ETA's Early Years: Formation and Strategy (1959-1970)

First Actions and Repression (1959-1961)

From 1959 to 1968, ETA built up an organizational infrastructure and relied on the theoretical tactic of symbolic violence. In 1961, it attempted its first action: On July 18, an unsuccessful attempt was made to derail a series of trains carrying Francoist sympathizers to a rally in San Sebastian to celebrate the anniversary of the military uprising. The Basques were arrested, tortured, and sentenced to jail terms. Others were forced into exile in the French state.

First Assembly and Strategic Shift (1962)

In 1962, the first organizational assembly was held. It was formally agreed that the organization would develop along the lines of an armed national liberation movement. A new wave of industrial protest had gripped the Basque Country, and the changing fabric of Basque society – including the large number of non-Basque workers now involved in the Basque Country’s labour movement – forced a critical rethinking of ETA’s commitment to social, as well as cultural needs.

Repression and Reorganization (1963-1964)

Between 1963 and 1964, the Spanish state managed to identify and crush the group. ETA learned that only a highly clandestine organizational structure would last, and in the assembly of 1964, the group reorganized along these lines. A new generation of young activists enlisted in ETA. They initiated a series of ideological and organizational changes: the group definitively broke with the EAJ-PNV and defined their organization as anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist.

Fifth Assembly and Factionalism (1966-1967)

By the fifth assembly, held in 1966 and 1967, different factions emerged within ETA:

• Cultural activists: Emphasized the need to pursue a national struggle as a way of safeguarding and promoting Basque culture, especially the Basque language.
• Social militants: Focused on ETA’s struggle to liberate the working classes from the industrial oligarchy of the state.
• Anti-colonial faction: Viewed ETA’s struggle as a war of national liberation from colonial oppressors, namely the Spanish state.

In the fifth assembly, the new-look ETA isolated the remaining moderates in the group and made a commitment to open confrontation with representatives of the Spanish state.

Early Confrontations (Spring 1967)

From the spring of 1967 on, a series of confrontations took place between ETA activists and the Civil Guard. Several ETA members were wounded during these confrontations.

State Repression and Recruitment (1968-1970)

Between 1968 and 1970, Spanish security forces neutralized ETA’s leadership and organization through a wave of mass arrests and incarcerations. Although the group’s military wing was inoperative, the repressive tactics radicalized the Basque population, leading to significant recruitment.