Baiona Pact: Basque Opposition Unity Against Franco's Regime

1. Introduction

• Type of Text: Primary source. A manifest; a historical and political text.

• Author: Collective (Basque political and trade union organizations in exile in France: PCE, PNV, UGT, Izquierda Republicana, ANV, Euskadi Mendigozale Batza, PSOE, ELA, Republicans, CNT).

• Addressee: Primarily all citizens of the Basque Country, and indirectly the Franco Regime. A public text.

• Objective: To reaffirm allegiance to the Republic, support the Basque Government in exile, oppose the dictatorship, and prevent the restoration of the monarchy.

• Location and Date: Published in Bayonne (France) on March 31, 1945, during early Francoism, while the Basque Government was in exile in France, a period of repression and hope for restoring the Republic in Spain if the Allies won World War II.

2. Content

Analysis begins with clarifying key concepts. "Government of the Basque Country" refers to the government formed after the Statute of Autonomy, which went into exile after the civil war. "José Antonio Aguirre" was the PNV leader, Mayor of Getxo, and appointed Lehendakari.

The text's central theme is to publicize the signatories' agreements regarding the Basque Government in exile. Main ideas include trust in the exiled government, respect for the people's will, the pact's future upon democracy's restoration, and unity with anti-Franco parties. We expand on each idea:

The text starts with a brief introduction of the pact's protagonists: "the political and trade union organizations of the Basque Country that fought against Francoism" and were in French exile.

The ideas are detailed in five points:

1. Ratification of the union of forces against Franco, which formed the first Government of Euskadi under the Basque Statute. José Antonio Aguirre was the first Lehendakari.

2. The Basque Government in exile is recognized as the legitimate representative of the Basque people, receiving confidence and support "provided that they collect their political and social aspirations." This statement masked tensions between nationalists and socialists.

3. Commitment to respect and defend the wishes of the Basque people once democratic normality is restored. The context is 1945, with the imminent triumph of Western democracies in World War II. The Basque Government in exile, like the Spanish and Catalan Governments, believed the victors would end the Franco regime.

4. They are established as a consultative body of the Basque Government, though this never fully materialized due to Cold War divisions.

5. They commit to continuing the fight against Franco's government and its institutions, like the Falange, and against any monarchic restoration, though they omit mentioning Carlism.

3. Context

Precedents

The Baiona Pact's antecedents lie in the Spanish Civil War and the Basque Government's composition. The Statute of Autonomy for the Basque Country was approved in October 1936. When Francoists took Bilbao, nationalist and republican troops fled to Santander. The nationalist battalions and the PNV signed the Santoña Pact with the Italians, allowing Gudaris battalions to escape, though Franco later disregarded it.

The civil war's end saw a massive exile to France and other European countries, with over 150,000 people, including 32,000 children, displaced.

The imposition of the Franco regime began with the "black years" of fear, executions, repression, exile, forced expropriations, and labor camps. Economically, it was the era of autarchy, a self-production system to which the Basque Country had to adapt. The Basque Country lost its autonomy; the Statute of Autonomy was suppressed, and the economic agreement for Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia was revoked, as these provinces were deemed traitors, unlike Navarre and Araba, which supported Franco.

Present Moment

Opposition to the Franco regime was marked by hope and frustration.

Internal opposition faced severe challenges initially. The regime pursued any opposition relentlessly, using the 1939 law of political responsibilities and dubious legal actions.

From the 1940s, internal opposition began to organize through workplace strikes, notably the 1947 general strike, and calls for abstention in the general referendum law.

Political forces in exile were disunited, affecting the Basque area.

Once disagreements were resolved, José Antonio Aguirre worked to maintain unity among Basque parties to support the Basque Government in exile and to secure loyalty to the Republic from republican and left-wing parties, should the republican system be reinstated after Franco's regime, leading to the Baiona Pact.

As World War II ended, hopes rose among the opposition and the Basque Government in exile that the Allies would end Franco's regime for its support of the Axis powers. The Basque Government had moved from Paris to New York in 1941 after Paris fell. José Antonio Aguirre intensified contacts with Americans, hoping for collaboration to overthrow Franco, while in Europe, contacts among anti-Franco forces also increased.

Juan de Borbón signed an agreement in Lausanne (Switzerland) to establish a constitutional monarchy in Spain if he restored a democratic system.

The result of these movements was the Baiona Pact, aiming to show loyalty to the Republic and the Basque Government in exile, and to prepare for a democratic system's reintroduction in the Basque Country.

Consequences

The 1950s brought frustration due to the international recognition of Franco's regime, discouraging the opposition in exile. The Allies won the war, but the Cold War and Franco's anti-communist stance led to his regime's acceptance internationally, especially by the United States. The Basque Government's attempts in exile failed.

The greatest frustration came between 1953 and 1955 with the Concordat with the Vatican, treaties with the United States, and Spain's entry into the UN. The Basque Government expelled the communists, and disagreements arose within the PNV. New opposition movements emerged in the Basque Country, gradually abandoning the official opposition in exile. New internal opposition arose in the labor movement and within nationalism, leading to radical groups like EKIN and later the terrorist group ETA.

4. Conclusion/Importance of the Text

The Baiona Pact endorsed the Basque Government "as a legitimate representation of the Basque people." Its third point agreed: "To respect and defend, once democratic normality has been restored, the wishes of the Basque people who will freely express them." The key was prioritizing the recovery of democratic freedoms.

The Pact was signed by representatives of the PNV, ANV, PCE, UGT, Euzko Mendigoizale Batza, IR, CCSE (PSE), Federal Republican Party, CNT, and ELA-STV. Its repercussions were limited as the pact soon broke down due to strong disagreements among its signatories.

It represented an attempt to unite the opposition to the regime abroad, but this was frustrated in the 1950s due to the international recognition of Franco's regime. This led to the emergence of new opposition groups in the Basque Country, within the workers' movement and Basque nationalism, including the EKIN movement and the radical ETA group.