Understanding the 1978 Spanish Constitution: A Detailed Analysis

Text Commentary: The 1978 Spanish Constitution

This text is a legal document whose target readers are all Spanish citizens. The authors are the representatives of the UCD, the Socialists, the Communists, the right-wing parties, and the autonomous regions. It was written in 1978. This constitution was approved in the courts on the 6th of December and finally published on the 29th of December.

The Transition to Democracy

After Franco's death, Arias Navarro continued as the head of the government, and the King wanted to break with the previous regime. Initially, the King didn't dismiss Arias Navarro but asked him to introduce some reforms. However, the reforms were rejected by the courts. In that complicated situation, Arias Navarro resigned, and the King was free to appoint as the head of the government the person he wanted. The person he chose was Adolfo Suarez. Suarez developed the political reform. A referendum was held to approve it, and it was massively approved, so there was a call for elections. For these elections, it was essential to legalize political parties, so he legalized all parties except the PCE (Communist Party of Spain), but he eventually legalized it. The result of the elections was the victory of the UCD, followed by the Socialists, the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party), the Communists, and later the right-wing parties. In the Basque Country, the PNV got the majority of the votes. After the elections, they started with the elaboration of a constitution. Suarez could have elaborated the constitution alone, but he decided to do it with the members of the rest of the parties, according to the results of the elections.

Key Provisions of the Constitution

This text is the constitution they elaborated. The state here is a state with freedom and democracy, and citizens choose their representatives. The form of the government is a democratic monarchy in which the King only has a role of representation. There is a reference to the unity of the country. The right of some territories to organize into autonomous regions is recognized but without breaking the unity of the state. The following articles detail:

• The legislative power, which belongs to the courts and has two chambers.
• The executive power, which belongs to the President of the Government and the ministers.
• The judicial power, which belongs to the judges.

Finally, it recognizes the possibility of organizing autonomous regions, taking into account common past, culture, language, economy, etc., and they must be adjacent to each other. It also mentions respect for foral institutions and the elimination of the two laws referring to the modification of the Basque fueros.

Ratification and Basque Response

In conclusion, this constitution was ratified by a referendum of the citizens, where the general participation was very high. However, in the Basque Country, there was an attitude against the way the constitution had been approved. The PNV wanted the constitution to go ahead, but they were upset with the government because no member from the Basque Country had been called to create the constitution. As a consequence, many of them did not vote. Other parties close to ETA asked their followers not to vote because that was not their constitution. After the approval of the constitution, some measures were taken, and a representative of the autonomous regions was even included.