Thousands and thousands of people took to the streets this Saturday in Gernika against the project for a new Guggenheim Museum in Urdaibai, the only biosphere reserve in Euskadi. It is a project with double headquarters, in the Murueta shipyards and in the former Cuiertos Dalia factory in Gernika itself. The Provincial Delegation of Biscay contributed 40 million euros – Imanol Pradales himself did so when he was provincial deputy – and the PNV encouraged the State to provide another 40 million. The event coincided with the twenty-seventh anniversary of the opening of the Guggenheim in Bilbao in 1997.
“This is something that has been imposed on us and which does not meet the needs of the region at all. For this reason, all of us who love Urdaibai will give a categorical ‘no’ to this project,” said Eider Gotxi, spokesperson for the organizers, according to statements collected by EiTB. They also argue that current regulations do not allow the project. The motto chosen and which could be read on the banner was very simple: “Guggenheim Urdaibai Stop”. The slogan “Urdaibai ez dago salei” was also used, meaning that the region “is not for sale”. The call had been made with dozens of small fish who together could take on the big fish.
The march was supported by different organizations and personalities. At the political level, parties such as EH Bildu, IU, Sumar and Podemos participated. Also unions like ELA, LAB or CCOO or faces from the world of culture and universities, as well as local or international environmental platforms, like Greenpeace. Magic candles, txalaparta and even bertsolarism enhanced the afternoon. The promoters were delighted that opposition to the new Guggenheim was echoed in the British newspaper “The Guardian”.
In November 2022, as a Biscay MP, the now Lehendakari Imanol Pradales “protected” 40 million euros for the work. One of the slogans used in the region in recent years is “Less Pradales and more wetlands”. The PNV also extracted an additional 40 million from the State – in whose government some of the groups that now oppose it participate – for the same objective. The Basque government of Iñigo Urkullu never came to defend the project or provide it with a budget, but the new executive has it on its agenda. The novelty, expressed last week by the Vice President and Minister of Culture, Ibone Bengoetxea, is that it is understood that the time has come to “contrast” the scope of the plan with the citizens of the region.
Bengoetxea specifically asked to “suspend” the “confrontation” and tried to make it clear that the Guggenheim is only one element of the revitalization of the Busturialdea district. The region experiences significant sanitation and water supply problems. Technically, another second Guggenheim was proposed thirty years ago, although the PNV has slowed down. On this occasion, the chosen location was the settlements of Sukarrieta. Local groups have filed legal challenges to try to stop moves such as the “ad hoc” coastal law change.
