Navarrese People's Union

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Navarrese People's Union
Unión del Pueblo Navarro
LeaderJavier Esparza
Founded1979
Split fromUnion of the Democratic Centre
HeadquartersPamplona
Youth wingNavarrese Youth
Membership (2016)3,850[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[4] to right-wing[5]
National affiliationPeople's Party (1991–2008)
Regional affiliationNavarra Suma (2019–2022)
ColoursBlue, 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

The Navarrese People's Union (Spanish: Unión del Pueblo Navarro), 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.

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]

Logo of the party until 2017

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[edit]

As 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[edit]

Parliament 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]

  1. ^ Electoral alliance with the People's Alliance and People's Democratic Party.
  2. ^ Electoral alliance with the People's Coalition.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Electoral alliance with the People's Party.
  4. ^ Electoral alliance with the People's Party, which won 1 deputy and 1 senator.
  5. ^ a b Electoral alliance with the People's Party, which won 2 senators.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Afiliados - UPN". Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c d Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Navarre/Spain". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Navarre in a pickle". El País. 20 February 2014.
  5. ^ Murua, Imanol (6 May 2014). "Basque separatists inch along, watching Catalonia closely". The Conversation.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ UPN-PP pide el voto para "frenar al nacionalismo vasco y hacer que Navarra avance". El Español, 12/12/2015.
  8. ^ Safran, William; Máiz, Ramón (2000). Identity and Territorial Autonomy in Plural Societies. London: Routledge. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7146-5027-2.
  9. ^ [1] Archived October 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ [2][permanent dead link]
  11. ^ [3][permanent dead link]
  12. ^ [4][permanent dead link]
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ a b UPN encabezará la coalición con el PP, El Mundo, 8 September 2011

External links[edit]