Mertxe Aizpurua

Mertxe Aizpurua Arzallus (born 18 January 1960) is a Spanish journalist and politician from the Basque Country who currently serves as Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain.

In this Basque name, the first surname is Aizpurua and the second is Arzallus.
Mertxe Aizpurua
MP
Aizpurua in June 2023
Member of the Congress of Deputies
Assumed office
14 May 2019
ConstituencyGipuzkoa
Mayor of Usurbil
In office
2011–2015
Preceded byXabier Mikel
Succeeded byXabier Arregi
Personal details
Born
María Mercedes Aizpurua Arzallus

(1960-01-18) 18 January 1960
Usurbil, Basque Country, Spain
Political partyEH Bildu
OccupationJournalist

Early life

Aizpurua was born on 18 January 1960 in Usurbil, Basque Country.[1][2] She has a Bachelor of Information Science degree.[1]

Career

Aizpurua was editor of the Egin newspaper and Punto y Hora de Euskal Herria magazine.[3] In September 1983 Punto y Hora published an editorial on Basque separatist "soldiers" and an interview with a brother of an ETA separatist killed whilst handling an explosive device in Tafalla, Navarre.[4] In October 1984 the Audiencia Nacional convicted Aizpurua of "supporting terrorism" and sentenced her to one year in prison and barred her from working as a journalist for one year.[5][6][7]

Aizpurua was a journalist at the Gara newspaper since its establishment in 1999 and was a director from 1999 to 2004.[8][9] In June 2001 she was interrogated by Audiencia Nacional judge Baltasar Garzón after Gara published an interview with two ETA leaders.[10] The case against Aizpurua was finally dropped in March 2004.[11]

Aizpurua is currently director of Gara's 7K Sunday newspaper.[9][12] She is the author of Argala: Pensamiento en Acción : Vida y Escritos (2018), a biography of assassinated ETA leader Argala.[13]

Aizpurua contested the 2011 local elections as a Bildu electoral alliance candidate in Usurbil and was elected.[14] She was mayor of Usurbil from 2011 to 2015 and president of Udalbiltza (an association of municipalities from the greater Basque Country) from 2012 to 2015.[1][9] She contested the 2019 general election as an EH Bildu electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Gipuzkoa and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.[15][16]

Personal life

Aizpurua is married and has a son.[1]

Electoral history
Electoral history of Mertxe Aizpurua
Election Constituency Party Alliance No. Result
2011 local[14]UsurbilBildu1Elected
2019 general[15][16]Province of GipuzkoaEH Bildu1Elected

References
  1. "Members: XIII Legislatura ( 2019-Actualidad) - Aizpurua Arzallus, Mertxe" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  2. "Udalbiltzako lehendakariak ez du hautetsi segituko Usurbilen". Berria (in Basque). Andoain, Spain. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  3. "Presentación de 'Gara', el diario que sustituirá a 'Egin' en 1999". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. 30 November 1998. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. "Index". Index on Censorship. London, U.K. 14 (1): 64. February 1985. doi:10.1080/03064228508533847.
  5. Yoldi, José (4 October 1984). "Hoy será juzgada la directora de la revista 'Punto y Hora'". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. Yoldi, José (16 October 1984). "Condenada por apología del terrorismo la directora técnica de 'Punto y Hora'". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  7. Clark, Robert P. (1990). Negotiating with ETA: Obstacles to Peace in the Basque Country, 1975-1988. Reno, U.S.A.: University of Nevada Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-87417-162-8.
  8. "Egoera berezia zen, ilegalizazioa zela eta egoera berezia zelako pentsatu nuen ezin nuela ezezkoa eman". Ihintza (in Basque). Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  9. "Mertxe Aizpurua, cabeza de lista de EH Bildu por Gipuzkoa". Naiz (in Spanish). San Sebastián, Spain. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  10. Lázaro, Julio M. (16 June 2001). "'Gara' quemó las cintas de la entrevista a ETA". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  11. "Mertxe Aizpurua eta Martxelo Otamendi auzi honekin ez auzipetzea erabaki du Garzonek". Berria (in Basque). Andoain, Spain. 29 March 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  12. "Mertxe Aizpurua Espainiako Diputatuen Kongresurako EHBilduren Gipuzkoako zerrendaburua izango da". Usurbildarrak aurrera (in Basque). 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  13. Aizpurua, Mertxe (2018). Argala: pensamiento en acción : vida y escritos. Astero. ISBN 9788494959509.
  14. "Consulta de Resultados Electorales: Municipales / Mayo 2011 - Mun. Usurbil" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  15. "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central - Elecciones generales. Proclamación de candidaturas" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 79. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 2 April 2019. p. 34288. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  16. "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central - Elecciones generales. Resultados" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 129. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 30 May 2019. p. 57377. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 30 May 2019.

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