In Spain, the term Filoetarras is used to refer to supporters of the left-wing and separatist terrorist ideology of the Basque Country, and therefore means having sympathy for the ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) terrorists.
SYNONYMS FOR Filoetarras
- Supporters
- Indoctrinated
- Ideologized
- Terrorists
- Socialists
ORIGIN OF Filoetarras
Of course, the question arises: what is wrong with being “filoetarras”, which in its etymology comes from the prefix “filo” from the Greek philos -lover, friend- and the suffix etarra, which belongs to the Basque terrorist group ETA.
ETA stands for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or “Basque Country and Freedom” in Basque language and was a Basque nationalist and terrorist organization that promoted itself as independent, revolutionary, and socialist.
During its sixty-year history, from 1958 to 2018, different organizations with the same name appeared, as a result of various disagreements within the organization, coexisting at different times, of which only the known as ETA militar would survive.
Said in this way, “filoetarra” is a hurtful term, as it alludes to something despicable.
Perhaps the question is whether what is terrible is the use of the term, or if what hurts is what it represents, if it is not much more painful to accuse a political party of having an inclination towards ETA.
And the fact is that what offends is that a Spanish political force is dedicated to justifying and providing political perseverance to an abject movement that has 850 deaths on the table.
CURIOSITIES OF Filoetarras
Their main goal was the construction of a socialist state in Euskal Herria and its independence from Spain and France.
The ETA members -called etarras- used kidnapping, murder, economic extortion, and other violent acts to achieve their goals. It is worth noting that 95% of these murders took place after the dictator Franco died.