us to say who we are and, above all, who we want to be around the world. This French language is the symbol of the affirmation of a culture that has been built with the contributions of all”. The thesis written years ago by sociolinguist Txepetx comes to mind: A future for our past (a future for our past). Is this reflected in the hegemonic political and social thinking of the current Basque Country? We do not believe. Unfortunately, today we look more like Ireland than Quebec. They got the Republic of Ireland, but they lost their language. Following Xalbador's thought, they got the body, but they lost the heart.

In Basque Country, everything is changing, and fast. We will have to review and change for the future what we were doing so far, both the strategic vision, as well as the legislation, the language policy, the behaviour of the public and private administration and the personal and collective linguistic practice of the Basques. Euskaraldia can help us, as we said in the book of Commitment 100 of the Free Territory, uniting personal commitment (Ahobizi or Belarriprest) with collective commitment (Arigune).

No one will save us if we do not save ourselves. As we said 41 years ago at EHE, now too we have to say, the time has come for the second revolt of the Basques. Let's make Euskal Herria Arigune!

* Joseba Álvarez, militant of the Left Abertzale