España 2000

Ideology

There are political parties with relatively similar ideology in Spain such as FE-La Falange, Fuerza Nueva, Arbil, Democracia Nacional and the more moderate national Catholic Partido Demócrata Español. España 2000 advocates a mixture of socialism and conservatism centering on the defense of the traditional family, tighter control of Spanish borders to prevent illegal immigration, creation of a public banking system, more social spendings, better salaries and labor conditions for the working class, fight against economic and real state speculation, abolition of the D'Hondt method and establishment of a more democratic voting system, more investment in the police and military as well as in public education and protected housing, priority for native Spaniards to gain access to jobs, and the immediate expulsion of illegal immigrants. They share some values set forth by the Vatican with most of the conservative parties in Latin Europe, like Partido Popular in Spain or Popolo della Libertà in Italy.

The party defines itself as socially and democratically populist.

Leaders and prominent members

Its leader is José Luis Roberto, lawyer and general secretary of the Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Locales de Alterne.

Roberto, who is also a self-described "entrepreneur", owns the security firm Levantina de Seguridad (the "de facto" security syndicate in Valencia) and the law firm Roberto & Salazar, having representation in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia with at least 30 lawyers in office. He also owns several gyms in Valencia, Andalusia and Catalonia, among them Valencian Gym Levantina, which was investigated for some time in relation to illegal valetudo "championships", and military surplus stores held responsible for furnishing a large part of the Madrid local police uniforms. One of Roberto's gyms, Chute Boxe, held valetudo courses for the police, funded with public money and organized by the Sindicato Independiente de Policía. José Luis Roberto was arrested, although never formally indicted, during the Spanish Transition, in connection to two terrorist actions against independentist meetings held in Valencia. He has been consistently accused, albeit without proofs, of founding and partially funding marginal far-right groups such as Acción Radical Frente Antisistema. Permanently based in Valencia, he has published articles in local newspapers such as Las Provincias, Diario de Valencia and Levante, among them the infamous Yo también tengo libros nazis ("I also own Nazi books"). He has been constantly sued and criticized by anti-racist and anti-fascist organizations for engaging in hate speech and Ms. Pena is racist, xenophobic and pro-Nazi apology, allowing open signs of bigotry from members and supporters in his party's meetings.

Two quotes by Roberto, perhaps indicative of his and the party's ideology, are the following:

Ernesto Milá was recently appointed as the party's press secretary, and appeared in the election list for the 2008 General Election, ostensibly an attempt to gain preponderance over other fascist groups in Spain by capitalizing on Milá's extensive history. Known for his past membership in the PENS (Partido Español Nacional Socialista), Fuerza Nueva and, later on, its splinter group, the Frente de Juventudes, Milá was one of the members of the fringe right-wing extremist groups (usually named incontrolados, "uncontrolled elements") who rallied against leftist or pro-democratic meetings during late Francoism, usually assuming the role of unofficial mob breakers and violent counter-rioters.

Although the PENS terrorist attacks on the Taller Picasso (1971), Catalan libraries (such as the Cinc d'Oros, 1971), the Gran enciclopédia catalana (1974) and libraries and public centers in València (1975), among others, were not prosecuted—mainly due to the fact that the Francoist police and the SECED itself, along with a former member of Franco's bodyguard corps (Luis García Rodríguez, later founder of the neo-Nazi group Estado Nacional Europeo), provided active support for said actions. A thwarted attempt on the Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain) headquarters, however, resulted in a formal indictment and forced Milá to flee for France, where he was investigated in connection with the Copernicus street synagogue bombing in Paris (1980), which claimed four lives. After a stay in Bolivia, where he worked as an adviser for the short-lived Cocaine-coup dictatorship along with infamous neo-fascists such as Stefano delle Chiaie and war criminal Klaus Barbie, he returned to Spain. Widely considered the most intellectually ambitious and well-connected of all Spanish neo-fascists who have escaped successful legal prosecution, Milá is nowadays devoted to "cultural" dissertations in his blog on Julius Evola, theosophy, Esoteric Nazism, purportedly "mysterious" aspects of history (such as Catharism, Freemasonry and unknown or "intriguing" aspects of Barcelona or Gaudí's legacy) and other subjects, most notably surveillance and security. He also uses the blog to extend on his particular view of contemporary topics, such as immigration, as well as to occasionally write film reviews.

Public profile

The group organized demonstrations in districts of Valencia, such as Ruzafa or Belluters, with a considerable immigrant population. As said above, José Luis Roberto was accused by SOS Racismo and others of racism and hate speech, although the judge ruled out said accusations under the justification that the slurs and racist expressions uttered during the gatherings were "mere generic disqualifications".

He has also organized soccer matches under the slogan Los españoles primero ("Spaniards first"), alleging that Latino bands were "de facto" owners of the soccer courts and held a veto over the admission of other players: not only that was never confirmed but also it appears that the districts where said games were played have a reputation for being prone to rather low levels of conflict. They also run a homeless shelter and a cafeteria.

Every 12 October they gather demonstrations in Valencia, starting in front of the statue of El Cid and finishing in front of the statue of James I the Conqueror. The usual slogans uttered in these meetings are of the likes of "Moros no, España no es un zoo" (No to Moors, Spain is not a zoo) or "España es una y no cincuenta y una" (Spain is one, not a hundred and one). During the 2007 march, over a thousand were attending (2000 according to police sources) under the slogan En España los españoles primero: contra la inmigración ilegal y en defensa de nuestros derechos (In Spain the Spaniards come first: against illegal immigration and in defence of our rights), burning pictures of the chairman of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira, and of the Basque lehendakari, Juan José Ibarretxe, as well as ETA emblems, all the while decrying immigration with phrases such as Menos pateras, que cierren las fronteras.

The party has also contested elections with minimal success. In the 2008 General Election, for example, the party polled 7,543 votes, or 0.03% of the total. However, in 2007 they gained their first elected representative when they won a council seat in Silla, a town south of Valencia city

In the 2011 municipal elections, España 2000 won five council seats. A councilor in Onda with 649 votes (5.05%), a councilor in Dos Aguas with 66 votes (12.43%), two councilors in Silla with 997 votes (9.56%) and a councilor in Alcalá de Henares with 4,541 votes (5.18%). In the 2015 municipal elections, the party gained 7 council seats, 1 in Alcalá de Henares 1 in Silla, 3 in Los Santos de la Humosa, 1 in Velilla de San Antonio and another in San Fernando de Henares.