The young people of the Basque left consummated their boycott of the municipal corporation of Estella and prevented the procession from continuing along the Bajadita del Puy. They had warned the mayor with a song full of insults and death threats, where they made express reference to the first day of the festivities, the day of the Giants, which is celebrated after the religious ceremony in the basilica, where the musical theme said: “Bajadica del Puy ikusico gara -we’ll see you at the Bajadica del Puy- Pereda ice cream all over your face.” (Pereda, referring to one of the city’s ice cream parlours).
This year the abertzales They aborted one of the most popular and participatory events of the festival by forming a human barrier so that they made a corridor so that the dance groups and the bagpipers could pass through, but they formed a human wall to prevent the corporation from passing through there. The mayor of the city, led by the councillor Marta Ruiz de Alda (UPN), called off the march twenty minutes later, as advised by the security forces, who could not guarantee the safety of either the councillors or themselves.
Both the mayor and the councillors of PSN and PP agreed that all of this was orchestrated by the Basque left, which had also brought people from outside to join in the harassment of the mayor. Previously, the Basque nationalists had demonstrated against the prohibition of the mayor of Estella to move the txoznas – taverns that are set up during regional festivals in the Basque Country and Navarre -, from the Basque left about 50 meters from the square, in addition to the suppression of the barracks of the Peña la Bota, which led to the broadcast of a musical theme where they threatened Ruiz de Alda with “Get rid of her, kill her, bitch,” and threatened to burn down City Hall.
The leader of UPN, Cristina Ibarrolahe stated that “in Navarre we cannot get used to or normalise constant disrespect” and warned that one cannot speak of “coexistence and respect when that coexistence and respect is for one person and not for others,” he pointed out.
The president of the PP of Navarra, Javier Garciaindicated through his account on “X” that “these acts go against all democratic normality and put the Basque left back where it has always been.” For this reason, he conveyed his “absolute condemnation” and his support for the municipal corporation.
Also, the president of Navarra, the socialist Maria Chivite, He assured that disrespect cannot have “a place in the festivities.”
First arrest
The Municipal Police of Estella arrested this Thursday morning the singer of Raimundo the Basket-makerandThe local group that has acknowledged the authorship of the song that, in reference to the txoznaswho made threats and insults against the city’s mayor, regionalist Marta Ruiz de Alda, and was denounced by UPN.
The detainee, according to the Diario de Navarra, is a 27-year-old resident of Estella and one of the voices heard in a recording with instrumental accompaniment, He will have to answer for an alleged crime of threats and serious insults. He could face a sentence of six months to two years in prison for the crime of threats and a fine that he must pay daily for the amount established and over a period of six to 14 months. The Municipal Police, which is investigating the case, does not rule out further arrests.
To LThe first arrest also involved the help of the Civil GuardIt was the Municipal Police who called the group’s singer by phone to appear at the town hall, which he did with a lawyer. He was later released.
The song is titled “Beef d’Alda” (beef is cow meat in English) in reference to Ruiz de Alda and has been defended by its creators as a composition with ““evidently comical and ironic tone” that is not “a sign of hatred nor does it imply a desire or incitement to carry out violent acts during the holidays” despite the fact that in their lyrics they say “kill her”, “let’s burn down the Town Hall”, “beat up the fascist, risky sport”. “Fun. Oh, how cool. The knuckles are coming now”, etc. What’s more, in a statement, they warn that The song does reflect the feeling of “anger and helplessness that exists in a large part of Estella’s youth” but the accusations of sexism and death threats respond to a “clear lack of reading comprehension skills.”