You organized a rally on Saturday against the Tapia Law. They have made two major criticisms of the law. The first from environmentalism, linked to the development model.

The Tapia Act has recently come to a strong opposition to the mega-projects that the Basque Government has been promoting for a long time. These projects – wind and photovoltaic parks, TAV, industrial greenhouses… – pose a clear threat to biodiversity, the damage they would cause is irreversible. Furthermore, they do not change the development model, and that is the origin of the social, ecological and energy crisis that we are experiencing. The Tapia Law promotes the continuity of an economic, social and cultural model based on the consumption and exploitation of natural resources, as if they were not finite. The system that uses growth as a thermometer development is condemned to social confrontation between elites and popular classes.

The types of projects to be imposed by the Tapia Act also pose a threat to food sovereignty. They industrialize agricultural crops and increase pressure on farmers who are unprotected by the Council and the UAGA. The Tapia Law allows the usurpation of natural and agricultural spaces without any guarantee, in order to privatize and industrialize. The first to become aware of this have been the directly threatened administrative meetings, which have been able to respond and organize against mega-projects. The Basque Government and the Council of Álava did not expect that reaction, because they are accustomed to acting without regard to the voice of the peoples.

In fact, the other pillar of his criticism relates to the model of governance and democracy. Why is it a Tapia Law to the detriment of democracy?

In order to prevent municipalities and administrative boards from opposing these infrastructures, the Government has established rules that are superior to the competences of local authorities: the mere declaration of a project as a Project of Higher Public Interest allows for its direct processing, without any other considerations. The model of organization and participation of the peoples who have remained for centuries has been annulled. The Tapia Law allows to impose projects on the municipalities. It avoids decisions that have so far been binding in the field of territorial development and leaves it to an absolutely mercantilist and interested criterion.

On the other hand, the law has been passed avoiding debate and participation, the whole process has been done at the expense of the people. The absolute majority of the PNV and the PSE have used the roll, thus strengthening the consensus that has existed so far in this area.

The energy transition is on everyone's lips. But you and the Government say that the ways of understanding this transition are contradictory. What?

The energy transition promoted by the Basque Government is a fraud. Energy companies are the ones that prioritize and organisations follow these criteria. The basis is to give continuity to the private model of energy exploitation, so that private companies are implanted in the territory to appropriate the space. None of the projects presented represents a real alternative to the process of decarbonisation of energy, since fossil fuels are essential for the development of these enormous infrastructures.

The promoters of the wind or photovoltaic megaparches pretend that all of our energy consumption can be electrified, and that's not the case. Fossil fuels cannot be replaced by renewable energy plants. The shortage of materials needed for the development of these technologies and the limitations on the use of renewable energy, especially in the field, industry and transport.

What do you propose?

We are proposing the relocation of energy and food production. This allows adapting production to the real needs of people, enabling production, management and local development. We believe that socialising energy management would ensure everyone’s access and avoid the speculation and dependence that we suffer from the large transnational corporations. A model that is more effective and respectful of the environment, closer to each territory and to the people living in it. It would allow a cohesive structuring of the country, which is currently threatened.

The Tapia Act was passed in December by the Gasteiz Parliament. But now there's an adaptation going on, which has been named Tapia Lege plus or Tapia Lege 2.0. What do you think of it?

This aberration, the Tapia Law, in version 2.0, would also open the door to private projects. These projects come from the hand of the European recovery funds, of course, they want to own this aid. It is logical to think that the benefit or social commitment of all is not among their priorities.

The revised version makes it easier for the Basque Government to put private interests before any other. A clear example is seen with Iberdrola, who publicly calls us “silly”, and at the same time takes advantage of the network of clients that has been woven with the institutions.

Among the popular movements, the ecologist has been the only one who has stood against the Tapia Law, but the impact of the law goes further. Do you see the need to expand the focus?

We are a popular and assembly platform Araba Bizirik. We are born in rural areas to respond to a number of threats: wind macro-power plants, photovoltaic plants, rail overlap in the plains or the establishment of intensive industrial farming based on greenhouses. That is why the movement is linked to the custody of the territory and the sovereignty of the councils.

It transcends the idea of environmentalism to defend a life linked to the earth, which has allowed the preservation of ancient natural spaces. We must maintain and improve this heritage for future generations.

We value communal property as a guarantor of the conservation of these environments, hence Araba Bizirik is one of its hallmarks of identity. We call on all the people of Euskal Herria to join in our struggle to maintain the systems of property and governance linked to our country, which we see at risk today.