The report on the population of the territory recently presented by the Navarra Federation of Municipalities and Councils is giving much to talk. In addition to confirming several trends so far – which many small towns are being evicted – it has brought other worrying data that have not been seen: Also in some historic towns (Estella, Sangüesa, Tafalla...) that are important for the provision of services to citizens in the rural area of Navarra, the census has decreased since 2007.

The report was published in the journal Concejo and its president, the mayor of Lodosa, Pablo Azcona (independent), was presented on 17 April in the Committee on Rural Development, Environment and Local Administration of the Parliament of Navarra.

The population of Navarre has continued to grow in the last decade (+37,000), although much more modestly – 100,000 people before the crisis came to work in the territory in a few years. The problem is the process of metropolization. Azkona explained that in these ten years the region of Pamplona and the municipalities in its “belt” have continued to experience strong growth – 51% of the population has risen to 54% – while the “rural” areas of Navarra are in the process of depopulation: “We are talking about very small towns and they are at risk of disappearing,” he added.

In particular, the Pyrenees, the region of Sangüesa and western Tierra Estella are the territories where the highest percentage concentration of bleeding occurs: there are municipalities that have lost 30% of their population. Piedramillera, located at the end of Montejurra, presides over the project, with 38% of the population moving from 60 to 37 in recent years. In this ranking perhaps there are more known: Roncal (-25%), Burguete (-21%), Uxue (-21%)...

Decline of regional historical capitals

In these mountainous areas, the problem of depopulation has long been complicated and are being organised to carry out their demands; the new generations of the Pyrenees, for example, have begun to work alternatives to earn a living (we have it in number 2.565 of ARGIA).

But the desert extends beyond the mountain, if we look at the last report. The number of inhabitants has fallen in large areas of the Middle Zone and the demographic collapse has already reached the capitals of the counties. Tafalla has suffered the biggest decrease: The number of people living in the area is 477 fewer. Estella, Sangüesa, Mendavia, Lumbier... In all these municipalities the standard has decreased: “It’s a string that doesn’t end, fewer and fewer people, fewer services,” said the president of the Federation of Municipalities and Councils.

This phenomenon has also been felt in the Ribera. The population is increasingly concentrated in the Ribera de Tudela, the second largest city in Navarre with over 35,000 inhabitants, and many towns of Falces, Valtierra, Cascante, Fitero, Cortes and medium-sized have lost demographic weight.

In some cases the reason lies in urban development and in policies. For example, Barañain has lost 1,700 inhabitants, “the entire fully urbanized municipality has exhausted its possibilities for growth,” the report states. In other cases it is inevitable to think about the spectre of deindustrialization: In Sakana, dozens of important plants have been closed in recent years – unemployment tripled with the crisis – which may result in the decline of the population of Alsasua, Olazti, Irurtzun and similar villages since 2007.

Balancing vs centralizing

But there are also structural reasons, Gaindegia has compared the data for the whole of the Basque Country taking into account the official sources of the Spanish and French states, and has also detected important incidents on the coast of Lapurdi, Zuberoa and Álava, related to the eviction of rural areas.

The coordinator of the Basque Observatory Imanol Esnaola explained in Berria that these are the elements of the already established territorial structure – for example, the axes of the A-1 motorway in Álava, has taken over the resources of that province – and that the current debates to establish the criteria for territorial planning have much to do with it: balancing or centralising.

The “map” of the local administration of Navarre, undetermined since 1990, is in the process of being approved after the final retouches to the preliminary draft law. It provides for eleven counties and three sub-counties, and in most of them existing communities and consortia would disappear, but these regions would maintain the subsidiary principle of proximity for the provision of services.

At the parliamentary hearing, Pablo Azcona called for the existence of minimum infrastructures in all municipalities: “We are talking about the right of all Navarros to basic services and minimum standards of quality of life.” Will the new map of Navarre serve to halt the demographic deterioration and the economic and cultural disaster that they are suffering?