The new Sortu Congress comes at a good time, as it is ten years since the cessation of ETA’s armed activity and, consequently, the renewal of the Abertzale Left’s strategy. The result of the struggle and the political work carried out by the Basque national liberation movement between 1959 and 2011 is clear: to bring to failure the strategies developed by both states for assimilation. A success without a doubt.

But after 50 years of struggle, we got the need to change the strategy on the road to the Basque Socialist Republic, and that's what we did in 2011. Here we have to place the reflections of Abian and Zohardia. And today, ten years later, what is the outcome of the struggle and the work of this decade?

To do so, we must respond sincerely to a number of questions. What is the Basque independence process after this last decade? Has the popular will for independence been strengthened? It doesn't seem, at least most studies say otherwise. What about the Basque socialist process? What is the struggle for socialism and the anti-capitalist alliance? Have we built anything beyond the Basque trade union majority? It doesn't appear anywhere. What about the territorial unit of the Basque Country? In Navarre and Iparralde progress has undoubtedly been made, but from the point of view of territorial unity, have the Basques approached us or have we moved away in recent years? Where is it and what view does cross-border cooperation between the three areas have? Strategic partnerships between the three areas are not visible under any circumstances. And how is the process of Euskaldunization? We all agree that in recent years we have been in a phase of slowdown and/or regression, although progress has been made in some places and areas. Perhaps the Basque feminist process is the only one that has really been strengthened in recent years, thanks to the work and the applauding struggle of the Basque feminists, no doubt.

There is no doubt that this people has made progress over the last 60 years, but how is the result of the last ten years? Unfortunately, I think it is lower than we would like and, above all, than we would need. Many say that the bottle is half full or half empty, but perhaps the answer is another: that the bottle is perforated, and if it is perforated, time is also against us...

I trust that the analysis of the situation of the two axes established in Abian and Zohardia will clarify something on the subject: What are the institutional struggle and the building of a country? In order to develop the new strategy properly, we should promote balanced development between these two axes, is that the balance of the last ten years from this point of view?

We know that we will not be able to achieve our objectives only from the institutions, but also from the national construction. Both are necessary. But have we both developed them to the same extent or has there been a significant imbalance in recent years? Maybe that's the hole in our bottle ...

The result of the work carried out at institutional level during this decade has been very satisfactory. EH Bildu and EH Bai are a clear mirror of that. But what is the result of the construction of a country? Where is the popular momentum? What are the unifying vision and the Basque orientation of the hundreds of sectoral struggles in Euskal Herria?

Sortu's situation is the same, weakened and subordinated to EH Bildu and EH Bai. We have unbalanced our strategy. The institutional environment, elections and institutional dynamics have swallowed almost everything. Everything is done in favor of the coalitions EH Bildu and EH Bai, weakening and adding the reality of popular construction and that of Sortu, until we limit our ideological vision and our political practice.

In this situation, and in the Sortu Congress, our priority will be to strengthen the sortu, prioritizing the proposal of reinforcing the popular line of action. In order to compensate for the strategic imbalance, we must give a new strength to the weaker.

We have to resurrect the Sortu, the ideological mirror of the Abertzale Left, and with it, the axis of weakened national construction. In this political situation it is essential to act unilaterally and, therefore, to deepen the path of disobedience. Because without doing the first, the second will not be possible.

And to bring this point of view to the Sortu Congress, a group of militants from the Left Abertzale have gathered to make their contribution “linking to the earth”. The aim is for the proposal that takes this view to be presented to all the members of the Abertzale Left, debated and voted on. To do so, it is necessary to register before September 15 and register on the sortu page to participate in the Congress.

I've joined that idea, because if we need to strengthen the Abertzale Left and the process of national and social liberation, we need the two lanes, we need to plug the hole in the bottle. Join us and join us in the debate at the Sortu Congress.

*Joseba Álvarez is a member of the left abertzale