Nationalities and regions of Spain

Constitutional status of the Spanish regions with devolved powers
information on the different ideologies and political movements

Spain is a diverse country integrated by contrasting entities with varying economic and social structures, languages, and historical, political and cultural traditions. The Spanish constitution responds ambiguously to the claims of historic nationalities (such as the right of self government) while proclaiming a common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards. The terms nationalities and historical nationalities,

In Spanish jurisprudence, the term nationality appears for the first time in the current constitution, approved in 1978 after much debate in the Spanish Parliament.

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. 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 constitution aimed to devolve self government to both nationalities and regions, if the latter so desired, which were to be constituted as autonomous communities, yet making an implicit distinction between the two groups in the level of competencies that were to be devolved, and in the way they were to attain 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. 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.