The Navarrese People's Union (Spanish: Unión del Pueblo Navarro; Basque: Nafar Herriaren Batasuna), abbreviated to UPN, is a regional conservative[2] political party in Navarre, Spain. Until 2008, it was a fraternal party of the People's Party (PP), acting as the latter's Navarrese branch.
Navarrese People's Union Unión del Pueblo Navarro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Javier Esparza |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Split from | Union of the Democratic Centre |
| Headquarters | Pamplona |
| Youth wing | Navarrese Youth |
| Membership (2016) | 3,850[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right[4] to right-wing[5] |
| National affiliation | People's Party (1991–2008) |
| Regional affiliation | Navarra Suma (2019–2022) |
| Colours | Blue, red, white |
| Congress of Deputies | 1 / 5 Navarrese seats |
| Spanish Senate | 1 / 5 Navarrese seats |
| Parliament of Navarre | 15 / 50 |
| Town councillors | 281 / 1,889 |
| Website | |
| www.upn.org | |
UPN is a strong opponent of Basque nationalism,[6][7] and supports a Spanish regional identity for Navarre with a marginal Basque component and separate from the Basque Country. The party's regionalist tradition dates back to the nineteenth century, in which the Spanish nation is seen to be based on 'regional liberties'.[8]
During the 1991–2008 period, UPN acted as the Navarrese branch of the PP, which, in return, did not run at Navarrese elections as a part of their agreement. Since 1991, UPN is the largest party in elections for the regional Parliament of Navarre[9] and was the ruling party of the Autonomous Community from 1996 to 2015.
History
edit
The UPN was a Navarrese splinter group of the Union of the Democratic Centre. Its president, Miguel Sanz, had been the head of the Navarrese government from 1996 to 2015.
Juan Cruz Alli was elected president of the Navarrese government for UPN, but later disagreed with the orientation the party was taking and founded another party Democrats' Convergence of Navarre.
Pacts with the PP
editAs part of an agreement held over the 1991–2008 period, the PP did not run in any elections in the Navarra Congress Electoral District and People's Party of Navarre (founded in 1989) was dissolved, while UPN were on the same national ticket as the PP at the Spanish national elections. The national Deputies and Senators elected as part of UPN's ticket were part of the PP Parliamentary Group. Also, UPN members were eligible –and indeed chosen– for national leadership positions in the PP.
The pact was terminated in October 2008 as a result of UPN refusal to vote alongside the PP in the Spanish Congress of Deputies to reject the government budget presented by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's cabinet. One of the two MPs elected under the UPN-PP ticket refused to follow UPN's instructions and a number of UPN elected representatives defected this party to join the PP.[10][11][12] The new situation led to the PP setting up its own office in Navarre.[13]
The two parties ran separate lists in the 2011 regional elections in Navarre with the UPN receiving 34.5% against the 7.3% that the PP received. On 8 September 2011, the two parties reached an agreement to renew their alliance for the 2011 Spanish general election.[14] Under the agreement, the UPN would take the first and third places on the list for Congress while the PP would have the second. For the Senate, the UPN would have the top two places on the list, with the PP taking the third place. A major factor in the new agreement was the two parties desire to prevent Bildu from winning enough seats to form a parliamentary group.[14]
Electoral performance
editParliament of Navarre
edit| Parliament of Navarre | ||||||||
| Election | Leading candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Jesús Aizpún | 40,764 | 15.99 (#3) | 13 / 70
|
— | Opposition | ||
| 1983 | Balbino Bados | 62,072 | 23.34 (#2) | 13 / 50
|
 0
|
Opposition | ||
| 1987 | Juan Cruz Alli | 69,419 | 24.50 (#2) | 14 / 50
|
 1
|
Opposition | ||
| 1991 | 96,005 | 34.95 (#1) | 20 / 50
|
6
|
Minority | |||
| 1995 | Miguel Sanz | 93,163 | 31.35 (#1) | 17 / 50
|
 3
|
Opposition (1995–1996) | ||
| Minority (1996–1999) | ||||||||
| 1999 | 125,497 | 41.37 (#1) | 22 / 50
|
5
|
Minority | |||
| 2003 | 127,460 | 41.48 (#1) | 23 / 50
|
1
|
Coalition | |||
| 2007 | 139,122 | 42.19 (#1) | 22 / 50
|
1
|
Coalition (2007–2009) | |||
| Minority (2009–2011) | ||||||||
| 2011 | Yolanda Barcina | 111,474 | 34.48 (#1) | 19 / 50
|
3
|
Coalition (2011–2012) | ||
| Minority (2012–2015) | ||||||||
| 2015 | Javier Esparza | 92,705 | 27.44 (#1) | 15 / 50
|
4
|
Opposition | ||
| 2019 | Within NA+ | 15 / 50
|
0
|
Opposition | ||||
| 2023 | 92,392 | 28.00 (#1) | 15 / 50
|
0
|
Opposition | |||
Cortes Generales
edit| Cortes Generales | |||||||
| Election | Navarre | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congress | Senate | ||||||
| Vote | % | Score | Seats | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
| 1979 | 28,248 | 11.17% | 3rd | 1 / 5
|
— | 0 / 4
|
— |
| 1982[a] | 76,255 | 25.59% | 2nd | 2 / 5
|
1
|
1 / 4
|
1
|
| 1986[b] | 80,922 | 29.63% | 2nd | 2 / 5
|
0
|
1 / 4
|
0
|
| 1989[c] | 92,216 | 33.18% | 1st | 3 / 5
|
1
|
3 / 4
|
2
|
| 1993[c] | 112,228 | 36.13% | 1st | 3 / 5
|
0
|
3 / 4
|
0
|
| 1996[c] | 120,335 | 37.12% | 1st | 2 / 5
|
1
|
3 / 4
|
0
|
| 2000[c] | 150,995 | 49.89% | 1st | 3 / 5
|
1
|
3 / 4
|
0
|
| 2004[c] | 127,653 | 37.60% | 1st | 2 / 5
|
1
|
3 / 4
|
0
|
| 2008[c] | 133,059 | 39.22% | 1st | 2 / 5
|
0
|
3 / 4
|
0
|
| 2011 [d] | 126,516 | 38.21% | 1st | 1 / 5
|
1
|
2 / 4
|
1
|
| 2015[e] | 102,244 | 28.94% | 1st | 2 / 5
|
1
|
1 / 4
|
1
|
| 2016[e] | 106,976 | 31.90% | 1st | 2 / 5
|
0
|
1 / 4
|
0
|
| 2019 (Apr) | Within NA+ | 2 / 5
|
0
|
1 / 4
|
0
| ||
| 2019 (Nov) | Within NA+ | 2 / 5
|
0
|
1 / 4
|
0
| ||
| 2023 | 51,764 | 15.27% | 4th | 1 / 5
|
1
|
1 / 4
|
0
|
Notes
edit- ^ Electoral alliance with the People's Alliance and People's Democratic Party.
- ^ Electoral alliance with the People's Coalition.
- ^ a b c d e f Electoral alliance with the People's Party.
- ^ Electoral alliance with the People's Party, which won 1 deputy and 1 senator.
- ^ a b Electoral alliance with the People's Party, which won 2 senators.
References
edit- ^ "Afiliados - UPN". Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
- ^ a b Contemporary Spain. p.302. Authors - Christopher J Ross, Bill Richardson and Begona Sangrador-Vegas. Third edition. Published in 2008 by Hodder Education. Published in 2013 by Routledge, in Oxon, UK.
- ^ a b c d Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Navarre/Spain". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Navarre in a pickle". El País. 20 February 2014.
- ^ Murua, Imanol (6 May 2014). "Basque separatists inch along, watching Catalonia closely". The Conversation.
- ^ Oscar Barberà Aresté: Los orígenes de la Unión del Pueblo Navarro (1979-1991). Papers: revista de sociología, ISSN 0210-2862, ISSN-e 2013-9004, Nº 92, 2009. Pages 143-169.
- ^ UPN-PP pide el voto para "frenar al nacionalismo vasco y hacer que Navarra avance". El Español, 12/12/2015.
- ^ Safran, William; Máiz, Ramón (2000). Identity and Territorial Autonomy in Plural Societies. London: Routledge. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7146-5027-2.
- ^ [1] Archived October 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2][permanent dead link]
- ^ [3][permanent dead link]
- ^ [4][permanent dead link]
- ^ RTVE.ES / EUROPA PRESS - MADRID (2008-10-22). "El PP rompe su pacto con UPN por no apoyar su enmienda a los Presupuestos del Gobierno". RTVE.es. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
- ^ a b UPN encabezará la coalición con el PP, El Mundo, 8 September 2011