Gamazada
The Gamazada is the popular reaction in Navarre in 1893 and 1894 to when the Spanish finance minister of the Liberal Party under Prime Minister Sagasta, Germán Gamazo, tried to suppress the fueros that had been established in the fueros after suppression in Spain|Compromise Act] of 1841. It caused a huge uproar among the people and institutions of Navarre, with demonstrations and petitions.
Events
The protests to protect the Basque fueros started in Vitoria-Gasteiz, and continued in Biscay, these in Navarre, and finally in San Sebastián, the latter ending tragically in 1893. The finance minister, Germán Gamazo, proposed to increase the annual contributions of the four provinces with fueros, authorizing the Government, via Article 17 of the Budget Law, to apply the same contributions and taxes in Navarre and the other Basque provinces as in all other Spanish provinces. The Government of Navarre made a formal protest on May 16 and was seconded by city governments and the press. The delegation sent to Madrid to hold talks with Sagasta and Gamazo ended in failure. The liberal newspaper El Eco de Navarra convened marches in the five merindades of Navarre on May 28. On the following Sunday, another large march was organized in Pamplona.In this climate, a two-day episode of armed revolt also occurred, starting during the night of June 1–2, led by Sergeant José López Zabalegui, head of the detachment from the Infanta Isabel Fort in Puente [La Reina – Gares|Puente la Reina], along with two other soldiers and two residents of Obanos and another two from Puente la Reina. Upon shouting "¡Vivan los fueros!", they headed to Arraiza, where they were arrested by forces of the Civil Guard and the army. The sergeant and the two residents of Obanos managed to escape and reach the French border. This event was condemned by El Eco de Navarra, describing it as a "demented act carried out by seven fools", and the Navarrese Government assured the Civil Governor, Andrés García Gómez de la Serna, that this was an isolated incident and that they "unanimously reject violent acts".
The Government, after the altercations in Puente la Reina, did not authorize the march for June 4, 1893. Nevertheless, more the 17,000 people gathered, of all classes and political parties. The Foral Body, accompanied by "distinguished personalities of the sister provinces" went to the Civil Government, located at the time in the Alzugaray House on Paseo de Sarasate, where they were received by Governor García Gómez de la Serna. It was the largest demonstration that had ever been organized in Navarre at the time. The Navarrese Diputación handed out pamphlets asking for "order" and a "unanimous attitude of protest against Article 17 of the Budget Bill. No inappropriate shouting or displays!" However, the economic claims were not the only ones being made, as shown by the different slogans:
- The Diputación: Paz y Fueros .
- The Carlist Circle: Viva Navarra. Vivan los Fueros and Viva Navarra y sus Fueros .
- Republican Circle: La autonomía es la vida de los pueblos .
- City of Estella-Lizarra: Vivan las provincias Vasco-Navarras |Gernikako arbola] to end the protest. More than 120,000 signatures were collected against the bill, at a time when Navarre had a population of only 300,000. They were presented to Queen Maria Christina on June 7.
However, since Minister Gamazo had to resign because of the uprising in Cuba and was substituted by Amós Salvador Rodrigáñez, the law never went into effect. The latter presented a similar bill in 1895, but it never even reached the floor for debate.
The defense of the fueros strengthened the union with the other three Basque provinces with similar arrangements, Biscay, Araba, and Gipuzkoa, giving them a common cause and reviving the slogan Coat of arms of [Basque Country |Laurak bat], the "union of the four", or "four-in-one".