Spain

K

Communications

Spain has 151 (2004) daily newspapers, although circulation is only 144 newspapers per 1,000 people. The largest-selling papers are the three nationwide dailies, all published in Madrid: El País, generally regarded as Spain’s newspaper of record; ABC; and El Mundo. Even these sell poorly outside the capital, with most readers choosing regional, provincial, or even local dailies. The three largest of these are the Barcelona-based El Periódico and La Vanguardia, and El Correo, published in Bilbao. Virtually all papers appear in Spanish. The only exception of any significance is the Catalan daily Avui. The government exercises no direct control over the press, but it does own the national press agency Efe, on which many daily newspapers rely heavily.

Until the 1980s Spain’s television channels were run by the national broadcasting corporation RTVE, which is controlled by the central government. During that decade, however, a number of stations run by regional authorities began operation. Stations in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, and Valencia all delivered part of their programming in their respective regional languages. In 1990 privately owned cable channels began operation. Virtually all homes in Spain have radio and television sets, and Spaniards are enthusiastic listeners and viewers.

VI

Government of Spain

Spain is a relatively recent recruit to the ranks of Western democracies. Until the 1930s the country remained under the control of a small and mainly conservative upper class. The Second Republic, installed in 1931, was genuinely democratic, but fell victim to the excesses of its own supporters, the unfavorable international situation before World War II (1939-1945), and the reactionary forces within Spain. In 1936 these right-wing forces backed a military uprising that triggered a three-year civil war (see Spanish Civil War). The conflict ended in 1939 with a victory for the right-wing Nationalists (Nacionales) led by General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain as dictator up to his death in 1975.

After Franco’s death, political change came surprisingly fast and smoothly. Spain held a general election in June 1977 and adopted a new, unambiguously democratic constitution in December 1978. On February 23, 1981, the threat of a return to military rule was finally dispelled by the resounding failure of an attempted coup. In October 1982 the Socialist Workers Party won a landslide election victory. The peaceful acceptance of the Socialist victory by all significant sectors of opinion confirmed that Spain’s transition to democracy was a political reality. Today, Spain is a limited monarchy with an influential parliament.

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A

Executive

Spain’s head of state is a hereditary monarch whose powers are purely symbolic. Real executive power lies with the head of government, or prime minister (presidente del gobierno). Under the constitution the prime minister is chosen by majority vote of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house of parliament), and Congress’s decision is then formally approved by the monarch. Once in office the prime minister appoints the ministers who make up the cabinet. The prime minister can also dismiss the cabinet ministers. Although the parliament can remove the prime minister only if it agrees on a successor, the prime minister has the power to dissolve parliament at any time during its four-year term.

B

Legislature

The Spanish parliament (Cortes) consists of two houses: the Senate (upper house) and the Congress of Deputies (lower house). The Congress of Deputies is the more powerful body and the scene of almost all high-profile debates. There are 256 senators and 350 Congress deputies, all of whom serve a four-year term, subject to the prime minister’s power to dismiss them and call an early election. Forty-eight of the senators are chosen by Spain’s regional parliaments, in rough proportion to regional size. The remaining members of both houses are elected by direct vote. All Spaniards aged 18 and over are eligible to vote.

The main tasks of Spain’s parliament are to scrutinize and approve legislation, and to control the executive, that is, call it to account for its actions. However, most control mechanisms at its disposal (for example, establishing committees of investigation) require a vote of the parliamentary house concerned. Thus, if the party in power has a majority, it can block an investigation. Parliament’s legislative role similarly has been largely reduced to rubber-stamping executive proposals. As a result parliament has suffered something of an identity crisis, especially severe in the case of the Senate. The Senate can delay legislation but not block it.

C

Political Parties

Spanish politics is dominated by two parties: the Popular Party (Partido Popular, or PP) and the Socialist Workers Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español, or PSOE). The conservative Popular Party absorbed the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party and has existed in its present form since 1989. It enjoys strong support from the business community and the younger urban population. The Socialist Workers Party, Spain’s oldest party, provides the main opposition to the PP. The only other nationwide party of significance is United Left (Izquierda Unida, or IU), which was set up in 1986 as a broad alliance dominated by the Spanish Communist Party. IU later suffered a series of crises and remains a minor player in the Spanish party system.

Many small parties blossomed following Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s, but they have since faded away. The exceptions are regional parties, which have grown in number and importance. The largest of the regional parties are the Catalan Convergence and Union and the Basque Nationalist Party. These two parties were set up in 1980 and remain the chief representatives of long-established movements for regional self-rule. Both are significant players at the national level, too. Nearly all of the country’s 17 regions have at least one party dedicated to advancing the region’s interests.

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