By the late 1990s ETA had lost most of its support in broad sections of the population, and important ETA commandos had been smashed by the police. As a result, the organization changed its strategy. Together with other nationalist parties, including the PNV, the parliamentary representation of ETA, EH (Euskal Herritarrok — We Basque Citizens”), passed the so-called “Treaty of Lizarra” in the fall of 1998. This declaration contained the obligation to hold open, but exclusively Basque negotiations on the political future of the Basque Country. In connection with the signing of this treaty, ETA announced an unlimited, unconditional ceasefire.
Once the last remaining illusions regarding Aznar's willingness to negotiate Basque independence had disappeared, the nationalist parties declared in the fall of 1999 that the Statute of Guernica was revoked, since an autonomy arrangement would mean subordination to the Spanish central state. Following this, ETA announced the end of its ceasefire in November 1999.
The eleven deaths so far, the numerous injured persons and the so-called “street struggle” (kale borroka) in the Basque towns and cities have, above all, had two effects: the strengthening of the police apparatus and the complete joining of forces of nearly all political parties, trade unions and other social groups under the sanctimonious banner of the “fight against terrorism”.
Police presence was substantially increased in all parts of the country, particularly in the Basque Country itself, in Madrid and in the holiday resort areas on the Mediterranean coast and in Andalusia. Car and routine identity checks were intensified. At the beginning of August, the biggest police union started calling for an “integrated plan” to combat terrorism involving cooperation between the leading experts in the national police, the Guardia Civil, the Basque police Ertzaintza and the secret services.
While after nearly every new attack hundreds of thousands of people come onto the streets to demonstrate against ETA (after the assassination of PP local politician Carpena, 300,000 people demonstrated in Malaga, which has a population of 500,000), the government and the opposition are in agreement on the approach to the Basque question—and on many other issues besides that.
It is true that there are some minor differences between the PP and the PSOE, for instance on the question of whether the continuing terrorism of the ETA should be debated in parliament with the PNV. The PP insists that the PNV first formally withdraws from the Treaty of Lizarra, while the PSOE is prepared to have a debate with the other nationalist parties without the PNV taking this formal step. But there are no differences with respect to the ETA question.
In an interview with the newspaper El País, the new PSOE secretary general José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that he intends to lead a constructive opposition and has no problems with being in agreement with the government. This, said Zapatero, applies particularly to such important issues as the fight against terrorism, the regulation of immigration and the pending reform of the constitution. At a commemorative assembly for Juan Maria Jauregui on July 31, Zapatero insisted on observing the so-called “unity of all democrats” and declared that his party will increase its level of cooperation and loyal relations with the government.