Spanish Constitution of 1869: A Democratic Milestone

Nature

Nature: This is a fragment of the Constitution of 1869 and therefore it is a historical text of a legal or legislative public nature. It refers to a period in the history of Spain, when the first revolutionary government was chaired by Serrano. It was he who called for elections by universal suffrage for the Constituent Assembly, from which the Constitution of 1869 was adopted.

Ideas

Ideas: The Constitution of 1869 advocated the following principles:

1. Form of State: Democratic monarchy.
2. National Sovereignty: In the line of progressive liberalism.
3. Clear Separation of Powers: Legislative (Parliament), Executive (the King), Judicial (Courts of Justice).
4. Powers of the Monarch: Limited, but still critical (to dissolve the Cortes, free appointment of ministers).
5. Bicameral System: Senate and Congress whose members are elected by universal male suffrage (men over 25 years). The Senate by indirect suffrage and Congress by direct suffrage. Both chambers are legislative and have equal powers.
6. Bill of Rights: Very wide, including freedom of religion, press, education, association, and assembly, etc. Recognized fully for the first time.
7. Religious Sphere: Proclaims freedom of religion (1869), although preference is given to Catholicism.
8. Jury in Court: The figure of the jury appears in court.
9. Decentralized State: The State was organized in a decentralized manner. Municipal mayors were elected by the residents.

Historical Context

Historical Context: This was the first democratic constitution in Spain, inspired by the Constitution of 1812, but modernized, representing the interests of the progressive middle classes. It replaced the Constitution of 1845, typical of doctrinaire liberalism, which did not defend national sovereignty and universal suffrage and restricted individual freedoms.

However, neither the Republicans nor their supporters were comfortable with this Constitution, as it established a monarchy. Much less were the sectors located to the left: the labor movement (socialist and anarchist). Neither did the right like it, nor the Carlists and the moderates who considered it very advanced. It was replaced by the draft federal constitution of the First Republic, which was never enacted, and then by the 1876 Constitution, which was moderate, with shared sovereignty and census suffrage, but flexible, and that since 1890 incorporated extensive freedoms and universal male suffrage.