Valencian Nationalist Bloc
Encyclopedia
The Valencian Nationalist Bloc ( or BNV; ˈblɔg nasionaˈlista valensiˈa) is a Valencian nationalist party in the Valencian Country, Spain
. It is the largest party in the Coalició Compromís
.
The Bloc's main aim is, as stated in their guidelines, "to achieve full national sovereignty for the Valencian people
, and make it legally declared by a Valencian sovereign Constitution allowing the possibility of association with the countries which share the same language, history and culture". The second part refers to the other Catalan-speaking lands, known as Països Catalans.
. That group of parties was headed by Unitat del Poble Valencià (UPV, founded in 1982) which is the main predecessor of the current Bloc, together with other smaller parties, often locally based, such as the Valencian Nationalist Party (1990) or Alcoi Nationalists (1994).
The Bloc has historically defined itself as a left-wing party. This position shifted to a centrist or center-left position in the late nineties, as part of a strategy to appeal to a broader audience.
Then, for the 2007 Valencian regional elections
to the Corts Valencianes
, the Valencian regional parliament, the Bloc returned to a more left wing agenda as it ran in coalition with EUPV, the Valencian branch of Izquierda Unida, a coalition whose main member is the Communist Party (PCE). This coalition operated under the name of Compromís pel País Valencià. Compromís' results (seven seats) did not achieve their goal of growing and forming a front alongside the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE) to oust the Partido Popular
from the regional government, but allowed Bloc to enter the autonomous Parliament (two seats) and secured EUPV representation as well (the remaining five seats).
However, a schism occurred soon after within the EUPV between the two more nationalist and social democratic MPs on the one side and the more communist and less nationalist remaining three members on the other. The former MPs were finally expelled from EUPV and went on to create a new party Iniciativa del Poble Valencià IdPV (Valencian People Initiative). In turn, they allied themselves with the Bloc, thus effectively gaining a majority for the nationalists in the coalition while creating a climate of frigid relations between EUPV and Bloc for the remainder of the term making the renewal of the pact for future polls unlikely in the short term.
For the 2008 General election
the Bloc ran in coalition with other left wing, regional and green parties, as Iniciativa del Poble Valencià. However despite the fact that the list was headed by a sitting deputy, Isaura Navarro
, their vote fell relative to 2004.
For the 2011 Valencian Regional elections
, they stood in an electoral alliance with Iniciativa del Poble Valencià and other Green
parties in a new coalition called Coalició Compromís
. This coalition won a seat in the national parliament at the 2011 Spanish General Election.
.
Their first participation in this coalition was in 1987, under Bloc's "Unitat del Poble Valencià" (UPV) former name. According to the coalition pact, UPV was alloted two out of the six MPs. Internal tensions within the coalition and, especially, within the UPV, led to its disbanding. These events were the start of the process which led to the demise of UPV and its refoundation as BLOC.
Still, both parties (under new names, Bloc for UPV and Esquerra Unida del País Valencià, EUPV, for United Left) agreed to repeat their coalition for the 2007 regional elections, in order to secure if only joint representation, something which was at stake if they participated by themselves. This renewed coalition, called Compromís pel País Valencià, indeed achieved representation with seven MPs, two of which corresponded to Bloc according to the coalition pact rules. Internal dissent plagued again the coalition, this time predating especially on its EUPV component, which has split since.
In 2011, the BLOC created a coalition Coalició Compromís
, running alongside with Iniciativa del Poble Valencià (a scission of United Left) and the Green, both partners in the previous coalition. Coalició Compromís got 6 seats in the Valencian Parlement in the 2011 elections, consolidating itself as the third political force in the Land of Valencia.
province.
the Bloc allied with the Catalonia based Convergence and Union and the Majorca Socialist Party
with Bloc leader Enric Morera third on the list. The coalition won two seats, however Morera briefly became a Euro MP in April 2004
The Bloc joined the GalEusCa coalition in the 2004 European Parliament election
, with other nationalist parties from the Spanish state such as the Basque Nationalist Party
, the Catalan Convergence and Union, the Galician Nationalist Bloc, and the Mallorcan Socialist Party. GalEusCa got two seats, neither of them for the BNV.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is the largest party in the Coalició Compromís
Coalició Compromís
Coalició Compromís , literally Coalition Commitment, is an electoral alliance in the Valencian Community in Spain. The parties involved include the Valencian Nationalist Bloc, the left-wing Valencian People's Initiative, and ecologist parties...
.
The Bloc's main aim is, as stated in their guidelines, "to achieve full national sovereignty for the Valencian people
Valencian people
The Valencians are an ethnic group or nationality whose homeland is the Valencian Community, which is a historical region in eastern Spain. The official languages of Valencia are Catalan , and Spanish ....
, and make it legally declared by a Valencian sovereign Constitution allowing the possibility of association with the countries which share the same language, history and culture". The second part refers to the other Catalan-speaking lands, known as Països Catalans.
History
The Bloc was formed in 1998 as a result of the federation of several parties in a coalition formed for the 1995 regional electionsElections to the Corts Valencianes, 1995
The Elections to the Corts Valencianes, 1995 were the fourth democratic elections to the Corts Valencianes, the Valencian regional parliament, since the Spanish transition to democracy and were held on 28 May of that year...
. That group of parties was headed by Unitat del Poble Valencià (UPV, founded in 1982) which is the main predecessor of the current Bloc, together with other smaller parties, often locally based, such as the Valencian Nationalist Party (1990) or Alcoi Nationalists (1994).
The Bloc has historically defined itself as a left-wing party. This position shifted to a centrist or center-left position in the late nineties, as part of a strategy to appeal to a broader audience.
Then, for the 2007 Valencian regional elections
Elections to the Corts Valencianes, 2007
The Elections to the Corts Valencianes, 2007 were the most recent democratic elections to the Corts Valencianes, the Valencian regional parliament and were held on 27 May of that year...
to the Corts Valencianes
Corts Valencianes
The Corts Valencianes are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of Benicarló in Valencia; however it can meet at any location in Valencian territory. The Corts has its origins in bodies...
, the Valencian regional parliament, the Bloc returned to a more left wing agenda as it ran in coalition with EUPV, the Valencian branch of Izquierda Unida, a coalition whose main member is the Communist Party (PCE). This coalition operated under the name of Compromís pel País Valencià. Compromís' results (seven seats) did not achieve their goal of growing and forming a front alongside the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(PSOE) to oust the Partido Popular
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
from the regional government, but allowed Bloc to enter the autonomous Parliament (two seats) and secured EUPV representation as well (the remaining five seats).
However, a schism occurred soon after within the EUPV between the two more nationalist and social democratic MPs on the one side and the more communist and less nationalist remaining three members on the other. The former MPs were finally expelled from EUPV and went on to create a new party Iniciativa del Poble Valencià IdPV (Valencian People Initiative). In turn, they allied themselves with the Bloc, thus effectively gaining a majority for the nationalists in the coalition while creating a climate of frigid relations between EUPV and Bloc for the remainder of the term making the renewal of the pact for future polls unlikely in the short term.
For the 2008 General election
Spanish general election, 2008
Legislative elections for the Spanish Cortes Generales were held on March 9, 2008. The elections were for 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies, and the 208 directly elected seats in the upper house, the Senate, determining the Prime Minister of Spain...
the Bloc ran in coalition with other left wing, regional and green parties, as Iniciativa del Poble Valencià. However despite the fact that the list was headed by a sitting deputy, Isaura Navarro
Isaura Navarro
Isaura Navarro Casillas is a Spanish politician and former member of the Spanish Parliament. She holds a law degree obtained from the University of Valencia and specialises in business and labour law with a focus on worker's rights, due to obtaining the relevant qualifications in 1997...
, their vote fell relative to 2004.
For the 2011 Valencian Regional elections
Elections to the Corts Valencianes, 2011
The 2011 elections to the Corts Valencianes were the eighth elections to the Corts Valencianes, the regional parliament for the Spanish autonomous community of the Valencian Community. The elections were held on 22 May 2011 to elect the 99 members of the Corts in three electoral districts...
, they stood in an electoral alliance with Iniciativa del Poble Valencià and other Green
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
parties in a new coalition called Coalició Compromís
Coalició Compromís
Coalició Compromís , literally Coalition Commitment, is an electoral alliance in the Valencian Community in Spain. The parties involved include the Valencian Nationalist Bloc, the left-wing Valencian People's Initiative, and ecologist parties...
. This coalition won a seat in the national parliament at the 2011 Spanish General Election.
Representation
The Bloc only runs elections held in the Valencian Community. Including its Unitat del Poble Valencià former era, until 2011 it had historically polled at around 4% of the votes in elections for the Valencian regional parliament, with significantly lower figures when running at Spanish general elections in Valencia.Coalitions
Bloc has been represented at the Valencian parliament three times, twice by means of a coalition with the Valencian branch of United LeftUnited Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
.
Their first participation in this coalition was in 1987, under Bloc's "Unitat del Poble Valencià" (UPV) former name. According to the coalition pact, UPV was alloted two out of the six MPs. Internal tensions within the coalition and, especially, within the UPV, led to its disbanding. These events were the start of the process which led to the demise of UPV and its refoundation as BLOC.
Still, both parties (under new names, Bloc for UPV and Esquerra Unida del País Valencià, EUPV, for United Left) agreed to repeat their coalition for the 2007 regional elections, in order to secure if only joint representation, something which was at stake if they participated by themselves. This renewed coalition, called Compromís pel País Valencià, indeed achieved representation with seven MPs, two of which corresponded to Bloc according to the coalition pact rules. Internal dissent plagued again the coalition, this time predating especially on its EUPV component, which has split since.
In 2011, the BLOC created a coalition Coalició Compromís
Coalició Compromís
Coalició Compromís , literally Coalition Commitment, is an electoral alliance in the Valencian Community in Spain. The parties involved include the Valencian Nationalist Bloc, the left-wing Valencian People's Initiative, and ecologist parties...
, running alongside with Iniciativa del Poble Valencià (a scission of United Left) and the Green, both partners in the previous coalition. Coalició Compromís got 6 seats in the Valencian Parlement in the 2011 elections, consolidating itself as the third political force in the Land of Valencia.
At municipalities
Support for the Bloc is higher at the local level, with 384 councillors and about 20 mayors. Thus, it is the distant third major Valencian political party at the municipal level, far from the major parties, PP and PSPV-PSOE. The party is nearly absent in a number of areas in the Valencian Community (virtually all of those comarcas which are Spanish speaking only) while it is a major political agent in others, namely in its historic stronghold at the contiguous area formed by the northern most part of Alicante province and the southern most part of ValenciaValencia (province)
Valencia or València is a province of Spain, in the central part of the Valencian Community.It is bordered by the provinces of Alicante, Albacete, Cuenca, Teruel, Castellón, and the Mediterranean Sea...
province.
International representation
For the 1999 European Parliament electionEuropean Parliament election, 1999 (Spain)
The European Parliament election of 1999 in Spain was the election of the delegation from Spain to the European Parliament in 1999.-References:...
the Bloc allied with the Catalonia based Convergence and Union and the Majorca Socialist Party
Majorca Socialist Party
The Majorca Socialist Party is a political party in Majorca, Spain. The PSM defines itself as socialist, environmentalist, and Catalan nationalist, from a Majorcan point of view....
with Bloc leader Enric Morera third on the list. The coalition won two seats, however Morera briefly became a Euro MP in April 2004
The Bloc joined the GalEusCa coalition in the 2004 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2004 (Spain)
The European Parliament election of 2004 in Spain was the election of Members of the European Parliament representing Spain constituency for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election...
, with other nationalist parties from the Spanish state such as the Basque Nationalist Party
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
, the Catalan Convergence and Union, the Galician Nationalist Bloc, and the Mallorcan Socialist Party. GalEusCa got two seats, neither of them for the BNV.