An autonomous community (Comunidad Autónoma in Spanish Countries where Spanish has official status. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 25% or more of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 10-20% of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 5-9.9% of the population) is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution The Constitution of Spain is regarded as the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. It was enacted after a referendum on 6 December 1978 after approval by 88% of voters. The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "regions and nationalities" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".^[1][2]

Political power in Spain Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for is channeled by a central government and 17 autonomous communities. These regional governments are responsible for schools, universities, health, social services, culture, urban and rural development and, in some places, policing^[3]. There are also two autonomous cities The plazas de soberanía , formerly referred to as "África Septentrional Española" (Spanish North Africa) or simply "África Española" (Spanish Africa) are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa bordering Morocco, except the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. In all, under the autonomías system, Spain has been quoted to be "remarkable for the extent of the powers peacefully devolved over the past 30 years"^[4] and "an extraordinarily decentralised country", with the central government accounting for just 18% of public spending; the regional governments 38%, the local councils 13% and the social-security system the rest^[3].

Constitutional framework

Upon the passing of the Constitution of 1978 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). It was the 1978th year of Anno Domini and the 9th in the 1970s decade, Spain Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for created a unique system of regional autonomy, known as the "state of the autonomies".^[1] The second article of the constitution grants the right of self-government to the regions and nationalities that compose the indissoluble Spanish nation.^[2] In the exercise of the right to self-government recognized in that article, autonomy was to be granted to:^[5]

• two or more adjacent provinces with common historical, cultural and economical characteristics,
• insular territories, and
• a single province with historical identity or status.

As such, the province In addition to its autonomous communities, Spain is divided into fifty provinces. These closely follow the pattern of the 1833 territorial division of Spain; the only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the division of the Canary Islands into two provinces rather than one, which is also a territorial local entity recognized by the constitution,^[6] serves as the framework from which the autonomous communities were to be created. However, the constitution allows exceptions to the above, namely that the Spanish Parliament reserves the right to:^[7]

• authorize, in the nation's interest, the constitution of an autonomous community even if it is a single province without a historical regional identity; and
• authorize or grant autonomy to those entities or territories that are not constituted as provinces.

Once an autonomous community had been constituted, the 145th article of the constitution prohibits the federation or union of two or more autonomous communities.^[8] Between 1979 1979 was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar). It was the last year of the 1970s and 1983 1983 was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar), all the regions in Spain had been constituted as autonomous communities; in 1996 the process was closed when the autonomous status of Ceuta and Melilla was passed:

• Andalusia Andalusia is an autonomous community of Spain and recognized as a historical nationality. It is the most populous (8,285,692 inhabitants in 2009) and the second largest, in terms of land area, of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Kingdom of Spain. Its capital and largest city is Seville (Spanish: Sevilla). The region is divided into, Catalonia Catalonia is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Kingdom of Spain. Its capital city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,504,881. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east (580 km, the Basque Country The Basque Country is an Autonomous Community of northern Spain and Galicia Galicia is an autonomous community and historic region in northwest Spain, with the status of a historic nationality, and descends from one of the first kingdoms of Europe, the Kingdom of Galicia. It is constituted under the Galician Statute of Autonomy of 1981. Its component provinces are A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra. It borders—as "historical nationalities"—^[1] were granted autonomy through a fast and simplified process;
• Aragon Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza (also called Saragossa in English), Castilla y León, Castile-La Mancha Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain, Extremadura Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. It includes the provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz. Extremadura borders Portugal to the west, and it is an important area for wildlife, particularly with the major reserve at Monfragüe, which was designated a National Park in 2007, or the project of the and the Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia. The region is divided into three provinces: Alicante, Castellón and Valencia - and thirty four counties were granted autonomy as communities integrated by two or more provinces with common historical characteristics;
• the Canary Islands The Canary Islands (pronounced /kəˈnɛəriː ˈaɪləndz/, colloquially also known as the Canaries; Spanish: Islas Canarias, pronounced [ˈislas kaˈnarjas]; 28°06′N 15°24′W / 28.1°N 15.4°W and the Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula were granted autonomy as insular territories, the former comprising two provinces;
• Cantabria Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community (province of Biscay), on the south by Castile and León (provinces of León, Palencia and Burgos), on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea, Asturias The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community within the kingdom of Spain, former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. It is situated on the Spanish north coast facing the Cantabrian Sea (Mar Cantábrico, the Spanish name for the Bay of Biscay), La Rioja La Rioja is a province and autonomous community of northern Spain. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Nájera, and the Region of Murcia The Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia is one of Spain's seventeen autonomous communities. It is located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast were granted autonomy as single provinces with historical regional identity, as well as Navarra Navarre is a region in northern Spain, constituting one of its autonomous communities - the "Chartered Community of Navarre" (Spanish: Comunidad Foral de Navarra; Basque: Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa), even though the latter was granted autonomy through the "update and improvement" of the medieval charters A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority , and that the recipient admits a limited (or inferior) status within the relationship, and it is within that sense that charters were (in Spanish fueros Fuero is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the (French) words for and foire, and the (Portuguese) words foral, forais and foro; all of these words have related, but somewhat different, meanings);
• the Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located at the center of the country, the Iberian peninsula, and the Meseta Central or Central Plain. The community is also conterminous with the province of Madrid and contains the capital of Spain, which is also the capital of the community. It is bounded to was constituted for the nation's interest;^[9]
• Ceuta Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Iberian peninsula. The area of Ceuta is approximately 19 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi) and Melilla Melilla is an autonomous Spanish city located on the Mediterranean, on the north coast of North Africa. It was regarded as a part of Málaga province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed, both cities, were granted autonomy—albeit limited—in spite of not being provinces themselves, in exercise of the rights reserved by the Spanish Parliament.

Political organization of the autonomous communities

The basic institutional law of the autonomous community is the Statute of Autonomy. The Statutes of Autonomy establish the denomination of the community according to its historical identity, the limits of their territories, the name and organization of the institutions of government and the rights they enjoy according the constitution.^[10]

The government of all autonomous communities must be based on a division of powers comprising:

• a Legislative Assembly whose members must be elected by universal suffrage according to the system of proportional representation and in which all areas that integrate the territory are fairly represented;
• a Government Council, with executive and administrative functions headed by a president, elected by the Legislative Assembly and nominated by the King of Spain;
• a Supreme Court of Justice, under the Supreme Court of the State, which head the judicial organization within the autonomous community.

Besides Andalusia, Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, which identified themselves as nationalities, other communities have also taken that denomination in accordance to their historical regional identity, such as the Valencian Community,^[11] the Canary Islands,^[12] the Balearic Islands,^[13] and Aragon.^[14]

The autonomous communities have wide legislative and executive autonomy, with their own parliaments and regional governments. The distribution of powers may be different for every community, as laid out in their Statutes of Autonomy. There used to be a clear de facto distinction between so called "historic" communities (Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia) and the rest. The "historic" ones initially received more functions, including the ability of the regional presidents to choose the timing of the regional elections (as long as they happen no more than four years apart). As another example, the Basque Country, Navarre and Catalonia have full-range police forces of their own: Ertzaintza in the Basque Country, Policía Foral in Navarre and Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia. Other communities have a more limited force or none at all (like the Policía Autónoma Andaluza^[15] in Andalusia or the BESCAM in Madrid). However, the recent amendments made to their respective Statute of Autonomy by a series of "ordinary" Autonomous Communities such as the Valencian Community or Aragon have quite dilluted this original de facto distinction.

Subdivisions

Autonomous communities are composed of provinces (provincias), which serve as the territorial building blocks for the former. In turn, provinces are composed of municipalities (municipios). The existence of these two subdivisions is granted and protected by the constitution, not necessarily by the Statutes of Autonomy themselves. Municipalities are granted autonomy to manage their internal affairs, and provinces are the territorial divisions designed to carry out the activities of the State.^[16]

The current fifty province structure is based—with minor changes—on the one created in 1833 by Javier de Burgos. The communities of Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, the Balearic Islands, Madrid, Murcia and Navarre, having been granted autonomy as single-provinces for historical reasons, are counted as provinces as well.

Devolution of powers and the creation of the autonomous communities

Centralism, nationalism, and separatism played an important role in the Spanish transition. For fear that separatism would lead to instability and a dictatorial backlash, a compromise was struck among the moderate political parties taking part in the drafting of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The aim was to appease separatist forces and so disarm the extreme right. A highly decentralized state was established, compared to both the previous centralist Francoist regime and the most modern territorial arrangements in Western European nations. In this regard, the current Spanish Estado de las Autonomías is often dubbed as one of the most decentralized states in Europe.^[17][18]

The constitution classifies the autonomous communities to be created into two groups. Each group had a different route to accede to autonomy and was to be granted a different level of power and responsibility.^[1] Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia were designated "historic nationalities"^[1][19] and granted autonomy through a rapid and simplified process. These three regions had voted and approved a Statute of Autonomy in the past.

While the Constitution was still being drafted, there was a popular outcry in Andalusia for its own right to autonomy, with over a million and a half people demonstrating in the streets on 4 December 1977, which led the creation of a special quicker process for autonomy for that region, although not originally considered a historical nationality.^[1][19] Eventually, all regions could be granted autonomy, if they complied with the requirements set forth in the constitution, and if their people wished to do so, and four additional communities self-identified as "nationalities" as well.

Between 1979 and 1983 the majority of the regions were constituted as autonomous communities, in accordance with the 143rd or 151st articles of the constitution. Nonetheless the case of the province of Madrid was exceptional. Since it was not a province with a separate historical regional identity, but was part of the cultural region of Castile, it was considered a natural province that would compose the soon-to be Community of Castile-La Mancha. During the process that led to the autonomy of this region, the old rivalry between Toledo and Madrid resurfaced; as capital of Spain, Madrid was to enjoy a relative degree of self-government, whereas Castilians demanded absolute equality amongst the constituent provinces of the community, and thus excluded Madrid from their project of self-government. Other alternatives included the incorporation of Madrid to the community of Castile and León (the historical region of Old Castile) or its controversial constitution as something similar to a "Federal District" or territory, emulating Mexico City, or Washington, D.C.^[9] Finally, they opted for the creation of a single-province autonomous community, but in lack of a historical regional identity, Madrid was granted autonomy for the "nation's interest" through the prerogatives of the 144th article.^[20]

The Basque Country and Navarra were also exceptional cases. While the Basque Country was granted autonomy through the rapid process granted to the "nationalities", it also retained the economic and fiscal autonomy it had enjoyed through the fueros or charters. Navarra was granted autonomy through the "update and improvement" of the medieval charters. As such, it is the only region that does not have a "Statute of Autonomy" per se, but a "Law of Reintegration and Improvement of the Chartered Regime". In theory, Navarra is the only first-level political division that is not an "autonomous community" but a "chartered community", but in practice, except for the fiscal autonomy it enjoys along with the Basque Country, it is administratively constituted as any other autonomous community and is represented in the Spanish Parliament like the rest. Although the constitution forbids the federation or union of autonomous communities, an addendum or "transitional provision" to the constitution makes an exclusion whereby Navarra could join the Basque Country if the people chose to do so.^[21]

Leonese administrations proposed a Leonese Autonomous Community for the Province of León, continuating with the Leonese Region created in 1833 and composed by León, Salamanca and Zamora provinces, and the Kingdom of León, and even the Diputación Provincial de León, and so many municipalities as León or Ponferrada supported that model in 1983 (some of them supported Leonese Autonomous Community as an "Historical Nationality"). The Tribunal Constitucional of Spain rejected the leonese proposal in 1984, and León was joint with Castile in "Castile and León Autonomous Community", only supported by a 4% of Leonese municipalities.^[22].

List of the communities and provinces

See also:

• Ranked list of Spanish autonomous communities
• List of ISO 3166 codes for Spanish autonomous communities and provinces

Autonomous cities and "plazas de soberanía"

There are five plazas de soberanía ("places of sovereignty") near Morocco as follows:

• Ceuta and Melilla. These are called "Ciudades Autónomas" (autonomous cities). Their status is in between regular cities and autonomous communities: on the one side, Ceuta and Melilla autonomous parliaments cannot enact "autonomous" laws, but, on the other side, they can enact regulations to execute laws, which are greater regulatory powers than those of regular city councils.

and then the tiny and uninhabited other than for military personnel:

• Islas Chafarinas,
• Peñón de Alhucemas,
• and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera

See also

• Nationalities and regions of Spain
• Flags of the autonomous communities of Spain
• Coats of arms of the autonomous communities of Spain
• Anthems of the autonomous communities of Spain
• Provinces of Spain
• Comarcas of Spain
• List of municipalities of Spain
• Catalan constitutions
• Nationalities in Spain

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Regional Government". Spain. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Accessed 10 December 2007
2. ^ ^{a b} Preliminary Title. Second Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10 December 2007
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12501023
4. ^ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de6c00f0-8c25-11de-b14f-00144feabdc0.html
5. ^ Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 143rd Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10 December 2007
6. ^ Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 141st Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10 December 2007
7. ^ Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 144th Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10 December 2007
8. ^ Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 145th Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10 December 2007
9. ^ ^{a b} Sinópsis del Estatuto de Autonomia de la Comunidad de Madrid. Congreso de los Diputados. Accessed: 10 December 1979
10. ^ Chapter 3. Autonomous Communities. 147th Article. Spanish Constitution of 1978. Accessed: 10 December 2007
11. ^ Estatut d'Autonomia de la Comunitat Valenciana, 2006
12. ^ Nuevo Estatuto de Autonomía de Canarias
13. ^ Estatut d'Autonomia de les Illes Balears, 2007
14. ^ Estatuto de Autonomía de Aragón
15. ^ Cartujo.org. "Unidad de Policía de la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía". http://www.cartujo.org/pag(a9).htm. Retrieved 2007-10-23. (Spanish)
16. ^ Articles 140 and 141. Spanish Constitution of 1978
17. ^ CNN.com – Catalonians vote for more autonomy – Jun 18, 2006
18. ^ Global Education Reform | Decentralization and SBM Resource Kit
19. ^ ^{a b} Keating, M. (2006). Federalism and the Balance of Power in European States. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Accessed: 10 December 2007
20. ^ Preliminary Title. First Article. Statute of Autonomy of the Community of Madrid
21. ^ Fourth Transitional Provision. Spanish Constitution of 1978
22. ^ Poll made by Leonese Provincial Government in 1980
23. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Not an official language but is protected and regulated, and spoken by a local minority.

External links

• Information about Spain's Autonomous Communities from rulers.org
• Relations between tiers – CityMayors feature
• Maps of the Autonomous Communities of Spain
• Maps of the Autonomous Communities of Spain in Chinese
• David Brighty. State and region: the Spanish experience.

Categories: Autonomous communities of Spain | Subdivisions of Spain | Lists of country subdivisions | Country subdivisions of Europe | First-level administrative country subdivisions | Spain-related lists

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