Arnaldo Otegi cast the antifascist struggle as a live political task, invoking those who opposed fascism during the Civil War nearly 90 years ago. He called for a broad front against the far right and urged voters who had not previously backed EH Bildu to support the independentist left.
He made the appeal at EH Bildu’s annual march in Bilbao on 14 November, during the opening weekend of campaigning for Spain’s general election on 29 November. The march set off shortly after 17:00 at La Casilla and ended at the Indalecio Prieto station in Abando, along a route of about 1,500 metres. Organizers estimated that more than 40,000 people took part. Otegi said no other campaign event would draw as many people and argued that the turnout showed the coalition’s ability to mobilise supporters.
The demonstration was EH Bildu’s main campaign mobilization and took place under the slogan “Euskal Herria defendatu.” The event’s campaign messaging also used Badatorren Euskal Herria defendatu (Defender la Euskal Herria que viene). The march continued in the rain, with EH Bildu flags and campaign messages along the route.
Otegi, EH Bildu’s secretary general and lead candidate for Congress in Bizkaia, brought the march to a close. The leading banner was carried by Otegi, Oskar Matute, Idurre Bideguren, Mikel Otero, Sonia Jacinto and Eneka Maiz, candidates for Congress or the Senate from different territories. Pamplona mayor Joseba Asiron and former CUP leader David Fernández also took part. Otegi said the coalition should lead an antifascist bloc in Euskal Herria and emerge from the election decisive and stronger.
Since the pandemic, the independentist left has held a march in Bilbao each year, usually in November, to bring supporters together. This year’s event was also the central public mobilization of EH Bildu’s campaign. The campaign opened with parties holding launch events in different Basque cities: the PNV, EH Bildu and Vox began in Vitoria-Gasteiz, while the PSE-EE, PP and Podemos Euskadi held events in Bilbao. Campaign coverage described the contest as shaped by bloc politics and appeals for the “useful vote.”
Otegi said EH Bildu would be decisive in preventing a possible government led by the PP and Vox. He presented the election as an opportunity for the independentist left to move from opposition to government, but did not set out a specific policy proposal in the remarks reported here. The coalition was seeking to increase its representation in Congress. Some polls cited in campaign coverage projected up to eight seats, including the seat it was consolidating in Navarra.
The historical reference was linked to Bilbao’s Iron Belt, built in 1936 to defend the city against the Francoist advance. In recent months, EH Bildu has invoked that episode to argue for a broad front against the far right.
The campaign also took a different turn at a PP rally in Badalona, where Feijóo put Catalonia at the centre of Spain’s reconstruction, as covered in the Badalona rally report. In Bilbao, Otegi ended his speech by saying EH Bildu aimed to govern rather than manage resignation. The PP, meanwhile, urged voters to consolidate support behind its candidates and argued that backing the PNV would help keep Pedro Sánchez in power.
