Publication: Crónica de una muerte anunciada: el discurso de ETA frente a los atentados del 11-M (2004) y la negociación política con el Partido Socialista Obrero Español (2005-2006)
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2022
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Universidad de Los Andes
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Abstract
La disolución definitiva de ETA en mayo de 2018 ha favorecido la aparición de numerosas publicaciones académicas que abordan el universo discursivo, sobre todo, de víctimas de la sociedad civil o de destacadas personalidades del País Vasco. Así, a través de un ejercicio de historia oral se reconstruye de manera original e inédita el discurso de ETA frente a dos acontecimientos que aceleraron su desaparición: los atentados del 11-M de 2004 y la negociación fallida, entre 2005 y 2006, con el Gobierno de Rodríguez Zapatero. El análisis de cómo estos dos acontecimientos fueron percibidos por la militancia de ETA implica la utilización de nueve entrevistas en profundidad realizadas a destacados integrantes del grupo armado. Estas fueron realizadas a finales de 2018, pocos meses después de la desaparición de ETA y sirven para reivindicar la importancia de los testimonios y las fuentes orales. Hasta el momento son muy pocos los trabajos que han analizado este tipo de fuentes, especialmente, por la dificultad de acceder a ellas. De esta manera, y a pesar de que el enfoque de la historia oral no ha sido ajeno a la comprensión de ETA, la disolución del grupo terrorista no ha sido abordada desde el testimonio único de sus integrantes. Un aspecto que en las siguientes páginas ocupa un lugar central, al profundizar en cómo sus antiguos integrantes perciben y relatan los acontecimientos que marcaron el fin de ETA. Todos los entrevistados coinciden en señalar cómo los atentados del 11-M representan un punto de inflexión en la pérdida de anclajes en la sociedad vasca. Aun cuando eta pudo disponer de un escenario de diálogo apenas un año después, una posición radical, acrítica, y sin una hoja de ruta clara, perceptible en los relatos de los entrevistados, contribuyó igualmente a desacreditar a un grupo terrorista que solo cinco años después anunciaba el fin de sus acciones armadas.
The definitive dissolution of ETA in May 2018 has prompted the appearance of numerous academic publications that mainly focus on the discursive universe of victims of civil society or prominent personalities from the Basque Country. Thus, through an oral history exercise, it seeks to reconstruct ETA discourse in an original and unprecedented way in the face of two events that accelerated its disappearance: the attacks of March 11, 2004, and the failed negotiation with the Government of Rodríguez Zapatero between 2005 and 2006. The analysis of how these two events were perceived by ETA activists is based on nine in-depth interviews conducted with prominent members of the armed group. These were carried out at the end of 2018, a few months after the disappearance of ETA, and serve to vindicate the importance of testimonies and oral sources. So far, very few studies have used this type of source, mainly due to their difficult accessibility. Thus, although the oral history approach has not been unfamiliar to the understanding of ETA, the dissolution of the terrorist group has not been studied based solely on the testimony of its members, an aspect that occupies a central place in the following pages, when taking a closer look at how former members perceive and relate the events that marked the end of ETA. All the interviewees coincide in pointing out how the 11-M attacks represent a turning point that resulted in the loss of anchors in Basque society. Even though ETA was able to arrange a dialogue scenario just a year later, a radical, uncritical position, without a clear roadmap—which is perceptible in the interviewees’ accounts— contributed to discrediting a terrorist group that only five years later announced the end of their armed actions.
The definitive dissolution of ETA in May 2018 has prompted the appearance of numerous academic publications that mainly focus on the discursive universe of victims of civil society or prominent personalities from the Basque Country. Thus, through an oral history exercise, it seeks to reconstruct ETA discourse in an original and unprecedented way in the face of two events that accelerated its disappearance: the attacks of March 11, 2004, and the failed negotiation with the Government of Rodríguez Zapatero between 2005 and 2006. The analysis of how these two events were perceived by ETA activists is based on nine in-depth interviews conducted with prominent members of the armed group. These were carried out at the end of 2018, a few months after the disappearance of ETA, and serve to vindicate the importance of testimonies and oral sources. So far, very few studies have used this type of source, mainly due to their difficult accessibility. Thus, although the oral history approach has not been unfamiliar to the understanding of ETA, the dissolution of the terrorist group has not been studied based solely on the testimony of its members, an aspect that occupies a central place in the following pages, when taking a closer look at how former members perceive and relate the events that marked the end of ETA. All the interviewees coincide in pointing out how the 11-M attacks represent a turning point that resulted in the loss of anchors in Basque society. Even though ETA was able to arrange a dialogue scenario just a year later, a radical, uncritical position, without a clear roadmap—which is perceptible in the interviewees’ accounts— contributed to discrediting a terrorist group that only five years later announced the end of their armed actions.