2010
07
Working Paper
INSTITUTO DE POLÍTICAS Y BIENES PÚBLICOS (IPP)
NatioNal aNd
SubNatioNal democracy
iN SpaiN:
HiStory, modelS aNd
cHalleNgeS
eloíSa del piNo
cSic-iNStitute of public goodS aNd policieS
céSar coliNo
uNed-faculty of political ScieNce aNd Sociology
iNStituto de políticaS y bieNeS pÚblicoS, ccHS-cSic
Copyright ©2010, Del Pino, E. & Colino, C.. All Rights reserved.
Do not quote or cite without permission from the author.
Instituto de Políticas y Bienes Públicos
Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientíicas
C/ Albasanz, 26-28.
28037 Madrid (España)
Tel: +34 91 602 2300
Fax: +34 91 304 5710
http://www.ipp.csic.es/
The working papers are produced by Spanish National Research Council – Institute of Public Goods and
Policies and are to be circulated for discussion purposes only. Their contents should be considered to be
preliminary. The papers are expected to be published in due course, in a revised form and should not be
quoted without the authors´ permission.
How to quote or cite this document:
Del Pino, E. & Colino, C. (2010). National and Subnational Democracy in Spain: History, Models and
Challenges. Instituto de Políticas y Bienes Públicos (IPP), CCHS-CSIC, Working Paper, Number 7.
Available: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/24408
2010
07
Working Paper
INSTITUTO DE POLÍTICAS Y BIENES PÚBLICOS (IPP)
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy
iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd
cHalleNgeS
eloíSa del piNo
cSic-iNStitute of public goodS aNd policieS
eloiSa.delpiNo@ccHS.cSic.eS
céSar coliNo
uNed-faculty of political ScieNce aNd Sociology
ccoliNo@poli.uNed.eS
*A reduced version of this working paper will be published as “Spain: Strong Regional
Government and the Limits of Local Decentralization”, in The Oxford Handbook of
Subnational Democracy in Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2010
abStract
Democracy in Spain is embedded in a typical coniguration of institutional elements characteristic of the Spanish
state organization and culture that have been determined by its particular political history, but are comparable to
other European states. However, it is not easy to categorize Spain clearly into a single state tradition model. Recent
transformations have meant a complete redistribution of power and a rescaling of the traditional Spanish state
institutions. The Spanish model of subnational democracy has evolved parallel to the consolidation of the irst
successful experience of liberal democracy occurred at the national level during the last thirty years. Democracy at
the subnational level has been inluenced by the state tradition, but at the same time has transformed its structure
and the behaviour of political actors from a consensual towards a more majoritarian model. This has been done
alongside far-reaching decentralization and the emergence of particular regional democratic institutions, party
systems, welfare state policies and the recovering of local self-government.
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
coNteNtS
1. INTRODUCTION: THE HISTORy OF THE DEMOCRATIC STATE IN SPAIN .....................................4
2. THE INSTITUTIONAL ExPRESSION OF DEMOCRACy. STATE TRADITION AND MODEL OF
DEMOCRACy ................................................................................................................................7
3. THE INSTITUTIONAL ExPRESSION OF SUBNATIONAL DEMOCRACy ........................................12
The institutional framework of subnational authorities ........................................................12
Subnational politics ...............................................................................................................19
Subnational citizenship and participation .............................................................................23
Subnational governance ........................................................................................................26
Spanish Subnational democracy in the Lijphart-Hendriks typologies ..................................28
4. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SUBNATIONAL DEMOCRACy IN SPAIN .......................29
5. RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ......................................................31
6. CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................34
REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................36
-3-
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
-4-
1. iNtroductioN: tHe HiStory of tHe democratic State iN SpaiN
Liberalism arrived early in Spain with the 1812 Constitution, which followed the War of
Independence against the Napoleonic occupation. But the Constitution was inluenced by the
very country – Revolutionary and Napoleonic France – against which Spain was ighting, and
it proclaimed the idea of national sovereignty and universal male suffrage. Spanish liberalism,
however, was weak and had several peculiarities. It had to struggle during the whole nineteenth
century with the supporters of the ancient regime —absolutists and Catholic traditionalists
concentrated in some of the north-eastern territories. This meant that, although the moderate
liberals who dominated the second third of the century favoured state centralization and created
provinces on the model of the French départements in 1833, they failed to abolish some of
the ancien régime privileges or charters (fueros) in such territories as the Basque Country and
Navarre. Instead, they formed alliances with the local nobilities and bourgeoisies, who retained
some special institutions and tax exemptions. Hence, there was never a true Spanish liberal
Jacobinism seeking to overcome the remains of the ancien régime in several of the provinces
(González Antón 2007). Centralism remained at the formal level but in practice localism
prevailed. Liberal progressives, republicans and democrats were excluded from government
for most of the century and when they came to power after the 1868 Revolution many of them
also supported a more ‘girondin’ vision based on the old liberties of the old provinces and
kingdoms as the basis of the Spanish democratic tradition. In contrast, other republicans and
socialist parties would identify democracy with a new centralized state against the forces of the
old regime. These forces would attack the First Republic again in the 1870s, with the second
Carlist war (Nuñez-Seixas 2008).
Regarding the evolution of the Spanish nation-state, moderate liberalism initiated a statebuilding project similar to other European countries, modelled on the French state. During
the long reign of Isabel II, they carried out some codiication, economic integration, building
of infrastructures and creation of national symbols. An example of those measures was the
uniication of the law, the irst criminal code of 1844 and 1870, the Civil Code (1855 and 1880),
the uniication of the tax system (1845) and of the currency (1868). Also, the enactment of the
irst laws on education and the creation of the Guardia Civil (1844) as a state-wide police corps
(Moral 2007). However, by mid-century the Spanish state showed many weaknesses and a
chronic iscal crisis due to several factors. These were, for instance, the devastating effects of
the War of Independence, the loss of its empire and naval power, with the related loss of trade
beneits from the colonies, and the several internal wars against the proabsolutist ‘Carlists’
in the 1830s. That meant the state inherited several shortcomings compared to other large
European states: it was ineficient, small, with an incompetent and clientelistic administrative
apparatus and public services that emerged much later than in western and northern European
countries. It also suffered from a typical lack of legitimacy, being opposed irst by absolutists
and the Church, then by republicans and then by socialist, anarchist and regionalist movements.
It thus failed to produce a liberal-democratic concept of state citizenship and experienced many
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
episodes of political violence. Revolutions and changes of governments and constitutions were
almost always carried out through the intervention of the military, which became the instrument
of the liberal and the democratic revolutions (Genieys 2004; Diamandouros et al. 2006, Vincent
2007).
Despite the existence of a clear Spanish nationalism shared by the liberal and pro-absolutist
elites, during the nineteenth century no systematic nation-building or political socialization
project or ideology accompanied the liberal state-building that could mobilize the population
around a common national project or around a now lost colonial empire. Due to the on-going
iscal crisis, neither the army nor public education were able to nationalize the masses around a
liberal national ideology. The army was ineficient and expensive, with politicized oficials with
no clear external mission or war. It turned to internal enemies such as Carlism — later reconciled
and integrated after the compromises that ended the Carlist wars—and to the working class
and regionalists. Public education was underfunded, totally controlled by the Church, which
traditionally opposed liberalism, and left to inancially poor local authorities (Sepulveda 2002,
Muñoz Machado 2006).
As regards the evolution of liberal-democratic institutions and ideas, democratic revolutions
similar to those in the continent did not occur in Spain until the end of the 1860s. Progressive
liberals and republican democrats produced the 1869 constitution. After much instability, both
unitarist and federalist republicans attempted a more advanced short-lived constitutional federal
-5-
Nationalization of the masses was weak compared to France, but it was not more problematic
than in Germany, Britain or Italy, let alone Austria-Hungary. In any case, this relative weakness
of nation-building and of the Spanish state capacity to operate effectively coincided with, and
reinforced, the persistence of cultural and institutional particularisms and traditionally strong
local identities and languages. Several economic and social circumstances such as a differential
industrialization in Catalonia and the Basque Country would combine with socio-cultural
differences to lead to the emergence of regionalisms, and later nationalisms in several territories.
Their elites based autonomy claims on the idealization of their alleged historical institutions
and medieval liberties and immunities under the Spanish monarchy. Sub-state nationalism thus
rose simultaneously with the extension of a Spanish national identity in all the country that,
as in other European countries, gathered strength as national markets grew, as urbanization
progressed and systems of transport and mass communication developed (Fusi 1990). By the
end of the century, there existed already a Spanish liberal national discourse and a national
public sphere shared by the liberals and the republicans, but also by the labour movement.
From the beginning of the twentieth century, with the loss of the last remnants of the Spanish
Empire and the disastrous war against the US, emerging regionalist elites mainly in Catalonia
complained about the inability of the Spanish state to defend their economic interests. As a
result, regionalist claims transformed into nationalist movements, proposing alternative nationbuilding projects and at the same time seeking to participate and reform the Spanish political
system through their own parties (De Blas 2007).
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
-6-
republic. It produced a federal constitutional project in 1873 that was never approved. This
regime failed to consolidate and ended in social chaos, with several presidents in less than
two years. Some of the liberal-democratic achievements of this revolution were consolidated
after 1876 with the new liberal constitutional Restoration monarchy. This constitution, which
lasted until 1931, was based on a notion of shared sovereignty between the parliament and the
king and a system of patronage and organized elections by the liberal and conservative parties.
These parties would secure alternating parliamentary majorities through electoral manipulation
and fraud, using a clientelistic network of local notables –caciquismo— This system, not
very different from similar arrangements in other European countries at that time, promoted
nonetheless constitutional government, parliamentarianism, and stability during several decades
(Juliá 1995; Moreno 2007).
Male universal suffrage, freedom of speech and association were not effectively consolidated
until the 1890s, with the liberal governments in ofice (Varela 1997), but after that, there were
also long periods of exceptional rule and suspension of rights to repress the labour movement,
partly due to the anarchist use of terrorism, which killed several Spanish prime ministers at
the turn of the century. Growing political instability and permanent social unrest and political
violence led the king to support the military dictatorship initiated with the coup of Primo de
Rivera in the 1920s.
In this sense, the transition from liberalism to democracy, which occurred peacefully and
gradually in other European countries at the turn of the century, was frustrated in Spain. This
was due to the erosion of the constitutional parties of the Restoration and the lack of continuity
of a liberal political class, the absence of a Catholic democratic party committed to liberal
democracy and the virtual exclusion from the parliament of the groups outside the system
—republicans, regionalists and the labour movement— either through the organized electoral
manipulation, or through the military dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in the 1920s. Besides that,
the labour movement was dominated by anarchist and revolutionary Marxist movements, which
were not committed to elections, parliamentarianism, or liberal democracy either. The limits of
suffrage and the exclusion of these groups prevented the creation of a party system similar to
other continental countries. The opposition of republicans, left parties and regionalists to the
Restoration monarchy, for them a corrupt democracy, and then to the military dictatorship, and
their criticism of the state and the monarchy, led them to ally to promote the instauration of the
Second Republic in 1931.
The Second Republic introduced female suffrage in 1933 and an advanced democratic constitution
in terms of democratic rights. It allowed for decentralization and the integration of the new
urban middle classes and workers into the system. As in other periods, and as a reaction to the
centralism and authoritarianism of previous regimes, democracy was identiied with territorial
autonomy and cultural recognition, and the forces that sustained the republic came mainly from
the left and from sub-state nationalisms and small centre-republican parties (Townson 2001).
The Republic, however, showed the dificulties of a shaky liberal democracy in Spain supported
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
by weak social bases. The fragmentation and polarization of its party system, and its enemies
on the left and the right made it vulnerable again to military intervention (Álvarez Tardío 2005).
This time the coup provoked a horriic civil war, which would be the prelude of WW II in the
rest of Europe and eventually large parts of the world, and extinguished liberal democracy
during the long dictatorship of Franco lasting from 1939 to 1976.
The transition to democracy in 1977 and its consolidation in the early 1980s required the
combined action of elites and civil society with a skilful leadership through a process of
‘crystallization’ of institutions and new patterns of behaviour originated during the economic and
cultural modernization phase in the 1960s. It also implied the conscious willingness of avoiding
the mistakes considered to have led to the demise of democracy and to civil war in the 1930s
(Juliá 1994; Gunther et al. 2004). The design of new institutions, together with the moderation
and demobilization of the mass movements and the support of parties both from the left and
the right and regional nationalists, served as a necessary condition of the successful negotiation
and accommodation between elites of a new constitution which somewhat ‘refounded’ Spanish
democracy and the Spanish state (Powell 2001; Tusell 2007).
2. tHe iNStitutioNal expreSSioN of democracy. State traditioN aNd
model of democracy
Democracy in Spain is embedded in a typical coniguration of institutional elements characteristic
of the Spanish state organization and culture that have been determined by its particular political
history, but are comparable to other European states. However, it is not easy to categorize
Spain clearly into a single state tradition model. Recent transformations have meant a complete
redistribution of power and a rescaling of the traditional Spanish state institutions. A modern
-7-
The new 1978 Spanish constitution would embrace democracy, rule of law, cultural pluralism
and the welfare state as their main values. It was intended by its founding fathers to promote
political stability and the prevention of conlict and polarization. Issues where complete
agreement could not be reached were dealt with through ambiguous formulas, to be resolved when
democracy was fully consolidated. It restructured the traditional Spanish state by identifying
democracy with regional and local autonomy thus creating the basis of new constitutionally
protected local self-government and regional democracies. By recognizing nationalities and
regions throughout the Spanish territory, it responded to old aspirations of autonomy not just in
the territories with nationalist movements but in all of them. At the same time, the process still
followed the old Spanish familiar pattern of constitutional pacts with territorial local elites. In
this case, a new pact was made with nationalist elites of the Basque Country that recognized
pre-constitutional historical rights giving special iscal powers to their territories in return from
their acceptance of the constitution and the relinquishing of political violence. At any rate, it
was the irst constitution that elicited high popular consensus and legitimacy and the only one
to have allowed a true liberal democracy to lourish in Spain.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
welfare state has been built in the process virtually from scratch in the last 30 years. Welfare
state institutions and policies have been essentially operated by subnational governments.
Accordingly, regions and local governments have come to control more 50 per cent of public
expenditure and have 73 per cent of public employees in the country. Due to this restructuring
since the beginning of the democratization period, it shows now a mixture of traits from the
Napoleonic and the Germanic state traditions (Loughlin and Peters 1997).
-8-
Regarding the Napoleonic features, many of them were explicitly imported from France during
the nineteenth century. For example, legalism and the important role of civil servants corps
and administrative law as a separate body that regulates all public life, the rights and duties of
citizens, and at the same time safeguards them from the undue action of public administration.
The Spanish state had been characterized until the end of the 1970s by a centralized bureaucracy,
a prefectoral system organized in provinces, the supervision of local governments by central
government, and a role for national career civil servants as separate bodies at all levels. It had
also featured a largely legal technocratic policy style and a typical public law approach towards
the everyday management and the study of public administration. Most, but not all, of these
traits have eroded, or evolved, with the creation of Autonomous Communities (ACs) and the
devolution of powers and resources to them (Parrado 2008).
The state has clearly been transformed in the direction of the Germanic state tradition, even if
paradoxically, some of the Napoleonic traits have remained entrenched in the new established
regional governments. For example, legalism, centralized administration at the regional capitals,
largely prefectoral organization in their territories, or the informal dominance or supervision over
local governments, which have repeatedly been denied additional legislative or implementing
powers and resources by regional governments. That means that the form of political organization
of the Spanish state, which experimented with some asymmetrical devolution during the
Second Republic in the 1930s but remained a unitary state, has evolved towards a composite or
federative state. This has occurred through the constitutional entrenchment of regional and local
autonomy, and the entrenchment of some asymmetries in certain territories that remind more of
the Anglo-Saxon than the Germanic tradition (Aja 2001; Watts 2009).
The form of decentralization has thus evolved from some asymmetrical devolution towards
a kind co-operative federalism with shared competences and revenues in most policy areas,
alongside weak local autonomy in practice. Despite the considerable devolution process,
the central Spanish government maintains a relevant concurrent legislative role and its own
state-wide implementation network for some policies such as social security, public order,
infrastructures, tax collection (with the exception of the Basque Country and Navarre). That
has led to efforts at rationalizing its central and deconcentrated administrative organization and
co-ordinate with regional and local administrations to deliver public services (Parrado 2008).
Regarding state-society relations, the Spanish state tradition also presents a mixed picture. They
have oscillated between organicist and corporatist. The Spanish state attributes itself a central
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
role in integrating society and intervening in most areas of civil society, but at the same time
being unable to perform adequately and respond to their demands due to its traditional lack of
resources. This interventionist role has traditionally led to the dominance of corporatist interest
intermediation over pluralistic access to decision-making processes and has been shifted to
the role of political parties as only or main intermediaries between citizens and the state. This
particular Spanish state tradition may have inluenced the theory and practice of democracy by
citizens and authorities, both in the legislative and the executive branches at the national and
subnational levels. For example, state interventionism, the political culture of so-called ‘cynical
statism’ of most of the population —a general complaint about government alongside an intense
preference for public provision of services and policies—, and the legalistic and hierarchical
conception of the role of governments, combined with the recent strong ‘colonization’ by parties
of most state bodies, for example, the Council of the Judiciary and the Constitutional Court.
In the executive–parties dimension, all features are clearly majoritarian except the interestgroup system, which showed punctuated periods of corporatist concertation during the transition
years. If we look at the other characteristics, Spanish democracy shows a clear concentration of
executive power in single-party majority cabinets, without having experienced a single executive
coalition. Even in the case of minority government, the most frequent situation in the Spanish
parliament, central governments dispose of both political and constitutional resources that make
them able to govern as if they had a majority (Ajenjo and Molina 2009). The executive, in
particular the prime minister, is dominant in executive legislative relationships. This produces
a comparatively high stability of governments and a loss of inluence of parliament. Several
factors account for this dominance, the discretion of the prime minister to appoint his cabinet
- not accountable to parliament - the rules on the parliamentary groups promoting total party
discipline, and the existence of the constructive non-conidence vote, taken from the German
Constitution, requiring an absolute majority. That means that all the opposition groups have to
agree to support an alternative candidate before ousting a prime minister (Field and Hamman
2008).
In addition, the electoral law, theoretically proportional but with clear disproportional effects,
due to the small size of most constituencies - half of them working as in a purely majoritarian
-9-
We may try to categorize the structures and practices of Spanish democracy, as it has developed
in the last thirty years, using the famous Lijphart typology of Westminster and consensus
models of democracy. Spain does not lend itself easily to classiication in this respect either.
Due to the combination of institutional traits developed with the recent transformation and to
the workings of several informal elements that operate differently in different periods, it is
dificult to assign Spain consistently into one of Lijphart’s ideal types. What seems clear is that
Spanish democracy shows, at least in their formal arrangements, a combination of predominant
majoritarian features in the executive–parties dimension with a consensual coniguration in the
federal–unitary dimension.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
- 10 -
system - has shaped a largely bipolar and highly stable party system. This has produced a
restraint on competition and a low partisan polarization and fragmentation. Third parties at
the national level have been gradually disappearing. Besides, despite the consensus-seeking
behaviour and the moderation of elites typical of the irst years of transition, party politics and
competition since the mid-1990s have been evolving very clearly towards adversarial politics
and high polarization between the two main state-wide parties typical of some majoritarian
democracies (Hopkin 2005; González and Bouza 2009). Polarization of the media, the conscious
negativism of campaigning strategies, and the personalization of politics have reinforced this
trend (Sampedro and Seoane 2008). In the other hand, this Spanish form of majoritarianism
is occasionally tempered by some informal practices. These are the informal parliamentary
coalitions with small or non-state-wide parties, the existence of certain conventions in the
workings of parliament, and partisan proportionality in the election or appointment of members
of constitutional bodies. Parliamentary collaboration among all groups has also remained
usual regarding legislation on basic institutional rules, if not so much in policy sector-speciic
legislation (Gunther et al. 2004; Field and Hamman 2008).
If we turn to the federal–unitary dimension, we ind more similarities with consensual
democracies, since Spain displays features of federal and decentralized government, a rigid
constitution that may be changed only by supermajorities and two consecutive legislatures;
strong judicial review of constitutionality through courts and a Constitutional Tribunal, and
an independent central bank typical of the consensus model. It also has a second chamber,
the Senate, which although clearly not powerful, may have some scrutiny and control role.
It has only suspensive veto capacity and is subordinated in most issues to the Congress of
Deputies. Since 2004, however, the Senate’s party composition has been different to that in the
Congress, with the main opposition parties - the People’s Party and Catalan nationalists - able
to veto legislation passed by the lower chamber if allied against the government. The Senate has
returned the national budget bill to the Congress in 2004, 2007 and 2008. Even in these cases,
the Congress has been able to override the veto by negotiating a majority vote with different
groups.
Following the typology proposed by Hendriks (see introduction), we should also seek to look
at whether decisions are made in an aggregative versus an integrative fashion, and at the role
of the institutions and preferences for representative democracy versus direct involvement of
citizens in decision making. We should also consider other informal behavioural elements and
their contrast with the formal arrangements and regulations. From the discussion above, it seems
clear that most decisions are taken in an aggregative process, even if for some institutional
policy decisions there is a tradition of reaching the widest possible agreement through a typical
consensus-building process between elites more typical of integrative democracy.
Maybe as a consequence of past experiences with democracy and the way the transition was
accomplished, stability and governability seem to be more valued by politicians and citizens
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
alike than representativeness and inclusiveness of all minorities and groups. This has been
relected in the reinforcement of executives and the parties’ centralization. Some of the problems
of aggregative or majoritarian decision-making, such as the possible representational bias
regarding some cleavages, have been avoided, however, through informal arrangements or due
to the effects of the electoral formula. These have worked well to allow fair representation of
the two main cleavages, the territorial one –through fair representation of sub-state nationalist
and regionalist parties— and the left-right one within state institutions –with the incorporation
of labour through left parties and the alternation in ofice— (Field and Hamman 2008). Third
national parties with a spread vote, however, as an unintended effect of the electoral system,
may be said to be unfairly represented.
The practice of democracy at the national level, however, differs strongly from these rules
and is characterized by the domination of representative democracy, especially through the
monopoly of political parties in the institutional arena coupled with a relatively high turnout in
national and subnational elections. Political participation and party and union membership have
remained low despite political and social and value changes (Torcal et al 2005; Morales 2005;
Mota 2006). Socialization during the dictatorship, where lack of civil and political liberties led
to total privatization of life and feelings of apathy and lack of trust, may explain this. Despite
very high and stable support for democracy, not affected by its performance, the transitional
way of elite accommodation may have reinforced for many observers a political culture of
disaffection (Benedicto 2004). As both citizens and parliamentary representatives recognize, it
is clear that despite regulations supporting the involvement of citizens, there is low participation
and a low wish to participate (Martínez 2006).
At the same time, institutional design decisions about the electoral system and the party funding
regulations reinforced parties. Furthermore, the internal life of most parties has also prevented
party members’ involvement despite some attempts to use primary elections within them and the
decentralization in regional party organizations. The late arrival of Spanish democracy would
explain some of these peculiarities, such as weak party membership, and others such as the
comparatively high inluence of television and other media in voters, the ‘presidentialization’
- 11 -
As regards representative versus direct democracy, we should distinguish between the rules
and the reality. The 1978 Spanish Constitution mandates the government “to facilitate the
participation of all citizens in political life” and establishes the right of citizens to participate
in public affairs, not only through representatives but also directly. It regulates the so-called
citizens or popular legislative initiative and the possibility of consultative referendum on policy
decisions. It recognizes the direct-democratic system of open council for small municipalities
and the obligation of public authorities to listen to organizations and users, the right of teachers,
parents, and students in the control and management of schools, etc. Other national regulations
appeal to the principles and forms of citizen participation, such as procedural administrative
laws, laws on Local Government and the regional Statutes of Autonomy, especially of the most
recent generation (Aguiar 2000; Sánchez Morón 2008).
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
of the executive power and the increasing cartelization of the political parties. Spain did not
experience the rise of mass and catch-all parties in the mid-20th century, and leaped straight to
a later stage, more dominated by individualism, post-materialism, or what has been called the
Americanization of Spanish politics (Magone 2009).
In sum, this mostly aggregative process and its representative or indirect democratic nature
produces a typical model of pendulum democracy (Hendriks) in which power alternates between
two parties, and where citizens periodically cast their votes and hand over legislative powers
to their elected representatives. These produce mostly single-party cabinets that take their own
decisions and make policies on their own, which may be reversed or changed by the in-coming
government. Although with consistently high turnout, citizens limit themselves to participate in
elections. Participation will be higher or lower depending on polarization and the main issues
involved. This pendulum democracy may occasionally be tempered by some informal elements
of a more integrative nature and by some direct formal elements contemplated in the national
and regional laws.
- 12 -
3. tHe iNStitutioNal expreSSioN of SubNatioNal democracy
the institutional framework of subnational authorities
Spain is composed of seventeen Autonomous Communities (ACs) with constitutionally
entrenched autonomy, whose legislative assemblies are directly elected by their citizens. All
of the ACs have adopted parliamentary systems in which regional presidents and governments
are politically responsible to regional parliaments.
table 1. the number of inhabitants in autonomous communities (2008)
SPAIN
Andalusia
Aragon
Asturias
Balearic Islands
Basque Country
Canary Islands
Cantabria
Castille & Leon
Castille-La Mancha
Catalonia
Extremadura
Galicia
Madrid
Murcia
Navarre
Rioja
Valencia
Ceuta and Melilla
Source: INE
46,157,822
8,202,220
1,326,918
1,080,138
1,072,844
2,157,112
2,075,968
582,138
2,557,330
2,043,100
7,364,078
1,097,744
2,784,169
6,271,638
1,426,109
620,377
317,501
5,029,601
148,837
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
In addition to the seventeen ACs, there are three types of elected local bodies in Spain: ifty
provinces, 8,112 municipalities and ten islands (Table 1). More than two thirds of Spanish
municipalities (71.5 per cent) have a population of less than 2,000 inhabitants; 85 per cent have
less than 5,000 inhabitants, concentrating only 13.1 per cent of the population; 145 municipalities
have more than 50,000 inhabitants with 52.5 per cent of the population. Twenty-four large
municipalities of more than 250,000 have 30 per cent of the population (see Tables 2 and 3).
table 2. range of population Size in municipalities. december 2008
0 to 2,000
2,000 to 5,000
5,000 to 20,000
20,000 to
50,000
50,000 to
500,000
more than
500,000
municipalities
Number
%
5,797
71.5
1,025
12.6
906
11.2
total population
Number
%
2,837,647
6.1
3,217,354
7
8855578
19.2
239
2.9
6997338
15.2
139
1.7
16681191
36.1
6
0.1
7568714
16.4
8,112
100
46157822
100
Provinces are based on territorial divisions established in the early 19th century and comprise
inter-municipal councils with indirectly elected provincial governments (diputaciones) and
presidents, which assist and co-operate with municipalities ensuring the provision of local
services to the smallest ones. During the devolution process seven provincial governments were
merged with regional governments in those ACs formed by only one old province —Asturias,
Cantabria, La Rioja, the Balearic Islands, Madrid, Murcia and Navarre—. The Spanish islands
—Balearic and Canary Islands— are served by councils that perform functions similar to those
of the continental provinces and possess some of the powers of the other ACs.
ACs have also established other subnational units of government. Catalonia and Aragon
have been active in creating counties (comarcas) for multi-municipal servicing and planning.
Moreover, several ACs have established 1,023 inter-municipal single or multi-purpose horizontal
service partnerships (mancomunidades), by bringing together two or more municipalities to
manage local public services (Agranoff 2007). Special arrangements also exist for the two
autonomous cities in North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla) and the major cities of Madrid and
Barcelona. The metropolitan areas of Spain’s other large cities are not served by their own
government bodies, since ACs have opposed such structures because they would compete for
powers and functions (Alba and Navarro 2005). Nonetheless, the metropolitan areas of some
large cities such as Barcelona and Valencia do provide different organizational structures for
selected public services.
- 13 -
Source Ministry of Public Administration
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
table 3. the number and types of local authorities by autonomous community (2009)
autonomous
comunities
municipalities
provinces
islands
Submunicip.
units
mancomunidades
comarcas
metropolitan
areas
other
total
Andalusia
770
8
0
47
89
0
0
0
914
Aragon
731
3
0
43
62
32
0
0
871
138
Asturias
78
1
0
39
19
0
0
1
Balearic Islands
67
1
4
1
7
0
0
0
80
Basque Country
251
3
0
340
37
7
0
0
638
Canary Islands
88
2
7
0
17
0
0
0
114
Cantabria
102
1
0
524
22
0
0
0
649
Castile & Leon
2.248
9
0
2.233
244
1
0
13
4748
Castille-La Mancha
919
5
0
40
134
0
0
1
1099
1124
Catalonia
946
4
0
58
73
41
2
0
Extremadura
383
2
0
26
73
0
0
0
484
Galicia
315
4
0
9
41
0
0
0
369
Madrid
179
1
0
2
49
0
0
0
231
Murcia
45
1
0
0
8
0
0
0
54
Navarre
272
1
0
352
60
0
0
2
687
Rioja
174
1
0
4
27
0
0
0
206
Valencia
542
3
0
7
61
0
2
0
615
*** Autonomous Cities
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
TOTAL
8112
50
11
3725
1023
81
4
17
13023
- 14 -
Source: Registro de Entidades Locals 05/01/2009.
If we look at the executives and legislative bodies and their leaders, their electoral systems
and inancial arrangements in all these subnational governments, we should irst refer to ACs,
which comprise overall 17 legislatures with 1186 regional MPs and play an important role in
shaping regional politics and policies. Their role, however, is conditioned by the predominance
of regional executives (López Nieto 2004). The presidents and governments of the regional
executives have followed the model of the central government. Regional prime ministers have
had considerable inluence in their institutional systems. This inluence is greater when they
control their party organizations and are charismatic leaders (Calvet 2007). They have important
powers such as the appointment of regional ministers and the structure of governments thus
leading to ‘presidentialization’ of regional governments (Magone 2009). The fact that they
usually are the leaders of their party regional branches, along with the effects of the parliamentary
system, has made them the main representatives of their territories’ interests and also given
them political inluence at the centre. This is particularly true when their own parties are not in
ofice in central government. There have been around sixty different presidents, 80 per cent of
whom belonged to the two main state-wide parties. In addition, a regional political class has
developed, but there is also a high degree of circulation between regional and national political
careers (Oñate 2006).
Regional statutes of autonomy in all ACs regulate their electoral systems and almost all of
them have approved electoral laws that outline electoral procedures (Table 4). Regional
electoral systems share the basic features of central regulations such as closed, blocked party
lists, and the D’Hondt formula. The number of seats, the type and size of the districts and the
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
electoral thresholds all vary across ACs and have changed in some cases over time - all ACs
have thresholds to win seats, although these vary between 3 and 5 per cent of valid votes.
Overall, regional electoral systems produce more proportional effects than those of general
elections, since 40 per cent of constituencies assign more than ifteen seats (López Nieto 2008).
table 4. the electoral system(s)
elected institution
•
•
Congress of Deputies
•
•
•
•
•
•
Senate
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Local governments
Source: Own elaboration
•
•
•
208 Senators elected directly by voters
Majority system applied in provincial multi-nominal constituencies with open lists.
Each mainland province directly elects four Senators, Island provinces elect three
senators on each of the larger islands and 1 on the remaining islands or groups of
islands. Cities of Ceuta and Melilla also directly elect two Senators each.
56 Senators are appointed by the Legislative Assemblies of each Autonomous
community pursuant the procedure laid down in its own legislation.
Different number of deputies to elect (ranging Catalonia with 135 seats to La Rioja
with 33).
Different types of districts
Proportional representation with D’Hondt formula and multimember districts
Threshold of 3 % or 5 %of valid votes in a district
Municipality is a single district with a number of councillors according to population
Majoritarian uninominal in small municipalities (<100), majoritarian plurinominal with
open lists and preferential vote (25- 250), proportional plurinominal in municipalities
(>250)
Mayor elected by the councillors in towns of more than 5000, by the citizens assembly
in open council municipalities in less than 100 inhab.
If there are no majority, the head of most voted list gets elected
Threshold of 5%
There are two distinct funding arrangements and tax systems for the ACs: the common and the
special or charter regimes – for the Basque Country and Navarre (Loughlin and Lux 2008).
These two ACs have maintained particular iscal and tax regimes, which allow them to raise
their own taxes and negotiate a transfer to Madrid to pay for common services. This is a source
of tension, but agreement has always been reached. The scheme causes some resentment in
other regions, since the Basque Country and Navarre not only are able to have a higher level of
public of regional public expenditure per capita, but they are also not integrated in the structured
system of state-wide iscal equalization despite being among the wealthiest regions in Spain.
Within the common regime, ACs’ revenue autonomy has signiicantly increased, through both
the devolution of some taxes and the revenue sharing of tax yields in main taxes —personal
income, VAT— (see Table 5). The Suficiency Fund —iscal equalization scheme—supplements
the gap between the funding needs of ACs and their tax capacity with the existing taxes.
- 15 -
Autonomous Communities
Parliaments
electoral rules
350 members directly elected by universal adult suffrage for a four-year term of ofice.
Fifty provincial constituencies is entitled to an initial minimum of two seats.
The remaining 248 seats are allocated among the ifty provinces in proportion to their
populations.
Closed and blocked party lists,
Seats apportioned according to the largest average method of proportional
representation (PR) D’Hondt.
Three percent threshold of all valid votes cast in the constituency, including blank
ballots.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
Table 5. The subnational system of inances and taxation: sources of inance autonomous
communities 2006
milion euros
taxeS
%
%
70,587
55.7
Own taxes
1,759
1.4
Shared taxes
68,828
54.4
graNtS
48,495
Suficiency Fund
29,941
23.6
38.3
Grants from EU
8,608
6.8
Interterritorial
compensation Fund
1,142
0.9
7.0
Other grants
8,804
borroWiNg
4,898
otHer reVeNueS
7,544
Provincial revenues
191
0.2
Fees and others
2,455
1.9
3.9
2.1
- 16 -
total reVeNueS
126,627
Adapted from Bosch and Vilalta (2008),
100.0
Regarding municipalities, the municipal executive is formed by the mayor (alcalde), who
presides the full council (ayuntamiento) comprising all elected councillors. Legislation dictates
the number of councillors according to population size. The largest cities have between twentyive and ifty-ive councillors -in Madrid- , but around twenty-seven in most large cities. In
Spain, there are more than 65,000 elected councillors, 50 per cent of whom are in municipalities
with populations between 250- 5,000 and of whom 31 per cent are women. There are 8,112
mayors, of which 15 per cent are women (see Tables 6).
table 6. How representative local councillors are by… (percentages)
table 6a. age
Councillors 03
Councillors 07
18 a 25
0.7
2.22
26 a 45
46.72
51.48
46 a 65
46.26
42.47
Más de 65
6.32
3.83
100
100
table 6b. gender
2003
2007
Mayors
Councillors
Major +Councillors
Mayors
Councillors
Major+Councillors
Men
91.96
73.87
82.91
85
69
77
Women
8.04
26.13
17.1
15
31
23
100
100
100
100
100
100
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
table 6c. Social class. level of education
Mayors
Councillors
Majors+Councillors
No education
0.34
0.47
0.405
Incompletete
6.94
6.44
6.69
Secondary
25.94
28.91
27.425
Vocational Training
12.12
13.18
12.65
High School
17.95
17.22
17.585
Pregraduate studies
18.83
15.89
17.36
Graduate studies
17.87
17.89
17.88
100
100
100
Source: Registro de Representantes Electos (Ministry of Public Administration)
The political proile of the mayor has also been reinforced by transferring most of his
administrative functions (public procurement, public services, local public employment,
economic management, permits and authorizations, and others) to the local government board or
cabinet, formed by several councillors supporting the mayor (Salazar 2007). Especially in large
cities, a strong executive body has taken on most of the management functions from the mayor
(Magre and Bertrana 2005). This has also ended with the traditional concentration of executive
powers in the mayor and the traditional local ‘semi-presidentialist’ model, produced in practice
by his domination of the local party structure and its independence from the national parties.
In many cases continued electoral success and the support of the local party may maintain the
mayor in power for many years.
The main bodies of the provincial governments are the president and vice-president of the
provincial council (Diputación), the plenary assembly of the provincial council, formed by
delegates of the different municipalities within the province, and the government commission,
which supports the president, formed by several members of the provincial council (Salazar
2007).
- 17 -
Until very recently, the full council also had many executive powers. Several reforms of national
legislation regulating local institutions have tried to strengthen local democracy by attributing
to the mayor more executive powers and administrative tasks, and have limited the power of
the council to that of making strategic decisions or regulations. Reforms have given the full
council more scrutiny and control powers over the mayor, which means local government has
been under a process of progressive ‘parliamentarization’. These reforms have introduced the
automatic calling of the full council, the censure motion, and the motion of conidence in the
mayor, related to the adoption of certain decisions such as budgets, organizational regulations,
urban planning, or inancial controls (Salvador 2006). Recent attempts have also been made
in law to decentralize local council administration through the creation of districts. So far,
and with the exception of a few cities, councils had been reluctant to decentralize or even to
deconcentrate their administration. A highly centralized model has prevailed with concentration
of power in the hands of the mayor and their deputy mayors.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
- 18 -
The mayor is elected by the councillors in the full council, and must be a party group leader.
Normally the mayor is the leader of the largest party but not always so. The mayor’s ofice lasts
four years, unless he loses a motion of censure. The municipal electoral regulations contained
in national framework laws, establish a procedure under which the head of the most voted list
becomes the mayor in case that none of the party group leaders obtains a majority of votes.
There is no possibility of dissolving the council or calling for new elections, which may produce
instability in those cases where none of the party leaders is able to command a majority and is
subject to repeated motions of censure or vulnerable to the effect of turncoat councillors.
Citizens elect councillors directly through a system of closed party lists. In the case of
municipalities with fewer than 100 inhabitants (934 municipalities, 11.51 per cent), subject to the
open council regime, the mayor is elected through a majority vote in the citizens assembly. The
same is true in the 3,814 sub-municipal units, where citizens elect sub-local mayors (alcaldes
pedáneos) directly. For municipalities with populations between 100 and 250 inhabitants (20
per cent of them), ive councillors have to be elected through panachage1 in open lists and
preferential vote. Councillors then elect the mayor. For municipalities with more than 250
inhabitants (69 per cent) election of the mayor is made by the councillors in closed party lists
and a proportional formula. Three quarters of councillors are elected in councils whose size is
between 7 and 17 councillors, and 14 per cent in districts of ive councillors. This means that the
electoral system has effects that are more proportional in large cities and is more majoritarian in
small municipalities. Overall it is more proportional than the national system (Delgado 2008).
The main funding for local governments comes mainly from the central government but
since recently also from the ACs (Loughlin and Lux 2008). Revenues, however, are clearly
insuficient, since municipal governments carry out a great deal of unfunded mandates. Despite
this, they have more tax autonomy than regional ones, since the share of own-source revenues
is of 60 per cent (see Table 7). These are based largely on taxes and fees related to development
permits, building and housing, which has led to many cases of irregular inancing and to an
uncontrolled urban development.
1
This allows voters to choose candidates from different party lists.
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
table 7. revenue composition of municipalities for 2004 without borrowing
feeS, public priceS aNd otHerS
28.50
muNicipal taxeS
31.92
Property Tax
16.06
Local Business Tax
3.04
Vehicle Tax
4.93
Tax on increased property values
Tax of constructions. facilities
and infrastructure
Other
2.92
4.95
0.02
tax SHariNg
Personal Income Tax
1.82
0.97
Value Added Tax. VAT
0.6
Excise Duties
0.24
From Central government
20.63
From Autonomous Communities
9.31
From abroad
0.67
37.76
graNtS
From other sources
7.15
Source: adapted from López Laborda et al. 2006
Subnational politics has been dominated in the last decade, similarly to the national level, by
the three main state-wide parties –Socialist Party (PSOE), the People’s Party (PP), and United
Left (IU)–, and by several regional, AC-based or non-state-wide parties (Hanley and Loughlin
2006; Verge 2007). Some of the latter have also been important in the national parliament
(Convergencia i Unió (CiU) -, Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and Canary Coalition (CC))
when supporting the Socialist and People’s Party minority governments (Pallarés and Keating
2006). Non state-wide parties are in parliament or cabinets in all but ive regions. In Catalonia,
the Basque Country, Galicia, Navarre and the Canary Islands they have given rise to distinct
regional party systems. In some cases —until 2003 in Catalonia and 2009 in the Basque
Country— they have dominated regional parliaments and cabinets from its inception. Also
state-wide parties and their regional branches have adapted to decentralization and electoral
competition with regional parties and have changed their organizations accordingly, gaining
growing inluence within state-wide party’s organizations and leadership.
Regarding government formation, most ACs – nine until 2009 but currently eleven - have
single-party governments, of which nine rule with a majority (see Table 8a). The other six ACs
are usually governed by coalition governments between state-wide and non state-wide parties
—three dominated by non state-wide parties, Catalonia, Navarra, and Canary Islands, and three
dominated by state-wide parties, Aragon, Cantabria, and Balearic Islands. Overall, in 46.4 per
cent of regional elections there was a majority in parliament and government. In addition, in
nine ACs there has been practically no alternation in government —six PP and three PSOE
(López Nieto 2008). Catalonia and the Basque Country have alternated only after 30 years of
- 19 -
Subnational politics
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
domination by nationalist parties. In twelve ACs the competition is bipartisan and in the other
ive it is multiparty, with three to ive parties (Ocaña and Oñate 2006; Wilson 2009).
table 8.a. government formation and electoral results for State-wide and Non State
Wide parties in the last regional elections
State parties or its regional
branches
Non-State Wide parties (%
Votes)
government
formed by
Andalusia 2008
PSOE (48.1); PP (38.6); IU (7.1)
PA (2.9)
PSOE (Maj)
Aragon 2007
PSOE (41.03); PP (31.09); IU (4.12)
PAR (12.12); CHA (8.17);
Other (4.72)
PSOE PAR (Maj)
Asturias 2007
PP (41.8); PSOE (41.6); IU (9.8)
PSOE (Min)
Balearic Islands 2007
PP (46.01); PSOE (31.75);
BLOC (9.8); UM (6.75);
PSOE UM PSM IU
(Maj)
Basque Country 2009
PSE-EE/PSOE (30.70); PP (14.1);
UPD (2.15);
PNV-EAJ (38.56); ARALAR
(6.03); EA (3.6); EB-B (3.51);
PSOE (Min)
Canary Islands 2007
PSOE (34.72); PP (24.37)
CC (23.36);
CC PP (Maj)
Cantabria 2007
PP (41.52); PSOE (24.33)
PRC (28.87)
PSOE PRC (Maj)
Castile & Leon 2007
Castille-La Mancha
2007
PP (49.41); PSOE (37.49);
UPL (2.74)
PP (Maj)
- 20 -
Catalonia 2006
PSOE (51.92); PP (42.45)
PP (10.65)
PSOE (Maj)
PSC (26.82); CiU (31.53);
Ciutadans-Partido de la
Ciudadanía (3.03); ERC
(14.03); ICV (9.52);
PSC ERC ICV (Maj)
Extremadura 2007
PSOE (52.9); PP (38.79)
Galicia 2009
PP (46.68); PSOE (31.02). UPD
(1.41);
Madrid 2007
PP (53.3); PSOE (33.46); IU (8.89)
PP (Maj)
Murcia 2007
PP (58.49); PSOE (31.81); IU (6.24)
PP (Maj)
Navarre 2007
PSOE (22.4); IU (4.4)
UPN (42.2); CDN (4.4); NB
(23.7)
UPN CDN (Min)
Rioja 2007
PP (48.74); PSOE (40.47);
PR (5.95)
PP (Maj)
Valencia 2007
PP (52.52); PSOE (34.49);
IU-CPV (7.07)
PP (Maj)
PSOE (Maj)
BNG (16.01); TEGA (1.11);
PP (Maj)
Source: Junta Electoral Central (2009) and own elaboration
Aralar (Basque Independentist Party); Bloc (Balearic Block); BNG. Bloque Nacionalista Galego (Galician Nationalist Block); CiutadansPartido de la Ciudadanía (Citizens’ Party); CC. Coalición Canaria (Canary Islands Coalition); CDN. Convergencia de Demócratas de Navarra
(Navarre Democrats’ Grouping); CHA Chunta Aragonesista (Aragonesist Group); CÍU. Convergéncia i Unió (Convergence and Union); EA.
Eusko Alkartasuna (Basque Solidarity); EB Ezquerra Batua (Basque United Left); IU Izquierda Unida (United Left); IU-ICV Iniciativa per
Catalunya-Verts (Initiative for Catalonia-The Greens); NB Nafarroa Bai (Navarra Yes); PA. Partido Andalucista (Andalusian Party); PAR.
Partido Aragonés Regionalista (Aragonese Regionalist Party); PNV-EAJ. Partido Nacionalista Vasco (Basque Nationalist Party); PP. Partido
Popular (Popular Party); PR Partido Riojano (Riojan Party); PRC. Partido Regionalista de Cantabria (Cantabrian Regionalist Party); PSOE.
Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Spanish Socialist Party); PSE-EE (Basque socialista Party; PSC Catalan Socialist Party; UM. Unión
Mallorquina (Mallorcan Union); UPL Unión del Pueblo Leonés (Union of the Leonese People); UPN. Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Union of
the People of Navarre); UPD Unión Progreso y Democracia (Union Progress and Democracy)
In several ACs, voting patterns may be different between general and regional elections. For
example in the Basque Country and Catalonia a signiicant portion of votes go for state-wide
parties in general elections and for nationalist parties at the regional ones. Even in those four
regions with a different electoral calendar, the dynamics of regional politics and electoral
competition are closely linked to those at the national level. Recent research has shown, for
example, that those ACs do not necessarily show a distinctive issue proile in their electoral
campaigns (Libbrecht et al. 2009). Nevertheless, one may also witness a regionalization of
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
national politics, due to the importance that non-state-wide parties have acquired for the
stability of the government in the national parliament. Circulation of politicians among levels is
frequent. Over 60 per cent of regional MPs were re-elected in the election of 2007, half of them
have had prior political experience at municipal level and around 10 per cent at the national
level — (Oñate and Delgado 2006).
At the local level, there are numerous political parties that run in the municipal elections
alongside state-wide or regional parties. Many of them are independents, left wing radicals,
greens, and alternatives. They may win in small towns but would normally need the support
of one of the large state-wide or AC-based parties, which usually present candidates in all
municipalities (Márquez 2007; Velasco 2009). They play a direct role in exercising local power,
since local politicians are well represented within the central structures of political parties, or
because parties deal with local matters with a supra-local perspective. Around 70 per cent of
mayors belong to the three main state-wide parties and the rest to non-state-wide parties and to
independent parties and citizens’ electoral groups.
- 21 -
The recent electoral trends signal a concentration of votes on state-wide parties or their branches
both in national and regional elections. At present, if we consider the Catalan Socialist Party
(PSC) as a counterpart of PSOE, sixteen ACs are governed by state-wide parties alone or in
coalition —only Navarre is not, due to UPN’s recent tensions with its associate party PP. This
trend has been visible in March 2008 national elections —where 89 per cent of votes (93 per
cent of seats) went for state-wide parties— and in recent regional elections. After the Basque and
Galician elections on 1 March 2009, nationalist parties do not have a majority in parliaments or
control the executives in any of their traditional strongholds, with the exception of the Canary
Islands. It is not still clear whether this relects an underlying crisis or a momentary electoral
retreat of regional nationalisms in Spain. In any case, it signals a clear success of state-wide
parties and their regional branches, able to act both as national and regional parties according
to the elections. This notwithstanding, new third parties have emerged for the irst time and
entered the national and regional parliaments, some of them campaigning on territorial issues
(UPD and Ciutadans), which shows some disaffection with both national and sub-state existing
parties.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
table 8b. municipal elections 2007
party
Votes
PP
PSOE
IU
CIU
ERC-AM
PNV
PAR
BNG
ICV-EUIA-EP
PA
CC-PNC
EAE-ANV
Rest of parties
total Votes
parties
Blank ballot
Void
TOTAL VOTES
7,915.014
7,758.783
1,216.944
722,653
347,460
309,625
94,087
315,449
257,048
235,201
217,540
94,825
2,318,306
Share of
Votes
36.61%
34.91%
5.47%
3.25%
1.56%
1.39%
0.42%
1.42%
1.16%
1.06%
0.98%
0.43%
10.43%
21,802,935
99.09%
23.349
24.029
2.035
3.384
1.594
1.038
982
661
449
526
403
439
7.241
% of
mayors
35.66
28.82
4.17
0.72
1.29
1.13
1.89
0.1
0.07
0.21
0.3
0.31
5.94
66.130
80.61
councillors
majorities
pluralities
tie
2880
2328
58
337
104
91
153
8
6
17
24
25
481
472
572
54
116
37
41
35
9
16
7
11
15
177
2
2
6512
1562
427,234
263,515
22,493,684
- 22 -
Source: Ministry of Interior 2009.
During the 1999-2003 period, there was a government with an absolute majority in 83.1 per
cent of municipalities. Majority governments predominated in the smaller municipalities, while
they decrease in middle-sized towns and especially in big cities (Salazar 2007: 163). According
to data provided by the Ministry of Territorial Affairs, after the 2007 elections 80 per cent of
mayors had a majority in their councils. If we look at large cities in seven local elections from
1979-2003 an average percentage of 45.1 were elected by a majority of one party (63.5 per
cent in 2003), 22.8 per cent had a single-party majority, and 32.1 per cent ruled in coalition.
Of the seven largest municipalities during 2003-2007 only three managed to rule with an absolute
majority, the rest counting on other municipal groups (Márquez 2007, 306 ff).
These igures show a picture of a party system similar to the national and regional one and
increasingly bipartisan. If we look at the stability of local governments and the use of censure
motions, we know that in 2003-2006, 185 motions of censure were tabled, which is very few
if we consider the number of municipalities. The data show that they largely occur in small
municipalities, where political fragmentation of the municipalities is higher and where the
parties have more dificulty in maintaining discipline in their groups. Likewise, the data show
that cases of turncoat councillors (transfuguismo) are at the origin of less than half of the motions
of censure (Salazar 2007). At the same time, this shows how the balance between governability
and representativeness of the local government is accomplished by the electoral system more
fairly than many of its critics suggest when advocating its reform.
Regarding the nationalization of local elections, until now the party winning the local elections
has usually won the subsequent national election. For this reason, many in the parties’ campaigns
and in the media see local elections as the irst round of general elections (Magone 2009). Local
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
election turnout, at around 60 and 70 per cent, similar to regional elections but usually lower than
national elections, has remained stable. When it has risen, it has been due to ‘nationalization of
local politics’. Within parties, central organizations decide frequently on the candidates and the
coalitions in municipal governments, especially regarding the big cities. On the other hand, the
‘localization’ of national politics is less important than in other countries. For example, among
the deputies of the lower chamber, the congress of deputies, there are eight mayors and fortyone councillors (see Table 9). Unfortunately, we lack data on how many senators accumulate
local and national mandates.
table 9. cumul des mandats among deputies in the lower chamber
(congress of deputies)
% of MP
Number
mayors
councillors
2.3
8
11.7
41
major +
councillors
14
49
Source: Registro de Representantes Electos (Ministry of Public Administration)
Subnational citizenship and participation
However, although Spanish civil society has traditionally been considered weak and with poor
social capital, some recent data on associational activity, showing regional variations, allow for
some qualiications to this perception (Montero et al. 2006; Morales 2005; Encarnación 2008).
For instance, while the number of associations remains small in most regions, there has been
an increase of non-political associations in many regions. Younger citizens are less involved in
politics, but they are more oriented towards other types of association. Data on protest events,
especially demonstrations, show very active citizens, comparable to that of other neighbouring
democracies. Similarly, although the levels of interpersonal trust are low, they score better than
in other advanced democracies. Some authors have suggested that social capital in the Spanish
case is only weak when measured against the usual criteria in Anglo-Saxon studies. It could
- 23 -
Spanish citizens in all regions give high support to democracy as the best political system.
Electoral turnout is very similar to other democracies such as the French, Irish or British. This
support for democracy co-exists, however, with a widespread disaffection among citizens
towards the political sphere. For instance, with small regional variations, only a quarter of
Spaniards feel ‘very’ or ‘quite’ interested in politics and around three-quarters have negative
opinions about politics and politicians. Citizens’ movements of the 1970s declined with the
formation of a representative democracy and most of their leaders were co-opted into party
politics, regional legislatures and local councils, joining the local and regional political classes.
Most analysts expected that the period of political socialization in democracy would improve
some of these attitudes inherited from the Franco dictatorship. However, after more than thirty
years since the restoration of democracy, the resilience of some of these negative attitudes
makes some observers pessimistic regarding the quality of democracy.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
be considered much higher if more expansive criteria were used and frequent bar hoping or
clubbing were included, as an equivalent to bowling for American case (Encarnación 2008).
- 24 -
Spaniards in all regions also adhere to a statist view and to a universalistic concept of the welfare
state, with a strong emphasis on equal opportunities. Most citizens believe that the government
should be responsible for the welfare of all citizens and around 70 per cent would rather pay
more taxes and have more or better services, than pay less for fewer or lower quality ones
(Del Pino 2005). In sharp contrast to the traditional view of Spaniards as having a consistently
negative attitude and as being unsatisied with government performance, a majority of citizens,
with some regional variations, are ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisied with public services provided by
regions and the central government (Arriba et al. 2006), although satisfaction with education
and health has been decreasing lately.
The decentralization model of the so-called State of Autonomies (El Estado de las Autonomías)
has high levels of support in most ACs. Nowadays more than 80 per cent of citizens have a
dual identity or allegiance both to their AC and to Spain, identifying with the two political
communities. Since 1976 support for centralism decreased from 43 per cent to 9 per cent
in 2005. The percentage favouring more powers for ACs has gone from being about half of
the population in 1984 to almost 78 per cent in 2005. At the same time, with some regional
variations, citizens are divided in their preferences as to which level of government should
have the responsibility for providing health and education. Most citizens would like the central
government to retain responsibilities for pensions and social security (Del Pino and Van Ryzin
2008). Finally, municipal governments are seen as the ones most responsive to citizens’ needs
and as those encouraging citizen participation the most.
Subnational governments on their part have made efforts in recent years to improve instruments
of citizen participation. They have sought to address both the improvement of public action
and the widespread belief that there is a certain crisis of democracy. Traditional mechanisms of
public consultation in administrative procedures are fully consolidated in Spain and function
relatively well in issues of high public salience. Some regional governments have also created
directorates-general in their administrations to promote citizen participation, for example
Catalonia, Canary Islands, Valencia and Aragon. All ACs have regulated regional popular
legislative initiatives. Catalonia for instance has introduced innovations in the number of
signatures and holders of the right to submit it, extending to those over 18 years and residents
with non-Spanish nationality. These mechanisms have not been used much. In the Spanish
parliament there have been ifty-seven popular initiatives, and in the Catalan Parliaments, for
instance, eleven, virtually all without success.
At the local level, the ‘popular municipal initiative’ was introduced in 2003. The 2003 Law
on Modernization of Local Governments regulated standards and procedures for the effective
participation of the residents in local affairs, both in the municipality as a whole and in the districts.
It also provides for the improvement and modernization of the mechanisms of public consultation
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
and for municipal deconcentration in large population cities. It has regulated participation in
strategic planning and local development policies through the creation of the Social Council of
the City and the participation in the improvement of the municipal administration (Rodriguez
2005). It is still soon to see the effects of these measures, but data show decreasing interest
in participation in local politics, even where there are channels of participation, such as the
attendance to the meetings of the council, citizens’ assemblies in the open council system or the
possibility of following the council meetings through the broadcasting by local TV stations.
To this, we must add the very limited practice of direct democracy mechanisms provided for in
the Constitution and other regulations. Referendums have been little used in Spain. In addition
to the four state-level referendums in total, only seven regional referendums have been held,
three in Andalusia, two in Catalonia and one in the Basque Country. Regarding municipalities,
the central government has to authorize referendums. Between 1985 and March 2009, only
twenty-six were authorized out of the 111 proposed by municipal authorities in more than 8100
municipalities (see Table 10). In addition, the open council in municipalities with less than 100
inhabitants has had mixed success in practice.
ac
requested
authorized
Andalusia
17
4
Aragon
Basque Country
4
8
1
1
Canary Island
4
2
Castile and Leon
Castile-La
Mancha
20
2
issues involved
Local festivals (2), Integration of municipality
in supramunicipal consortium (1), Facilities
(1)
municipal segregation
Dissolution of municipality
Environment (1), change name of municipality
(1))
Environment (1), municipal organization (1))
9
3
Facilities (1), Local festivals (2),
Catalonia
15
4
Extremadura
Galicia
Madrid
Murcia
Navarre
La Rioja
6
3
3
2
3
1
2
0
2
0
1
1
Valencia
15
3
Ceuta
total
1
111
0
26
Town-planning (2), change name of
municipality (1), Local festivals (1)
Facilities (1), Local festivals (1)
Facilities (1)
Environment (1)
Environment (1)
change name of municipality (1), Local
festivals (2)
-
Source: Own elaboration with data from Ministry of Public Administration.
Consultative councils are the most used mechanism of citizen participation in municipalities.
They can be sector-speciic (consejos sectoriales) or territorial (consejos territoriales). Most
consultative councils have a plenary session meeting on a regular basis and a speciic commission
for the daily work, which produces much of the debate. All Spanish municipalities with more
than 100,000 residents have some consultative sector-speciic councils and nearly 40 per cent
- 25 -
table 10. Number and type of local referendums en Spain (1985-2009)
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
have territorial councils. At the same time, municipalities across Spain have been experimenting
with various mechanisms for citizen participation, especially salient in Catalonia and Andalusia
(Font and Blanco 2006). For example, there have been innovative experiments such as the
Council of the 100 Young in the city of Barcelona, selected randomly from the local population.
Another experiments are Scenario Workshops which bring together a diverse group of people
to discuss future scenarios on a given issue, to deliberate and eventually reach agreements and
recommendations. Many municipalities hold public municipal hearings usually, as for example
the forums that have developed in recent years within the framework of Local Agenda 21.
- 26 -
The practice of participatory budgeting is recent and still small-scale in several municipalities,
but there are some experiences worthwhile mentioning. In Catalonia, it was launched in Sabadell
in 2000 and Rubí in 2002. Other examples are found in the province and the city of Cordoba
or Cabezas de San Juan, Albacete, and Getafe, and more recently in Seville. In this city, the
council allocated between 32 and 42 per cent of its budget to eighteen districts; and all residents
in the neighbourhoods voted for particular projects, social policies and actions in their area.
Local governments have also used polls and surveys on speciic aspects of municipal life, or
deliberative polls in some Andalusian cities. According to a recent survey in middle-size cities,
most citizens do not know or use many of the mechanisms mentioned above (Navarro 2008a).
Subnational governance
Apart from parliaments, audit courts, ombudsman ofices, and economic and social councils, ACs
in Spain have developed independent regional administrations and civil services to implement
their policies and co-ordinate national policies with the central government’s administration.
Most of them followed the national bureaucratic model in their departmental organization and
concentrated powers in the regional capitals, establishing ministerial ield ofices over their
territories, frequently following the traditional division in provinces. ACs with a greater number
of powers at the beginning, the fast-track ACs, developed a more stable and professionalized
civil service and some others have relied more on non-career-civil servants posts (Ramió and
Salvador 2002). Many ACs have created agencies or public companies for regional economic
development, and have independently regulated spatial planning, urbanism and land use, saving
banks, or have set strategic plans for big cities. They have also approved regional economic
strategies, such as Regional Pacts for the Employment, Regional Spatial Strategies, Regional
Transport and Infrastructures Plans, etc. They have their own R+D policies, education and
vocational training schemes, or set their own environmental standards or transport regulations
within EU and Spanish framework directives (Colino 2008).
It appears that their institutions and resources have enabled growing, if still limited, policy and
inancial discretion by regions. Most of the revenues of ACs governments are unconditioned
and have constantly grown in the last years. That has given them a certain capacity to implement
innovative policy options and policy experiments. AC governments have chosen different
public-private mixes for the provision of their services, have decided to invest more on cultural,
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
linguistic or in welfare policies, on primary or secondary education, on technology or in tourism, or to
change their priorities. Additionally, they have produced policy innovation in several programmes such
as family assistance, housing policies, poverty assistance, environmental impact assessment, health
care management, development aid, etc. This has led to increasing policy diversity across them in such
important sectors as health, education, social services, or environmental policy (Gallego et al. 2005;
Subirats 2006).
Growing demands from their populations have produced ever-growing spending on health and other
services, which has led to diverging iscal situations across regions. All ACs feel now in urgent
need of additional inancing. In addition, most regional administrations have been under pressure to
modernize even more than the central government. Some processes of ‘agentization’ and contracting
out can be observed. Many public-private partnerships have been established (Catalonia, Andalusia,
Madrid). Additionally, several ACs have attempted systems of quality management, E-government,
and information technologies.
Recently, local governments have turned to welfare state services and have had to deal with new problems
such as environment sustainability, immigration, new technologies, and educational deprivation,
coupled with demands for greater social participation. Often they have done this without having explicit
jurisdiction or resources given by the other two levels. In this sense, the high number, fragmentation,
and diversity of local governments in Spain has led to the lack of suficient inancial means and a
chronic inancial deicit, and made them dependent on other governments —central and regional— in
order to be able to provide their services. That means that a high percentage of their expenditure is
constituted by unfunded mandates. This has led to two typical solutions, intermunicipal co-operation,
with the creation of horizontal service partnerships (mancomunidades) or consortia (Nieto 2007), or to
the privatization of the delivery of important local services, such as solid waste collection and water.
In many cases, local councils have privatized the delivery of social, cultural, and educational services
to private companies or to the third sector NGOs, non-proit and religious organizations. Services
- 27 -
As regards municipalities and the other local entities, they do not possess speciic powers assigned by
the Constitution. The central law and regional laws may assign responsibilities for several policies in
some matters. In most cases, it is the laws of the ACs that transfer these responsibilities. According
to their population size, they have to provide a number of basic services, such as local policing, ire
ighting, refuse collection, street cleaning, land use control, urban transportation, social services, leisure
and cultural activities, public works and town planning, central markets, housing, etc. Only the larger
municipalities have a role in the delivery of services such as education or health, which are under
AC government’s responsibility. Municipal and provincial councils have mostly secured an eficient
delivery of public services such as water supply, waste disposal, roads and freeways maintenance; they
have also been successful in promoting economic development at the local level (Velasco 2009). In
metropolitan areas, public services have also been mostly successful and delivered jointly by the ACs
administration and one or several local councils, with different levels of integration of services and
normally managed by agencies or public companies governed by the councils (Tomàs 2005). A good
example of this joint delivery is urban and intercity transport in the metropolitan area of Madrid.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
managed by private operators represented 44 per cent for municipalities between 100,000500,000 inhabitants (Torres et al. 2003).
At the same time, mayors and councillors have changed their styles of governing and increasingly
learnt to interact with other public and private actors, establishing local policy networks that in
many cases have implied the participation of stakeholders in main local policies (Blanco and
Gomà 2002; Navarro 2008b)
- 28 -
Spanish Subnational democracy in the lijphart-Hendriks typologies
Summarising the situation of subnational democracy so far, if we try to apply the existing
models of democracy to the subnational democracies in Spain, at the regional level we ind
mostly majoritarian features albeit with some qualiications. For instance, we ind concentration
of executive power in one-party regional governments in eleven ACs, the executive dominance
in relations between regional parliaments and governments and two-party systems or
bipolar competition in electoral blocks in most of them. There are also centralized regional
administrations with strong central institutions and weak sub-regional institutions and a
concentration of regulatory powers in regional governments, with inancial-economic auditing
under regional political control. On the other hand, some consensual elements are the electoral
system of proportional representation with fairly proportional effects; some indications of an
interest group system that stresses regional corporatism, and inally the legal-administrative
supervision by higher regional courts.
If we look at the local democracy, there are clear differences between large cities and small
municipalities. But generally we may also ind a majoritarian concentration of executive power
in one-party local government, mostly supported by pluralities; increasing executive dominance
of mayors vis-à-vis the council, a two-party system in most of the councils, and a more pluralist
local interest group system. We also ind concentration of regulatory powers, the importance
of council sectoral committees and related bureaucracies; mostly centralized local government
with weak sub-local institutions. On the consensus model side, we may ind the proportional
electoral system; a dispersal of regulatory powers in co-ordination with other governmental
tiers and external inancial-economic auditing with legal-administrative supervision by courts,
with independent local auditing weakly developed.
If we add the consideration of direct forms of democracy at the subnational levels, we observe
again an apparent gap between the rules and the reality. Despite the clear representative approach
of subnational democracy in Spain, there are many regulations establishing the requirement
to encourage citizens’ participation and even direct democracy in micro-municipalities. The
introduction of many participatory mechanisms in the last ten years in many municipalities
imply the co-existence of traditional representative democracy with a model imbued with a new
logic. This causes great variance in practice as to the levels of compliance with these regulations
and the use of existing mechanisms across regions and types of local governments. At the same
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
time, citizens do not seem to be eager to participate. This situation produces overall a type
of pendulum democracy at the subnational level again, even if a certain plebiscitary logic of
voter democracy has been also visible through the intense use of consumer surveying, opinion
polling, and public-service marketing. Other mechanisms such as Internet fora or e-democracy
have shown elements of a more direct democratic or ‘deliberative’ logic.
4. cHalleNgeS aNd opportuNitieS of SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN
Subnational democracy in Spain faces several exogenous and endogenous challenges that affect
its quality, that is, the responsiveness, eficacy, and legitimacy of governments. Some of them
are unique to its speciic coniguration and evolution. Others are shared by other subnational
units both in similar countries in Mediterranean Europe and in the rest of Europe. The response
to these challenges implies constitutional and institutional reform proposals and policy changes
that at the same time represent an opportunity to adapt to new social realities and policy
problems.
In this sense, lack of resources seems to be the main challenge for the effectiveness of subnational
governments in Spain. Decentralization of most welfare state functions in the 1990s produced
ever-growing spending in health and other services, aggravated by a strong increase of the
immigrant population and related spending. Redistribution mechanisms, cohesion policies, and
the ever-increasing cost of the welfare state, supported mostly by regional governments, become
thus one of the more debated issues in need of reform. The fragmentation of local governments
and the very many unfunded mandates they have been taking on, - leading some municipalities
to virtual bankruptcy or high amounts of government debt - also calls for urgent solutions. These
solutions have to be agreed and co-ordinated among central, regional, and local governments.
Thus far, regional governments have been unwilling to decentralize resources and competences
to the local tier, which has maintained the same share of public spending since the transition to
democracy.
- 29 -
The irst challenge we can mention is globalization, Europeanization, and economic
competiveness, which are three different albeit related dimensions of the exogenous challenge
to subnational democracy. Global competition and adaptation to EU membership has been a
challenge that has put a strain on the capacity of subnational governments to compete with each
other in international markets for private investments and domestically for public investments
and structural funding from central government and EU. This competition, aggravated with the
international economic crisis has also affected big cities and metropolitan areas in Spain that
have also competed for a new role in the global scene. For example, Madrid and Barcelona
metropolitan areas –among the 10 biggest in Europe— have tried with different strategies to
place their economies in the new global economy. This has had consequences for regional
governments, which as in the case of Catalonia have demanded more resources to promote their
economic growth and employment.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
- 30 -
Corruption in regional and local government seems to be one, if not the most serious, of the malaises
plaguing subnational democracy in Spain. In virtually all parties and at all governmental levels,
regional, provincial, and municipal, there have been repeated scandals in the last years. They have
impelled legislators and judges, so far unsuccessfully, to try to address what seems to be a structural
phenomenon. It has its causes in the afore-mentioned lack of resources of subnational governments, the
increasing inancial needs of political parties, and the real estate boom that Spain experienced in recent
times. Most of the corruption scandals have involved regional governments, presidents and deputies,
and both small towns and large cities like Madrid. Many of the corruption cases revolve around the
irregular funding of parties and work in several ways. Some involve donations from large companies,
credit debt write-offs from banks, or the use of regional or local public administrations to channel
funds to the party controlling it, by charging commissions from the awarding of public procurement
or in exchange for certain urban development decisions or permits (Fundación Alternativas 2007). The
pervasive party politicization of the higher echelons of both regional and local administrations and
the ineffectiveness of audit and other supervision mechanisms aggravates the situation. In 2009, the
European Parliament (Auken Report) severely criticized land speculation and other irregularities in
Spain, rampant sprawl and urbanization programmes, especially at the seaside.
In other cases, accusations of the squander of public moneys by regional presidents and ministers have
caught the attention of the media. Finally, a last source of corruption at the regional and local level has
been the ‘turncoat’ phenomenon. For example, the two regional turncoat deputies in Madrid in 2003,
who were allegedly bribed and refused to vote the investiture of their own party leader, forcing the
regional parliament of Madrid to repeat regional elections. This prevented the left coalition that won
the elections from forming a government. Many cases of turncoat councillors have also occurred at the
municipal level, and main state-wide parties tried to agree a national pact against this phenomenon that
has subsequently not been honoured. In any case, one of the most worrying developments related to
corruption is that public opinion and voters in general do not seem to seek retribution against politicians
or governing parties after these have been suspect of corruption and in most cases have re-elected
candidates involved in corruption cases. For some observers, this lack of retribution occurs most
frequently among conservative voters. High party bipolarization and the political culture of extended
cynicism of voters towards politicians may explain this (Fundación Alternativas 2007).
This creates a climate in public opinion and attitudes that undoubtedly lead to political disaffection and
to increasing levels of abstention and cynicism. In some ACs, such as Catalonia, increasing disaffection
has brought about a debate about its causes and solutions. This debate has intensiied with the decreasing
participation in regional and local elections, and in the referendums on the new Statutes of Autonomy
in both Catalonia and Andalusia —with 48 and 36 per cent turnout respectively, alongside other signs
of citizen discontent regarding the political system and politicians (Vallès 2008).
However, if corruption and disaffection are severe problems of subnational democracy in Spain, still
more serious for its survival is the problem, currently unique in Europe, of the persistence of political
violence and nationalist terrorism in the Basque Country and in Navarre, affecting indirectly the rest
of the country. The terrorist organization (ETA), which has a sizeable (albeit decreasing) support of the
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
population, has sought independence of the Basque Country and annexation of Basque lands in
France and Navarre. It has done this through the killing of nearly 900 people and dividing the
population in the Basque Country (Mansvelt-Beck 2008). According to data from El País, from
1995 onwards, almost 30 per cent of the killed have been political adversaries —local town
councillors (16), party leaders or ex-leaders from non-nationalist parties (5), oficials (5). In
2008 alone, there were thirty-eight terrorist attacks, of which eight were bomb-cars, with four
people killed and sixty-four injured.
In many areas of the Basque Country, non-nationalists cannot campaign freely in elections,
and dozens of journalists and thousands of other professionals have been forced into self-exile
through fear and persecution. Most non-nationalist politicians, local councillors and MPs, and
their families in the ACs of the Basque Country and Navarre, must live with round-the-clock
bodyguards. That means that rights to freedom of expression or representation are denied in
that region to many citizens (Mata 2005; Gil-Robles 2005). Parties supporting violence have
until recently enjoyed regional parliamentary seats and governed many municipalities without
condemning or criticizing violence against their fellow councillors or deputies. At the same
time, they have controlled more than sixty local councils, which have been used as a major
source of income and patronage to support the terrorist organization.
5. reSpoNdiNg to tHe cHalleNgeS aNd opportuNitieS
Most of these challenges have been addressed through institutional reforms and policy changes
carried out by the central parliaments and governments or through co-ordination of the three
governmental levels. That does not mean that most of them have been addressed adequately.
Many are complex structural problems that require the combined action of many actors and
even a change in public attitudes. The demands of globalization, Europeanization, and the lack
of resources have been mainly dealt with through legal and policy reforms to promote coordination, collaborative government and increased political and iscal autonomy of subnational
units, alongside reforms in public management at the three levels in the direction of more
- 31 -
Finally, regional and local governments have to face the challenge of integration and management
of old and new diversities. Apart from the smaller participation of women in political ofices
and other inequalities, immigration in Spain has increased dramatically in the last ten years,
from 6 to 12 per cent of total population. Cities like Barcelona have now 18.1 per cent of
foreign residents. Muslim and Latin American immigrants have been the most numerous, and
their distribution has varied in different regions. ACs with double national identities and two
languages have felt the integration of immigrants as an additional hurdle in their particular
integration and nation-building projects. On certain occasions, immigration has led to acts of
racism and xenophobia. In Catalonia, for example, some extreme right parties have emerged
(e.g. Plataforma per Catalunya) that campaign against Muslim immigration and have had
electoral success in local elections in several municipalities.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
evaluation and accountability of public activity. A new funding system for regional governments is
currently being negotiated that achieves more revenue autonomy and responsibility of governments.
Co-operation bodies for vertical and horizontal co-ordination both in domestic and EU affairs have been
created or reinforced, such as the Conference of Presidents or the new horizontal bodies to promote and
co-ordinate subnational participation in EU decision-making.
- 32 -
Regarding the overdue reform of local government and its inancial problems, several reform measures
have been implemented since 1999 within the so-called Local Pact among the main parties. Based
on a 2005 White Paper on Local Government, the government drafted a bill that tried to clarify and
expand local jurisdiction and the inancial resources available to local governments and to strengthen
democracy at the local level. Other proposals have advocated the reinforcement of intermunicipal cooperation or the amalgamation of some existing micro-municipalities. Still others have been defending
the direct election of the mayor. This proposal, despite being supported by some in the ruling Socialist
Party, has not reached suficient consensus among politicians and experts thus far. In view of corruption
at the municipal level, uncontrolled urban sprawl, and environmental deterioration of coastal zones,
many have proposed introducing new regional powers of legal control over local governments, at least
the smaller ones.
The central government has also been committed to a programme of ‘Regeneration of Democracy’ in
recent years that includes the integration of minorities and the extension of rights and civic education.
It has introduced “Education for Citizenship and Human Rights” in secondary education, opposed
by the conservative party (PP) and the Church. It has promoted the equality of women in political
representation in public ofices, through quotas in party lists. The 2007 Organic Law for Effective
Equality between Women and Men has established that candidate lists must now have a balanced
presence of women and men, with each sex accounting for at least 40 per cent. Due to this law, female
participation in local elected ofices has increased, compared with local elections in 2003, with a 17 per
cent rise in the number of women mayors and a 23 per cent rise in the number of women councillors.
The central parliament also legalized same-sex marriage.
On the other hand, an opportunity has been lost to democratize the internal workings of parties with the
Law on Political Parties in 2002. The government has also relinquished the traditional governmental
control of public television and radio by the executive, transferring to the parliament the appointment
of the director of the national public television corporation. Unfortunately, regional executives have
not followed this path in their publicly controlled media.
Finally, the government has advanced, with the support of some left and nationalist forces, the
recognition of the victims of dictatorship and historic memory through the ‘Reparation Law’ or the ‘Law
of Historical Memory’, as it is usually known in the media. This law recognizes the victims on both
sides of the Spanish Civil War, and is the irst legal pronouncement condemning the dictatorship since
the return of democracy (Aguilar 2008). It has ensured moral compensation for victims of repression,
provided for the removal of francoist symbols from public buildings and spaces, and committed the
government to help in the tracing, identiication, and eventual exhumation of victims of Francoist
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
repression whose corpses are still missing, often buried in mass graves. It has also meant a
change to Spanish citizenship regulations, granting citizenship to those who left Spain under
Franco for political or economic reasons and their descendants.
However, the principal set of measures to regenerate democracy has been those addressed to ight
corruption and promote transparency. This has been done through the change of party inance
regulations, a law regulating conlict-of-interest cases for high oficials, and the promulgation of
a Code of Good Governance for members of the central government, who must act in accordance
with a series of ethical principles. These two regulations were limited to central administrators,
although some regional governments had proposed similar initiatives within the framework
of their jurisdiction. Municipalities so far have not developed a code of ethics speciic to their
oficials, but the national Association of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) is currently
developing a code of conduct for the Councils. The Anti-corruption prosecutor of the Public
Prosecutors Ofice has also been re-organized and some specialized judges created. Other anticorruption measures have targeted those areas most prone to corruption, party funding, public
procurement and contracting, and land use and planning. The 2007 Land use Law increases
the limits for local public authorities to change urban plans and grant building or development
permits (Fundación Alternativas 2008).
The FEMP has also developed on its part a standard regulation or agenda for public participation
with forty-ive lines of action. These are related to municipal organization, the strengthening of
partnerships, the associative network in municipalities, the training of citizens to exercise the
right to participate and/or their involvement in civic associations, and the co-ordination with
regional and central governments to promote civic participation.
Finally, terrorist and political violence in the Basque Country has been addressed through
a combination of a ban on violent parties, social isolation of violent groups and attempts to
establish political negotiations with terrorists. By means of the 2002 Law on Political Parties,
the Spanish parliament decided to ban those parties clearly linked with the terrorist organization
- 33 -
Regional and local governments have also taken several measures to ight citizens’ disaffection
and lack of involvement in political life. They have done that partly through the promotion
of more direct democracy and public participation in ACs and municipalities. To mention
an example, based on the reform of its new statute of autonomy, the Catalan government
has proposed a new bill on regional referendums. This proposal makes Catalonia the irst
AC to promote the calling of referendums on sensitive political issues. They can be held if
requested by 3 per cent of the Catalan population, proposed by the regional government, the
Catalan president, one ifth of MPs or two parliamentary groups. Also 10 per cent of Catalan
municipalities (about ninety-ive) representing at least half a million people, may request the
convening of a referendum. Parliament must approve any proposal by an absolute majority. The
central government, according to the constitutional distribution of powers, will have the inal
say to authorise the referendum, whose results will not be binding.
NatioNal aNd SubNatioNal democracy iN SpaiN: HiStory, modelS aNd cHalleNgeS
- 34 -
ETA and advocating violence. Accordingly, legitimate grounds for such a ban include, among
other things, “giving express or tacit political support, legitimizing terrorist actions or excusing
and minimizing their signiicance”, providing institutional or economic support to those
who carry out such actions, and helping to create a ‘culture of confrontation’ that infringes
the fundamental rights of those who take a contrary view (Bale 2007). Despite some political
and legal controversy and the opposition of ruling Basque nationalist parties, the law proved
somewhat effective in reducing terrorist resources and weaken their room for manoeuvre.
Some rulings of the Constitutional Court have meanwhile speciied the scope of the ban and
recognized the law’s exceptional character, establishing the conditions to recover legality —for
example by proving the party’s independence of ETA through a simple condemnation of terrorist
attacks—. Recently in June 2009, the European Court of Human Rights has also upheld the ban
on Batasuna and other parties supporting terrorism in the Basque Country, who had appealed
the Spanish courts’ rulings.
ETA’s ceaseire in 2006 raised hopes of a long-term peace and incited the Zapatero government
to conduct direct talks with ETA. This was deeply controversial and divisive among the main
political parties and public opinion. With violence back in the scene, the central government
has utilized again all means in the Law on Political Parties to ban dozens of candidates of
ANV (Basque National Action) and PCTV (Basque Homeland Communist Party), the legal
successors of ETA’s now illegal political branch, from taking part in 2007 local elections in
the Basque Country. Also in March 2009, for the irst time in democracy, parties supporting
terrorism were banned from participating in Basque regional elections, which has resulted in
the irst ever alternation of the Basque government in thirty years.
6. coNcluSioNS
The Spanish model of subnational democracy, it has been argued in this chapter, has evolved
parallel to the consolidation of the irst successful experience of liberal democracy occurred
at the national level during the last thirty years in Spain. Democracy at the subnational level
has been inluenced by the state tradition, but at the same time has transformed its structure
and the behaviour of political actors from a consensual towards a more majoritarian model.
This has been done alongside far-reaching decentralization and the emergence of particular
regional democratic institutions, party systems, welfare state policies and the recovering of
local self-government. Democracy, identiied with autonomy from the start, has provided
cultural-political recognition, social integration, and economic development for most of the
newly created autonomous communities and other local representative governments. At the
same time, the building of subnational democratic institutions and governance systems has
been dominated by ACs to the detriment of local entities.
The type of Spanish democracy has served to overcome traditional cleavages present in Spanish
society since long, and has guaranteed political stability, improved governance and respect
eloíSa del piNo & céSar coliNo
for minorities. On the other hand, due to the manner in which it emerged and to some unique
characteristics of Spanish history and political culture, democracy both at the national and the
subnational level has suffered from some shortcomings in terms of their capacity to promote
and channel citizens’ participation in the public sphere. Despite the apparent willingness of the
founding fathers and subsequent regulations at the national and subnational level to promote a
participatory democracy, Spaniards have been reluctant in practice to make use of participation
mechanisms and to get involved in politics. The consequences of this fact for the quality of
democracy and governance in Spain remain controversial.
- 35 -
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- 36 -
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