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- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Some observers have even suggested that the
autonomíasystem was only established to appease
Basque and Catalan demands for nationality. Each of
Spain’s 50 provinces contributes MPs to the congress,
the number dependent on population size (although
smaller regions are proportionally better represented).
The regions also put the Senado together: most
provinces elect four senators each, before the parliament
of eachautonomíachooses a further two members.
Bigger regions appoint an additional deputy per million
inhabitants. At a more local level theayuntamientosare
mayor-led town councils with a fair degree of power.
November 1975
King Juan Carlos, groomed as a successor by Franco, comes to the Spanish throne,
age 37. At best, the people were indifferent to him.
July 1976
Juan Carlos appoints a Francoist, Adolfo Suárez, as Prime Minister. Unexpectedly,
Suárez initiates reform, even legalising the Communist Party in April 1977.
June 1977
Suárez turns out to be a charismatic devil and wins the first free elections in Spain
since 1936, leading the centrist UCD coalition into the new Cortes in July.
1978
A new constitution is drawn up and approved by the people via referendum.
It includes an offer of autonomous governance to Spain’s 17 regions.
February 23rd 1981
Democracy faces a final challenge from the old guard when Lieutenant Colonel Antonio
Tejero bursts into the Cortes brandishing a gun. King Juan Carlos cuts short a game of
squash, appears on TV and tells the plotters that their attack on democracy won’t stand.
Their support dissolved and Juan Carlos won fans far and wide.
How Spain became a successful democracy: key dates
December 6thin Spain
is Día de la Constitución,
a national holiday
commemorating the
day in 1978 when the
Spanish people approved
the new constitution.
Is the royal honeymoon
finally over?
For three decades the
restored Bourbon
monarchy has been
almost beyond reproach
in Spain. After all, King
Juan Carlos quashed
the 1981 coup, steadying
Spain’s fledgling
democracy. But the
picture is changing.
The people love Juan
Carlos but they’re not
necessarily monarchists;
indeed, many would
prefer a republic. His
heir, Prince Felipe of
Asturias, is nowhere
near as popular. In 2007,
the King was forced to
reveal how his family’s
€8million worth of
public funds was spent
each year after mounting
criticism of their lavish
lifestyle. As for Basque
and Catalan nationalists,
they’re unrestrained in
their calls for an end to
the monarchy.
You can still get two
years in prison in Spain
for insulting a royal.
