Joaquín Baleztena Azcárate (25 February 1883 – 26 June 1978) was a Spanish Carlist politician. During three consecutive terms between 1919 and 1923 he served as a Traditionalist member of the Cortes. In two separate strings of 1931–1942 and 1951–1957 he headed the regional party organization in Navarre; he remained one of key nationwide Carlist politicians from the late 1910s till the early 1970s. In 1937–1939 he was a member of the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS executive, Consejo Nacional.

Family and youth

Joaquín's paternal grandfather,see the Geni genealogical service available here José Joaquín Baleztena Echeverría, a native of Navarrese Leitza and an ethnic Basque, was an indiano. He tried his luck in California and Cuba before returning to the home town, where he owned two buildings next to ayuntamiento.named "Torrea" and "Petrorena"; Javier Baleztena Abarrategui, Premín de Iruña blog available here, entry 08.09.11 His son and Joaquín's father, also an ethnic Basque, Joaquín Baleztena Muñagorri, formed part of new Navarrese economic and political elites.Ángel García-Sanz Marcotegui, Elites económicas y políticas en la Restauración. La diversidad de las derechas navarras, [in:] Historia contemporánea, 23 (2001), pp. 623-5; Annuario Riera of 1902 lists him among 20 "most important" rural owners in the merindad of Pamplona, see here Holding a number of rural properties in the comarca of Valles Merdionales,José Andrés-Gallego, Pedro Pegenaute Garde, Navarra ca.1900-ca.1975, s.l., available here , pp. 546-547 he was co-founder of Conducción de Aguas de Artetacompare David Allegría Suescun, Historia del abastecimiento de agua en la Comarca de Pamplona available here and shareholder of a number of other local companies.Albert Carreras, Doctor Jordi Nadal: la industrialització i el desenvolupament econòmic d'Espanya, vol. 2, Barcelona 1999, , 9788447521456 p. 910, Josean Garrues-Irurzun, Public utility of water and private service of production and distribution of electricity in Pamplona, 1893-1961, Madrid 2008, available here Elected consejal of Pamplona in the 1880s and 1890s,elected on the Carlist-Basque ticket listed, García-Sanz 2001, pp. 623-5 he served as vice-president of the local Circulo Carlista.see Joaquín Baleztena Muñagorri entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia available here; alternatively, he is sometimes labeled a land-owner, see Índice Histórico de Diputados available here Joaquín's mother, María Dolores Ascárate Echeverría, was also descendant to a Carlist family; her father served as officer under Carlos V during the First Carlist War.Premín de Iruña blog, entry 22.06.11

Joaquín was born as the second of 9 children and the oldest of 3 brothers. Like all his siblings, he was raised in the fervently Catholic atmosphere flavored by strong Carlist political sympathies. His older sister, María Isabel, was initially supposed to marry the Traditionalist ideologue Juan Vázquez de Mella.Premín de Iruña blog, entry 17.10.11 His younger brother and lifetime political partner, Ignacio, became an iconic Pamplona figure, expert and the moving spirit behind numerous provincial feasts, promoter of Basque folk culture and a politician himself.For a homage account see Premín de Iruña blog His younger sister Dolores was a Carlist activist, who – apart from having been longtime chauffeur of Joaquín – made her name as organizer and author. His younger brother, Pedro María Baleztena Ascarate, became a nationally recognized pelota champion.see BALEZTENA ASCARATE, Pedro María entry at Gran Enciclopedia Navarra available here , or Pedro María Baleztena Ascarate entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia available here His paternal cousins, the Arraiza Baleztena brothers, sympathized with Carlism and held different posts in the Pamplona ayuntamiento in the early 20th century.Eugenio was Teniente de Alcalde of Pamplona, while Juan Pedro was the Alcalde himself, see Araiza genealogy available here Some of his Baleztena Abarrategui nephews became public figures. Joaquín (Joaquíncho) was active in the board of El Pensamiento Navarro;see obituary in ABC 22.10.13 available here Javier was director of Archivo General de Navarra and is author of historical and historiographical works related to the province,for bibliography see Dialnet service available here while Cruz Maria directed B-class movies.for filmography, see here Most of the family remained Carlist,in 1988, during the first visit of Juan Carlos de Borbón and his wife to Pamplona, the Baleztenas kept all windows and shutters closed (except the premises inhabited by Joaquíncho Baleztena), see ABC 22.10.13 available here some of them engaged in politics.Silvia Baleztena Abarrategui unsuccessfully ran for the Cortes in 2011 on the Derecha Navarra y Española ticket. The Baleztena house in Leitza remains a highly contested political symbol until today; during the wedding of Joaquíncho in 1971 it was protected by the police against ETA; in 1996 and 2012 it was assaulted by the Basque nationalists with the Spanish banner torn away from the balcony and burnt down, see ABC 20.08.96 available here and ABC 16.08.12 available here Joaquín remained head of the family since the death of his father in 1917 until his own decease.Premín de Iruña blog, entry 21.2.11

In literature Joaquín Baleztena is often referred to as "abogado",See e.g. Joaquín Baleztena Ascárate entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia available here though none of the sources consulted offers any information on what, where and when he studied.his younger brother Ignacio commenced studying law in the Jesuit Deusto college in Bilbao, Premín de Iruña blog, entry 17.11.10

Restoration

Joaquín commenced his public career when Navarrese Carlism recovered from post-war crisis and came to dominate the provincial politics.prevailing in local, regional and general elections, see Jesús María Fuente Langas, Elecciones de 1916 en Navarra, [in:] Príncipe de Viana 51 (1990), pp. 947–957 Following the example of paternal Arraiza cousins,see Francisco Javier Arraiza Baleztena, Pedro José Arraiza Baleztena and Eugenio Arraiza Baleztena entries at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia Baleztena commenced his public career in local municipal elections and was successfully voted a Carlist concejal to the Pamplona ayuntamiento in the first decade of the 20th century,Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia claims he was elected in 1910 and 1913. Contemporary press mentions "Joaquín Baleztena" as a Pamplona concejal also in 1906, though theoretically the note might have referred also to his father, who is known to have been a councilor in the late 19th century, see El Siglo Futuro 05.12.06, ABC 05.12.06 re-elected also afterwards, at least in 1913. About the same time, also influenced by his kinsfolk, he got engaged in Sociedad Protectora "La Conciliación", one of the first Catholic trade unions in Navarre, and became active in its Junta Directiva.Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia

When growing controversy between Vazquez de Mella and the Carlist claimant exploded into a full-scale crisis, Baleztena sided with Don Jaime. As the Mellist secession of 1919 shattered the movement by defections of many recognized leaders, he remained loyal to the Carlist king. Since Victor Pradera, who previously represented the party in Cortes, joined the secessionists,See Víctor Pradera Larumbe entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia in the 1919 campaign Baleztena took his place in the Pamplona district and was successfully voted into the parliament.Índice Histórico de Diputados available here The following year he again accessed the Carlist-Basque-conservative alliance; in Pamplona its candidates were not even challenged and he was declared victorious according to the famous Article 29.Índice Histórico de Diputados available here During the last campaign of the Restauración in 1923 the claimant ordered party abstention in "farsa parlamentaria", though he permitted individuals to compete on their own.see letter from Don Jaime to marques de Villores, ABC 13.03.23 Baleztena decided to run and was successful.out of 4 individual Carlist candidates in Navarre, only 2 were elected, ABC 23.3.23. One source names Baleztena head of the Carlist parliamentary group, see Marek Jan Chodakiewicz, John Radzilowski, Spanish Carlism and Polish Nationalism: The Borderlands of Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Charlottesville 2003, , 9781412834933 p. 39, though this information is not confirmed elsewhere In early 1920s both Baleztena brothers worked for rapprochement between the Carlists and PNV, hoping to reinforce traditionally-minded Basques against the nationalists.promoting traditionalist Euskalerria against the nationalist Euzkadi, see Premín de Iruña blog, entry 17.02.11 The result was Alianza Foral coalition, constructed to defend and promote traditional vasco-navarrese legal establishments.Elena Floristan Imizcoz, María Luisa Garde Etayo, El manifesto constitutivo de la Alianza Foral (1921), [in:] Principe de Viana 49 (1988), p. 153 It produced fairly successful co-operation especially during provincial elections,Ignacio was elected to Diputacion Foral in 1921, Floristan, Garde 1988, p. 148, José Andrés-Gallego, Pedro Pegenaute Garde, Navarra ca.1900-ca.1975, s.l. 1975, p. 570 though it also caused controversies within Navarrese Carlism.Floristan, Garde 1988, p. 150, Fuente 1990, p. 419 The Baleztenas continued with their vasco-navarrese strategy also by means of cultural mobilization; in 1922 they joined Comisión para la Restauración de Monumentos de Navarra,its key work was unveiling of the Maya monument, commemorating medieval defenders of Navarrese sovereignty against the Castilians, see Manuel Martorell Pérez, La continuidad ideológica del carlismo tras la Guerra Civil [PhD thesis in Historia Contemporanea, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia], Valencia 2009, p. 359 accused by Traditionalist punditse.g. Victor Pradera of fostering separatism.

Dictadura and dictablanda