It has emerged on the Path of Freedom, with which the real political division within the Abertzale Left has officially materialized. This shows that Euskal Herria is not very different from other countries, as opposed to what has been thought and claimed on so many occasions. This process also took place in Ireland, in a rather more crude environment, as those who separated from the Sinn Féin and from anger have continued the armed struggle.

Armed struggle is one of the main points that the media sector of Basque society has looked at. What will happen? At a public hearing in Bilbo, Askatasuna Bidean made it clear that there has been no talk about it, but it is suggested that it is not one of the priorities, as they pointed out that the Abertzale left has enough critical mass to organize itself differently. However, the presentation document clearly shows that they will not tell anyone how to fight or how not to: “On the path of the Basque Socialist State, in the struggle for the liberation of Euskal Herria, which each occupies its place, according to his desires and forces”.

An important battle of legitimacy is taking place within the Abertzale left, and Bilbao also supported the presentation, in which some 50 former prisoners and former refugees participated. The new group has strongly criticised those who dealt with the strategy of ending ETA’s armed activity, among other things. The official Abertzale Left – Sortu, LAB, Ernai – the desolation politically, essentially attributing betrayal and equating its nature with the Bergara Embrace, the surrender of Santoña or ETA pm, EIA and Euskadiko Ezkerra.

They are considered militants of the Basque National Liberation Movement, which the official Abertzale left has not long ago, and take as “embarrassing” the activity and direction of Sortu. They have also set a milestone in time: the symbolic beginning of the betrayal was the massive press conference in which the Abertzale left illegalized in Alsasua approved the “Mitchell Principles” in November 2009. Since then, they have considered that two tendencies have developed on the Abertzale left: “reformist, opportunistic and institutionalist on the one hand and revolutionary socialist abertzale on the other.” The first has been imposed on the institutionalization of the Abertzale left, while the second has opened the door to political struggle.

The criticisms that Askatasuna Bidean has made public are not new and have been socialized in different ways in recent years. The most well-known have been structured in the speech on amnesty, particularly through the Pro Amnesty and Anti-Repression Movement. The Forum of Revolutionaries or Ibilaldia emerged in 2013 and following the ideas of the historic ANV-EAE, the Basque Country Ekintza was established in August 2015. These are initiatives of a very diverse nature, but they have succeeded in completing the trajectory of sortu.

In recent years, Sortu has received a great deal of criticism, both by himself and by large sectors linked to popular movements. Some of them can be read in the reflections made by eleven young people in LARRUN, “Rethinking the Abertzale Left”, edited along with this issue. Sortu, LAB and ERNAI have wanted to direct the debate with the process abian, and it remains to be seen what the outcome of this process will be or to what extent the restructuring of the official Abertzale left, which is in deep crisis, will be achieved.

At the moment, these currents do not seem to have enough strength to overcome the hegemony of the Abertzale left, but they are competing in many areas and as dissent materializes, the electoral struggle cannot be ruled out either. It is not the priority area of the Paths of Freedom, but it has also been open from one side to the other.