Spain's Autonomous State and Andalusian Decentralization

The Decentralization of the Spanish State

From the start of the transition, it was necessary to respond to the demands for autonomy that had been requested during the Franco era. The King spoke of this in his inauguration, and the Constitution contemplated that possibility. The process was not simple: there was unanimity for the historical nationalities; however, there was no unanimity regarding whether to spread this throughout the territory or what the competencies should be.

The demonstrations in favor of autonomy led the government to generalize the process, which caused many tensions among those faithful to Francoism. In 1979, the statutes of Catalonia and the Basque Country began the configuration process of the autonomous state. In the late 80s, a new impetus was produced since, in most communities, statutes were amended to extend their powers.

The Operation of Autonomous Communities

Each autonomous community is governed by a Statute, which is the basic law and is subject to the Spanish Constitution. The Statute sets the following:

• The name of the community
• The territory and its characteristics
• Institutions and skills
• The economic and financial regime
• Steps to reform the Statute

The institutions of government are similar in all communities but often use different names.

Andalusia's Transition to the Statute of Autonomy

The return to democracy meant access to autonomy for Andalusia, which was claimed by the majority of the population. On December 4, 1977, a demonstration was called to demand more favorable conditions toward autonomy, which was harshly suppressed by the police. On October 20, 1981, the Statute of Autonomy was approved by a popular referendum.

This reflected the ideas of the Assembly of Ronda and recovered old symbols. Its adoption allowed for regional elections in the spring of 1982, which the PSOE won. The first president was Rafael Escuredo, who resigned after two years and was replaced by José Rodríguez de la Borbolla, who served for six years. In 1990, he passed the witness to Manuel Chaves, who remained president until 2009. In 2006, after a referendum, a new text for the reform of the statute was approved, seeking to expand the government powers of the Junta de Andalucía.