Nationalities and regions of Spain

The formation of Spain can be viewed as an alliance and progressive union of several peninsular kingdoms, and nationalist or regionalist tradition in Spain has historical roots in such beginnings. No serious attempt was made to centralise the administration until the reforms of the eighteenth century, which remained largely agricultural. Nationalistic sentiments began to grow in the more industrialized areas. Some writers of the time expressed their concepts of a Catalan or Basque fatherland, or even nationhood. These two nationalist movements had much in common, in that both arose in areas that enjoyed higher levels of prosperity and literacy, were the only areas in the country to develop modern industry, In the early twentieth century, nationalist discourse in Galicia, Catalonia and especially in the Basque country was infused with racialist elements, as these ethnicities defined themselves as distinct from the peoples of the center and south of Spain. With the growth of nationalistic sentiments, demands by these groups for self-government also grew. In some sectors, activists demanded outright independence. The appearance of the so-called peripheral nationalism in the aforementioned regions of Spain occurred in a period when Spaniards began to look into their own concepts of nationhood. In the traditionalist view, religion had been integral to defining the Spanish nation, intrinsically and traditionally Catholic, and strongly monarchical. In a later, liberal view, sovereignty was considered to reside in the nation and to be expressed in the people, as opposed to the monarch. Some activists sought a uniform centralised State, while others preferred decentralization or republicanism. Spain experimented with decentralisation during the First Spanish Republic (1873-1874), but social and political chaos, which had started even before the change of regime with a change of monarchical houses, led to its failure. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the two political discourses of Spanish nationalism, the traditional and the liberal, continued to be present and opposing, advocating for different political regimes. After the war, Franco's regime (1939–1975) forcefully enforced centralism in an effort to establish and preserve the unity of the Spanish nation. His attempts to fight separatism with heavy-handed but sporadic repression and his oftentimes severe suppression of language and regional identities backfired: the demands for democracy became intertwined with demands for the recognition of a pluralistic vision of the Spanish nationhood. After Franco died, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy. All democratic groups were forced to face the Catalan, Basque and Galician question. On 11 September 1977, more than one million people marched in the streets of Barcelona (Catalonia) demanding "''llibertat, amnistia i estatut d'autonomia", "liberty, amnesty and [a] Statute of Autonomy", creating the biggest demonstration in post-war Europe. A law was passed that allowed for the creation of pre-autonomías'', "pre-autonomies" or provisional regional governments for all regions, the "historical nationalities" included. Catalonia was the first to be so constituted, and it again revived the Generalitat. The Basque Country quickly followed suit. In the 1977 election to the first democratically elected Parliament since the times of the Republic, regional Catalan socialists (Socialists' Party of Catalonia) and Basque nationalists (Basque Nationalist Party) both won significant positions in representing their regions and their aspirations. This newly elected Parliament was entrusted to formulate a new constitution. =="Nationalities" in the constitution of 1978==

The demands for the recognition of the distinctiveness of Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia within the Spanish State became one of the most important challenges for the newly elected Parliament. In fact, the writing of the second article, in which the "nationalities and regions" of Spain were recognized, was the most hotly debated in the Parliament. The article united two historical trends in Spain: centralism and federalism, and in the words of one of the seven fathers of the Constitution, Jordi Solé Tura it was "[...] an authentic point of encounter between different concepts of the Spanish nation [...] In it, two great notions of Spain merge." The constitution itself did not define the term, despite the diverse meanings and interpretations that its proponents and opponents had—ranging from "an expression of historical and cultural identities [...] in the superior unity of Spain" (Landelino Lavilla, from the Union of the Democratic Centre), "communities with a prominent cultural, historical or political personality" (Rafael Arias-Salgado, from the Union of the Democratic Centre), or defining it as a "nation without a State [...] within the plurinational reality of Spain [...] as a Nation of nations" (Miguel Roca Junyent, from the Convergence and Union). It was suggested that the term "nationality" be changed to "citizenship" in the 11th article, but it was considered that the terms nationality and citizenship are not completely synonymous, as it is common in other European legislations. This was a significant move, since for the "historical nationalities" part of their distinctiveness lies on their own regional languages. ==The State of Autonomies==

The constitution sought to grant self-government to nationalities and, if desired, regions, as autonomous communities, while distinguishing between them in the powers granted and the path to self-government. The three "historic nationalities" (Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country) were granted a simplified "fast-track" process, while the rest of the regions had to follow a specific set of requirements. Thus the process was purposely intended to be asymmetrical in nature. Yet, the outcome was not predictable; the constitution created a process for devolution, but it differed from other legislations in two main aspects. First, it did not specify the name or number of the autonomous communities that would integrate the Spanish nation, and secondly, the process was voluntary in nature: the regions themselves had the option of choosing to attain self-government or not. This unique process of territorial administration was called the "State of Autonomies". Though highly decentralised, this system is not a federation, in that there was still ambiguity with regards to the power attributed to the regions, even though they can still negotiate them with the central government. While the constitution was still being drafted, there was a demonstration in Andalusia, which sought to be recognised as a "nationality" as well, and to be granted self-government also through a rapid process. This opened a phase that was dubbed in Spanish as "café para todos", "coffee for all", meaning that all regions would be "served the same": that all nationalities and regions would accede to self-government in roughly the same degree, if at different paces. Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia acceded to autonomy via the fast-track route established in the 151st article of the constitution, with all competencies granted, because in the past they had approved a Statute by referendum and they had already established a pre-autonomic provisional government. Andalusia began this process after a referendum in 1980. The other regions had the opportunity to accede to autonomy via the slower route established in the 143rd article, with a lower level of competencies, during a provisional period of five years. After this period, there was to be a progressive transference of competencies, with the aim of roughly equalizing all communities. One particular exception was granted to both the Basque Country and Navarre: their fueros or "medieval charters", which had granted them fiscal autonomy, were restored. Despite having a Basque-speaking minority, the province of Navarre chose not to join the soon-to-be formed autonomous community of the Basque Country. Instead, it followed a different route of devolution due to the reinstitution of the medieval charters, and is thus known as a "chartered community", as opposed to an "autonomous community". Both the Basque Country and Navarre are considered "communities of chartered regime", meaning they have fiscal autonomy: they collect their own taxes and send a prearranged amount to the central government. The other communities are considered to be "common regime"; currently, they administer their own taxes only partially. The taxes collected from "common regime" communities are administered centrally and distributed among them all to achieve fiscal equalisation. ==Current state of affairs==

Nationality defined in Spain's modern statute Other Autonomous Communities|350x350px |300x300px The "autonomic process", whereby the nationalities and regions would accede to autonomy, was partially concluded in 1983, when 17 autonomous communities covering the entire territory of Spain were created. (The process finally concluded with the creation of two autonomous cities in Northern Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.) All autonomous communities follow the provincial limits established in the 1833 territorial division of Spain: no province has been partitioned between communities. Moreover, many communities roughly coincide with the pre-provincial historical regions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which in turn reflected to some extent some of the historical medieval kingdoms or administrative regions of the past. On the other hand, some autonomous communities are new creations. For example, autonomy was granted to Cantabria and La Rioja, both of which were historically part of Castile. Despite the lack of historical basis for both communities, and the fact that the Spanish government favored their integration in the larger Castile-León, the local population overwhelmingly supported the new entities. In Cantabria, one of the leading intellectual figures in 19th-century Spain, Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo, had already rejected a Castilian identity for his region as far back as 1877, instead favouring integration with its western neighbour, Asturias: The province of Madrid was also separated from New Castile and constituted as an autonomous community. This was partly in recognition of Madrid's status as the capital of the nation, Some peripheral nationalists still complain that the creation of many regions was an attempt to break down their own 'national unity' by a sort of gerrymandering, The new framework of "autonomies" has served to legitimise the Spanish state even within the "nationalities", more so in Catalonia than in the Basque Country and Galicia, calling for the establishment of a true federal State in Spain or advocating for their right to self-determination and independence. Since it began in 2008, the Spanish economic crisis has produced different reactions in the different communities. On the one hand, politicians in some communities that are not "nationalities", mostly governed by the centre-right Popular Party, are considering the return of some devolved powers back to the central government. On the other hand, in Catalonia, the strenuous fiscal situation and the severe austerity measures enacted by the regional government have caused great discontent in the population, many of whom view the "unfairness" of the large fiscal deficit as aggravating the situation. This, in turn, has led many who are not necessarily separatist but who are enraged by the financial deficit to support secession. In recent polls, support for independence has doubled from the mid-20% in 2008 to nearly 50% by September 2012, although support for independence drops to the mid-30% if more options are given in the poll, with nearly as many favoring the establishment of a true federal system in Spain. Following the rally, the president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, in a previously scheduled meeting with the prime minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, requested and was denied (on the basis of its purported unconstitutionality), a change in the taxation system in Catalonia that would have made it similar to that of the two communities of chartered regime. The week after the meeting, Mas called for the dissolution of the Catalan Parliament and for early elections to be held on 25 November 2012. Before its dissolution, the Catalan parliament approved a bill calling for the next legislature to allow Catalonia to exercise its right of self-determination by holding a "referendum or consultation" during the next four years in which the people would decide whether to become a new independent and sovereign State. This parliamentary decision was approved by a large majority of deputies: 84 voted affirmative, 21 voted negative and 25 abstained. The deputy prime minister of Spain, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, declared that the central government would exercise all "legal instruments" (current legislation requires the executive government or the Congress of Deputies to call for or sanction a binding referendum) to block any such attempt. The leaders of the opposition, in the Catalan Parliament, in the Cortes Generales, and from the Socialist Party, do not support Catalan secession, but instead favor changing the constitution to modify the current taxation system and to create a true federal system in Spain, to "better reflect the singularities" of Catalonia. In December 2012, an opposing rally was organised by the Partido Popular and Ciutadans, which drew 30,000-160,000 people in one of Barcelona's main squares under a large flag of Spain and Catalonia. ==See also==