Spain’s 1978 Constitution and Extremadura’s Autonomy Statute
1978 Constitution
The authors of the text are the Constituent Cortes, which is the parliament or courts, whose members represent national sovereignty, and have the role and capacity to issue or amend the constitution. In this case, the Constitution was drafted by representatives of different political parties represented in these courts. The authors belong to parties such as UCD, PSOE, PC, AP, and CiU.
It is a constitutional text according to its legal status and social and political content. It is a primary source text contemporary with the facts and written in 1978.
The main idea of the text is to summarize the general principles of this constitution.
Among the secondary ideas are the following:
- (Lines 1-12): The Constitution aims to establish a democratic, just, free, and secure society, with popular sovereignty and freedom and a variety of cultures to achieve general progress and peaceful relations.
- Articles 1 and 2: Spain is a social and democratic state organized as a parliamentary monarchy in which the main values are defended and national sovereignty resides in the people. Besides consolidating Spain as a united nation while recognizing the independence of regions, it is an autonomous State.
- Articles 3 and 4: The official language is Castilian. Other official languages may exist in the respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish flag will be composed of three stripes, two red and one yellow, with the yellow stripe being larger. It will appear together with the respective flags of other Autonomous Communities in public buildings.
- Article 14: Recognizes the full equality of all Spaniards before the law.
The Transition to Democracy
At the end of the dictatorship, Juan Carlos de Borbon, King of Spain, following the resignation of Arias Navarro, appointed Adolfo Suarez as Prime Minister. Suarez called for elections in 1977, which were won by the UCD party, and began to rule legitimately again. Adolfo Suarez previously had to get the courts to approve a law for political reform which provided for the dissolution of the same and the call for new Cortes who developed the Constitution. The central task of these new courts, which emerged on June 15, 1977, was the drafting of a new constitution with party representatives.
With this text, enormous difficulties were resolved to reach an agreement on the most contentious issues: joint planning, electoral system, form of state, consideration for the Church, divorce, abortion, etc. All political forces reached a consensus, except for the PNV, despite that on December 6, 1978, the Constitution was adopted by an absolute majority.
Its development provides a dogmatic and an organic part.
It consists of 11 titles and 169 articles. It is progressive in nature.
Autonomy Statute of Extremadura
The author of this text is a committee made up of various representatives from each province (Cáceres and Badajoz).
It is a constitutional text with legal, political, social, and economic implications. It is a primary source, contemporary to the events, written on February 25, 1983.
The main idea of the text is to introduce the principles of the Statute that consolidates Extremadura as a community.
The supporting ideas are:
- Article 1: Extremadura is constituted as an autonomous region within the Spanish nation and is granted this status while the government assumes the defense and values of the community. Its powers come from the people, the Constitution, and the Statute.
- Article 5: The headquarters of the Assembly and the Board will be in the community capital, Merida.
- Article 6: The rights, freedoms, and duties of citizens in Extremadura are to be found in the Constitution. The following objectives are established for institutions in Extremadura:
- To improve the educational level and employment.
- To achieve freedom and equality for the people of Extremadura.
- To enable all to participate in public, economic, and cultural life.
- To foster economic and social progress.
- To ensure the social and economic welfare of the people of Extremadura.
The Path to Autonomy
In 1976, approaches began between sectors of the two provinces of Extremadura to finalize a draft statute. In August, the Economic Society of Friends of the Country of Badajoz convened the Extremadura Congress to develop this project and design a regional development plan.
In 1978, a pre-regional meeting of national parliamentarians was held in Trujillo. Luis Ramallo Garcia was elected as the first President of the Regional Government of Extremadura.
The PSOE for the region required the application of Article 151, i.e., the fast track, but it was not accepted by the central government, and the statute had to be developed through the application of Article 143 of the Constitution. The first meeting was held in Plasencia, and it was decided to place the capital in Merida and to design the flag.
With the collapse of the UCD, Ramallo resigned. In 1981, the Regional Assembly approved the Statute of Autonomy of Extremadura, with Manuel Bermejo as President. The triumph of the PSOE in the Spanish general elections of 1982 brought Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra to the Presidency. On February 25, 1983, the National Courts approved the Statute of Autonomy.