Spanish Alternative

{{Infobox political party

| country = Spain

| name = Spanish Alternative

| native_name = Alternativa Española

| colorcode = {{party color|Spanish Alternative}}

| logo = 250x300px

| general_secretary = Rafaél López-Diéguez Gamoneda

| foundation = 21 April 2003

| ideology = Conservatism{{Sfn|Ávila López|2015|p=85|ps=: "Likewise, the conservative political party AES shares similar goals for the country"}}
National conservatism
Social conservatism
Centralism
National Catholicism
Neo-fascism{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/11/24/videos/1574597343_907527.html|title=Activistas de Femen irrumpen en un acto en conmemoración de la muerte del dictador Franco en Madrid|newspaper=El País|date=24 November 2019}}
Neo-Francoism{{cite magazine|last1=Rodríguez Jiménez|first1=José Luis|author-link1=José Luis Rodríguez Jiménez |year=2012|title=Historia de un fracaso y ¿de una refundación?: de la vieja a la nueva extrema derecha en España (1975-2012)|url=http://campus.usal.es/~revistas_trabajo/index.php/0213-2087/article/viewFile/9907/10273|format=pdf|magazine=Studia historica. Historia contemporánea|language=Spanish|publisher=Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca|volume=30|page=264|issn=0213-2087|quote=Todo aquello que recuerda la guerra civil o la dictadura de Franco ha sido abandonado, o ha quedado en manos de un neofranquismo residual, a extinguir, como el de Alternativa Española, última reencarnación de los herederos de FN}}
Euroscepticism
Spanish nationalism

| religion = Catholicism

| position = Far-right{{in lang|es}} [http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/01/29/52e848ceca4741ef438b4571.html La extrema derecha, huérfana de Blas Piñar], El MundoBarbero González, I. (2014). «[https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4724091 Historia contemporánea de la alteridad en el Derecho de extranjería]». Revista de Estudios Políticos (Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales) (164): 115-150. ISSN 0048-7694. p. 124Alonso, S., & Rovira Kaltwasser, C. (2015). [https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/712607/Alonso_2014%20Spain%20No%20Country%20for%20the%20Populist%20Right.pdf Spain: No country for the populist radical right?]. South European Society and Politics, 20(1), 21-45.Ramírez, A. M. (2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=zQE_DAAAQBAJ Movilización contra educación para la ciudadanía y los derechos humanos. Castilla-la Mancha, Castilla y León y Madrid (Vol. 390)]. Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. p. 113.

| european =

| europarl =

| international =

| national = ADÑ–Spanish Identity

| colours = {{Color box|{{party color|Spanish Alternative}}|border=darkgray}} Grey

| seats1_title = Mayors[http://www.alternativaespanola.com/toma-posesion-el-primer-alcalde-de-aes Toma posesión el primer alcalde de AES]. Alternativa Españo, 15/06/2019.

| seats1 = {{Composition bar|1|8131|hex={{party color|Spanish Alternative}}}}

| seats2_title = Local Councils

| seats2 = {{Composition bar|4|67121|hex={{party color|Spanish Alternative}}}}

| headquarters = C/ Bravo Murillo, nº 50, 1º B, 28003, Madrid

| website = [http://www.alternativaespanola.com/ www.alternativaespanola.com]

}}

Spanish Alternative ({{langx|es|link=no|Alternativa Española}}, AES) ({{audio|Es-es alternativa española.ogg|listen}}) is a far-right political party in Spain. It describes itself as "social Christian and cross-sectional".{{cite news|date=6 March 2008|title=Alternativa Española defiende "valores sociales basados en las raíces cristianas"|url=http://www.laverdad.es/alicante/20080306/provincia/alternativa-espanola-defiende-valores-20080306.html|work=La Verdad|language=Spanish|access-date=20 October 2017|quote=Como «una opción transversal de orientación social cristiana» define la propuesta de Alternativa Española (AES) su portavoz nacional, Francisco Torres García, que participó en sendos actos electorales en Elche y Alicante}} Its Secretary General is the lawyer and businessman Rafael López-Diéguez, former member of the far-right New Force, active formation during the Transition and managed by his father-in-law, the historic leader Blas Piñar, who was named honorary president of AES, a post which he held until his death in January 2014.Casals i Meseguer, 2009, p. 252. «Finalmente, del ámbito fuerzanuevista surgió también una nueva formación en el 2003, Alternativa Española [AES], que se desvinculó oficialmente de discursos nostálgicos. Su líder, Rafael López-Diéguez (yerno de Piñar), definió así su meta: «[AES] debería ser el partido que obligara al PP a no deslizarse hacia ese centro en el que confluyen todos y por lo tanto carente de toda ideología y principios, salvo el de ‘todo vale’»»

History

Spanish Alternative was founded with the support of Fuerza Nueva Editorial; it was in its registered office where the party had its first headquarters. AES was founded in 21 of April 2003. According to its General Secretary, AES aroused "because the PP betrayed its Catholic voters and the Spanish people as a whole". It maintained contacts with the party Navarrese and Spanish Right (DNE).{{Cite news|last=López|first=Almudena|date=2012-05-20|title=Reportaje {{!}} El pueblo se subleva contra el alcalde|language=es|work=El País|url=https://elpais.com/politica/2012/05/18/actualidad/1337369966_693499.html|access-date=2021-06-04|issn=1134-6582}}

Ideology

AES holds its program declaration and its public action in four principles: the "defense of life" (opposition to any type of abortion), the "pro-family", "Christian roots" and the "unity of Spain". When the party has to place itself on the political spectrum, AES defines itself as a cross-sectional party that is positioned on the right in moral matter and on the left in social and economic matter.{{cite magazine|last1=Vaquero Oroquieta|first1=Fernando José|year=2005|title=Entrevista a Rafael López–Dieguez: la conquista de un espacio|url=http://www.arbil.org/97vaqu.htm|magazine=Arbil|volume=97|issn=1697-1388|access-date=20 October 2017|quote=Si tuviera que definir AES con los estereotipos de la sociología política actual, estaríamos posicionados a la derecha del PP en materia moral y a su izquierda en materia social y económica. En definitiva, somos un partido transversal}} Thus, AES considers homosexual adoption to be an attack on the family and is against same-sex marriages and even same-sex civil unions.{{cite web|url=http://www.diarioya.es/content/aes-y-el-fracaso-esta-es-la-carta-que-han-recibido-los-militantes-de-aes|title="AES y el fracaso": Esta es la carta que han recibido los militantes de AES|access-date=20 October 2017|work=Diario ya|language=es|date=29 March 2015|quote=Pero pese a nuestro interés de aunar esfuerzos y el rechazo de Vox a construir una alternativa, la unión por el momento desafortunadamente se ha vuelto imposible al haber confirmado recientemente el Sr. Abascal que se reafirma sobre la legitimidad de las uniones homosexuales, para nosotros uno de los principios no negociables}} It has been described as akin to "fundamentalist Catholicism".Alonso y Kaltwasser, 2014, pp. 3-4. «At the same time, there is also a traditional extreme right in Spain, represented by myriad Falangist parties, by the openly Francoist party Fuerza Nueva (New Force), founded by Blas Piñar in 5 1976 and which experienced relative—though ephemeral—success in 1979, and by the new party Alternativa Española (Spanish Alternative). These parties share a common worldview that is clearly totalitarian»Büttner, 2011, p. 184. «Parties like Alternativa Española and Movimiento Católico Español link up with the Catholic-fundamentalist spectrum»

Spanish Alternative takes a hard line on the Autonomic State by proposing to abolish the autonomous communities.[http://www.alertadigital.com/2012/09/10/entrevista-de-ad-a-francisco-torres-portavoz-de-aes-o-ponemos-fin-al-estado-de-las-autonomias-o-ellas-acaban-con-espana/ Entrevista de AD a Francisco Torres, portavoz de AES: “O ponemos fin al Estado de las Autonomías o ellas acaban con España”], Alerta Digital To the party's mind, the State of Autonomies is unviable and unsustainable because it constitutes an economic catastrophe, because it has been the main contributory factor to the present crisis, because it promotes the breach of the national integrity and cohesion in its continuing development and because it entails unequal rights among Spaniards depending on their place of birth or residence.{{cite web|url=http://www.alternativaespanola.com/galerias/docs/13371357832645.pdf|title=¿Está usted de acuerdo con la supresión de las Autonomías?|author=Alternativa Española|website=alternativaespanola.com|language=Spanish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227061032/http://www.alternativaespanola.com/galerias/docs/13371357832645.pdf|archive-date=27 December 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=20 October 2017|quote=En la certeza de que el actual Estado de las Autonomías no sólo es inviable sino que además resulta insostenible; que constituye una lacra económica; que ha sido elemento coadyuvante fundamental -como factor propio- de la actual crisis, que en su permanente desarrollo impulsa la ruptura de la integridad y la cohesión nacional, que conlleva la desigualdad de derechos entre los españoles en función de su lugar de nacimiento o residencia}} However, AES would keep the provincial privileges of Navarre and the Basque Country.{{Cite web|title=AES - Alternativa Española|url=http://www.alternativaespanola.com/programa_2.php|access-date=2021-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227054755/http://www.alternativaespanola.com/programa_2.php|archive-date=2013-12-27}}

Although AES doesn't use symbols of Franco's regime, the party has been described as neo-Francoist as well as being considered to be inheritor of New Force.

Election results

In the municipal elections of 2015, the party gained five town councillors. Two of these councillors were elected in Las Labores, and one each were elected in Ampuero, Bárcena de Pie de Concha and Villanueva de la Condesa.

=European Parliament=

class="wikitable"
Election year

! # of total votes

! % of overall vote

! # of seats won

! Rank

!Notes

2009

| style="text-align:center;"| 19,583 {{increase}}

| style="text-align:center;"| 0.12% {{increase}}

| style="text-align:center;"|{{Composition bar|0|54|hex={{party color|UK Independence Party}}}}

| style="text-align:center;"| 13 {{increase}}

|

2014

|17,879

|0.11%

|{{Composition bar|0|54}}

|25

|Inside the coalition Social Impulse

2019

|11,798

|0.05%

|{{Composition bar|0|54}}

|26

|Inside ADÑ - Spanish Identity

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography