:59:03
caused by the abolition
of the "fueros" in 1875-76
:59:07
and, above all,
the 40 years of Francoism.
:59:10
In order to understand
the Basque Country today,
:59:13
you must bear in mind the economic
and social transformation after 1880
:59:19
mainly due to the iron mines
in Vizcaya
:59:23
which are no longer in existence.
:59:25
The profits were truly incredible.
:59:29
I can't think of any similar case
of such intense growth
:59:32
anywhere else in Europe
at that time.
:59:35
There were up to 20,000 people
working in the mines.
:59:38
Iron and steel foundries
were set up,
:59:40
along with shipyards
and a merchant navy.
:59:43
More than 35% of the population
of Vizcaya, for example,
:59:46
were not born in Vizcaya.
:59:50
The Euskadi Socialist Party
:59:51
dates from the end
of the 19th century,
:59:53
as part of PSOE, the Spanish
Socialist Workers' Party.
:59:59
Basque Nationalism appeared,
and not by chance in my opinion,
1:00:02
in Bilbao in 1894,
1:00:08
when Arana said: I will no longer
call myself a "fuerista",
1:00:12
I'm going to call myself
a nationalist.
1:00:14
The "fueros" are sovereign laws
of the Basque Country.
1:00:18
What the abolition of the "fueros"
really meant
1:00:20
was the loss of the Basque Country's
historic rights.
1:00:23
Sabino Arana's speech was racist,
1:00:26
like almost all the political
speeches at that time.
1:00:29
They believe that the aggression
brought in by the immigrant
1:00:34
is going to "de-euskerize"
the country. It's a blasphemy.
1:00:37
The sky of Euskadi
is being polluted
1:00:40
by the arrival of people
who speak Spanish, who blaspheme.
1:00:44
Our salvation is to form
an independent state
1:00:48
because then we can solve
all our problems,
1:00:51
economic, ideological,
biological or religious.
1:00:59
From its foundation
to the present day,