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Basques turn backs on indepedence

Alex Dunham
Alex Dunham - [email protected]
Basques turn backs on indepedence
Two teenagers wave a Basque flag during a concert in the northern Spanish Basque city of Andoain. Photo: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP

More than half of all Basques are against the idea of independence from Spain, a new study shows.

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The last monthly snapshot of Spain by high-profile think tank CIS shows that Basques are rejecting the independence idea in ever greater numbers

Almost a quarter of Basque people surveyed by CIS said they were “generally against” the region becoming independent from Spain, while another quarter stated they were “totally against the idea”.

Those who did favour a separate Basque nation made up less than 36 percent. Of that group, 17.5 percent “were completely in favour” and 18 percent “more in favour than against”.

When asked about their identity, 38 percent of Basques stated they felt “just as Spanish as Basque”, 23 percent said they were “more Basque than Spanish”, and 23 percent replied they were “only Basque”.

Only 3 percent said they felt “more Spanish than Basque”.

As for the problems that worry the Basque population the most, terrorism had fallen from the top spot on the list after many years.

This could be because of an end to ETA’s attacks on civilians and politicians.

Unemployment (68 percent) and the economy (20 percent) were the Basque's biggest concerns, which is similar to the results found by CIS for Spaniards in other regions of the country.

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