The
Autonomous Community (Comunidad Autónoma
in Spanish) is the first-level
political division of the Kingdom of Spain
, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution.
The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of
"regions and
nationalities" to
self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish
nation".
Political
power in Spain
is channeled
by a central government and 17 autonomous communities. These
regional governments are responsible for schools, universities,
health, social services, culture, urban and rural development and,
in some places, policing. There are also two
autonomous cities.
In all, under the
autonomías system, Spain has been quoted
to be "remarkable for the extent of the powers peacefully devolved
over the past 30 years" and "an extraordinarily decentralised
country", with the central government accounting for just 18% of
public spending; the regional governments 38%, the local councils
13% and the social-security system the rest.
Constitutional framework
Upon the
passing of the Constitution of 1978, Spain created a
unique system of regional autonomy, known as the "state of the
autonomies". The second article of the constitution grants
the right of self-government to the regions and
nationalities that compose the
indissoluble Spanish nation. In the exercise of the right to
self-government recognized in that article, autonomy was to be
granted to:
Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 143rd
Article.
Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10
December 2007
- two or more adjacent provinces with common historical, cultural
and economical characteristics,
- insular territories, and
- a single province with historical identity or status.
As such, the
province, which is
also a territorial local entity recognized by the constitution,
serves as the framework from which the autonomous communities were
to be created. However, the constitution allows exceptions to the
above, namely that the
Spanish
Parliament reserves the right to:
- authorize, in the nation's interest, the constitution of an
autonomous community even if it is a single province without a
historical regional identity; and
- authorize or grant autonomy to those entities or territories
that are not constituted as provinces.
Once an autonomous community had been constituted, the 145th
article of the constitution prohibits the federation or union of
two or more autonomous communities.Between
1979
and
1983, all the regions in Spain had been
constituted as autonomous communities; in 1996 the process was
closed when the autonomous status of Ceuta and Melilla was passed:
- Andalusia
, Catalonia
, the Basque
Country
and Galicia
—as
"historical nationalities"— were granted autonomy through a fast
and simplified process;
- Aragon
, Castilla y
León
, Castile-La Mancha
, Extremadura
and the Valencian Community
were granted autonomy as communities integrated by
two or more provinces with common historical
characteristics;
- the
Canary
Islands
and the Balearic Islands
were granted autonomy as insular territories, the
former comprising two provinces;
- Cantabria
, Asturias
, La
Rioja
, and the Region of Murcia
were granted autonomy as single provinces with
historical regional identity, as well as Navarra
, even though
the latter was granted autonomy through the "update and
improvement" of the medieval charters (in
Spanish fueros);
- the
Community of
Madrid
was constituted for the nation's
interest;
- Ceuta
and Melilla
, both
cities, were granted autonomy—albeit limited—in spite of not being
provinces themselves, in exercise of the rights reserved by the
Spanish Parliament.
Political organization of the autonomous communities
The basic institutional law of the autonomous community is the
Statute of Autonomy. The
Statutes of Autonomy establish the denomination of the community
according to its historical identity, the limits of their
territories, the name and organization of the institutions of
government and the rights they enjoy according the
constitution.
The government of all autonomous communities must be based on a
division of powers comprising:
- a Legislative Assembly whose members must be elected by
universal suffrage according to the system of proportional representation and
in which all areas that integrate the territory are fairly
represented;
- a Government Council, with executive and administrative
functions headed by a president, elected by the Legislative
Assembly and nominated by the King of
Spain;
- a Supreme Court of Justice, under the Supreme Court of the
State, which head the judicial organization within the autonomous
community.
Besides Andalusia, Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, which
identified themselves as nationalities, other communities have also
taken that denomination in accordance to their historical regional
identity, such as the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands, the
Balearic Islands, and Aragon.
The autonomous communities have wide legislative and executive
autonomy, with their own
parliaments and
regional governments.The distribution of powers may be different
for every community, as laid out in their Statutes of Autonomy.
There used to be a clear
de facto
distinction between so called "historic" communities (Basque
Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia) and the rest. The
"historic" ones initially received more functions, including the
ability of the regional presidents to choose the timing of the
regional elections (as long as they happen no more than four years
apart).
As another example, the Basque Country,
Navarre and Catalonia have full-range police forces of their own:
Ertzaintza in the Basque
Country, Policía Foral in
Navarre
and Mossos
d'Esquadra in Catalonia
. Other communities have a more limited force
or none at all (like the Policía Autónoma Andaluza in
Andalusia or the BESCAM in Madrid
).However, the recent amendments made to
their respective Statute of Autonomy by a series of "ordinary"
Autonomous Communities such as the Valencian Community or Aragon
have quite dilluted this original de facto distinction.
Subdivisions
Autonomous communities are composed of
province (
provincias), which
serve as the territorial building blocks for the former. In turn,
provinces are composed of
municipalities
(
municipios). The existence of these two subdivisions is
granted and protected by the constitution, not necessarily by the
Statutes of Autonomy themselves. Municipalities are granted
autonomy to manage their internal affairs, and provinces are the
territorial divisions designed to carry out the activities of the
State.
The current fifty province structure is based—with minor changes—on
the one created in 1833 by
Javier de
Burgos. The communities of Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, the
Balearic Islands, Madrid, Murcia and Navarre, having been granted
autonomy as single-provinces for historical reasons, are counted as
provinces as well.
Devolution of powers and the creation of the autonomous
communities
Autonomous communities of Spain,
including the limits of their constituent provinces.
Centralism,
nationalism, and
separatism played an important role in the
Spanish transition.
For fear that separatism would lead to instability and a
dictatorial backlash, a compromise was struck among the moderate
political parties taking part in the drafting of the
Spanish Constitution of 1978.
The aim was to appease separatist forces and so disarm the extreme
right. A highly
decentralized state
was established, compared to both the previous centralist
Francoist regime and the most modern
territorial arrangements in
Western
European nations. In this regard, the current Spanish
Estado de las Autonomías is often dubbed as one of the
most decentralized states in Europe.
The constitution classifies the autonomous communities to be
created into two groups. Each group had a different route to accede
to autonomy and was to be granted a different level of power and
responsibility.
Catalonia, the Basque
Country, and Galicia were
designated "historic nationalities" and granted autonomy through a
rapid and simplified process. These three regions had voted
and approved a
Statute of
Autonomy in the past.
While the
Constitution was still being drafted, there was a popular outcry in
Andalusia for its own right to autonomy, with over a million
and a half people demonstrating in the streets on 4 December
1977, which led the creation of a special
quicker process for autonomy for that region, although not
originally considered a historical nationality. Eventually,
all regions could be granted autonomy, if they complied with the
requirements set forth in the constitution, and if their people
wished to do so, and four additional communities self-identified as
"nationalities" as well.
Between
1979 and
1983 the
majority of the regions were constituted as autonomous communities,
in accordance with the 143rd or 151st articles of the constitution.
Nonetheless the case of the province of Madrid was exceptional.
Since it was not a province with a separate historical regional
identity, but was part of the cultural region of Castile, it was
considered a natural province that would compose the soon-to be
Community of Castile-La Mancha.
During the process that led to the autonomy
of this region, the old rivalry between Toledo
and Madrid
resurfaced; as capital of Spain, Madrid was to enjoy a relative
degree of self-government, whereas Castilians demanded absolute
equality amongst the constituent provinces of the community, and
thus excluded Madrid from their project of self-government.
Other
alternatives included the incorporation of Madrid to the community
of Castile and
León
(the historical region of Old Castile) or its controversial constitution
as something similar to a "Federal
District" or territory, emulating Mexico City
, or Washington, D.C.
Finally, they opted for the creation of a
single-province autonomous community, but in lack of a historical
regional identity, Madrid was granted autonomy for the "nation's
interest" through the prerogatives of the 144th article.
The
Basque Country and Navarra were also exceptional cases. While the
Basque Country was granted autonomy through the rapid process
granted to the "nationalities", it also retained the economic and
fiscal autonomy it had enjoyed through the
fueros or charters. Navarra was granted autonomy
through the "update and improvement" of the medieval charters. As
such, it is the only region that does not have a "Statute of
Autonomy"
per se, but a "Law of Reintegration and
Improvement of the Chartered Regime". In theory, Navarra is the
only first-level political division that is not an "autonomous
community" but a "chartered community", but in practice, except for
the fiscal autonomy it enjoys along with the Basque Country, it is
administratively constituted as any other autonomous community and
is represented in the Spanish Parliament like the rest. Although
the constitution forbids the federation or union of autonomous
communities, an addendum or "transitional provision" to the
constitution makes an exclusion whereby Navarra could join the
Basque Country if the people chose to do so.
Leonese
administrations proposed a Leonese Autonomous Community
for the Province of
León
, continuating with the Leonese Region created in
1833 and composed by León
, Salamanca
and Zamora
provinces, and the Kingdom of León
, and even the Diputación Provincial de León, and so
many municipalities as León or Ponferrada supported that model in
1983 (some of them supported Leonese Autonomous
Community as an "Historical Nationality"). The Tribunal
Constitucional of Spain rejected the leonese proposal in 1984, and
León was joint with Castile in "Castile and León Autonomous
Community", only supported by a 4% of Leonese
municipalities..
List of the communities and provinces
See also:
Autonomous Cities and "plazas de soberanía"
There
are five plazas de
soberanía ("places of sovereignty") near Morocco
as follows:
- Ceuta and Melilla. These are called "Ciudades Autónomas"
(Autonomous Cities). Their status is in between regular cities and
Autonomous Communities: on the one side, Ceuta and Melilla
autonomous parliaments cannot enact "autonomous" laws, but, on the
other side, they can enact regulations to execute law, which are greater regulatory powers
than those of regular city
councils.
and then the tiny and uninhabited other than for military
personnel:
See also
References
- " Regional Government". Spain. Encyclopedia
Britannica Online Accessed 10 December 2007
- Preliminary Title. Second Article. Spanish
Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10 December 2007
- [1]
- [2]
- Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 141st
Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10
December 2007
- Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 144th
Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10
December 2007
- Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 145th
Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10
December 2007
- Sinópsis del Estatuto de Autonomia de la Comunidad
de Madrid. Congreso de los Diputados. Accessed: 10 December
1979
- Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 147th
Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10
December 2007
- Estatut d'Autonomia de la Comunitat Valenciana,
2006
- Nuevo Estatuto de Autonomía de Canarias
- Estatut d'Autonomia de les Illes Balears,
2007
- Estatuto de Autonomía de Aragón
- Articles 140 and 141. Spanish Constitution of
1978
- CNN.com Catalonians vote for more autonomy Jun 18,
2006
- Global Education Reform | Decentralization and SBM
Resource Kit
- Keating, M. (2006). Federalism and the Balance of Power in European
States. Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development. Accessed: 10
December 2007
- Preliminary Title. First Article. Statute of
Autonomy of the Community of Madrid
- Fourth Transitional Provision. Spanish
Constitution of 1978
- Poll made by Leonese Provincial Government in 1980
- Not an official language but is protected and regulated, and
spoken by a local minority.
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