Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country
Encyclopedia
The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country is the legal document organizing the political system of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country
' (Basque: Euskadiko Autonomi Erkidegoa) which includes the historical territories of Alava
, Biscay
and Gipuzkoa. It forms the region into one of the autonomous communities envisioned in the Spanish Constitution of 1978
. It is also known as the Statute of Gernika (Spanish: Estatuto de Guernica), after the city of Gernika where its final form was approved on 29 December 1978. It was ratified by referendum
on 25 October 1979, despite the abstention of more than 40% of the electorate. The statute was accepted by the lower house of the Spanish Parliament on November 29 and the Spanish Senate
on December 12.
The statute was meant to encompass all the historical provinces inhabited by the Basque people
in Spain, who had proved a strong will for acknowledgement of a separate identity and status, even in non Basque nationalist circles. A draft statute for the Spanish Basque Country
was then drawn up to provide for that urge with a view to comprising all the historically Basque territories. However, the blueprint came up against much opposition in Navarre (Unión del Pueblo Navarro party founded) and rightist and nationalist circles of the still Francoist central administration. At the beginning of 1980s the Spanish Socialist party and their regional branch too swerved to a Navarre-only stance, paving the way to a separate autonomous community.
The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country retained though in its wording the spirit of the original blueprint, namely allowing the necessary means for the development in liberty of the Basque people, while now limited only to the western Álava
, Gipuzkoa and Biscay
provinces. The possibility of Navarre
joining in is anyway emphasized and provisioned for, insomuch as they are identified as Basque people, should be that their will.
It established a system of parliamentary government, in which the president (chief of government) or lehendakari
is elected by the Basque Autonomous Parliament among its members. Election of the Parliament is by universal suffrage
and parliament consists of 75 deputies, 25 from each of the three Historic Territories of the community. The parliament is vested with powers over a broad variety of areas, including agriculture, industry; from culture, arts and libraries, to tax collection, policing
, and transportation. Basque
(as a right) and Spanish
(as a right and duty) are official languages.
The equal representation of the provinces regardless of actual population was a wink to Alava and Navarre, the least populated and least prone to Basque nationalism
of the provinces. However the Navarrese society seems content with its current Amejoramiento del Fuero'
The Ibarretxe Plan
is a proposal to revise the statute so as to amplify Basque autonomy put forward by the ruling Basque Nationalist Party
.
(they were called the exempted provinces, that is without royal taxes, without military conscription for the royal army except in defense case,...).
After the Second Carlist War
, the Fueros were abolished and substituted by the Ley Paccionada in Navarre (1841) and a diminished foral regime in the three western provinces (1876). After this abolition of the Charters, former laws and customs were largely absorbed into Spanish centralist rule with little regard for regional idiosyncrasies. As a result, attempts were made by Carlists, Basque nationalists and sometimes leftist forces in the Basque region to restore some kind of self-empowerment ("autonomy") that eventually would led to draft at the onset of the Second Spanish Republic
a statute for the four Basque provinces, the Statute of Estella. However, it didn't achieve enough support following heated controversy over the validity of the votes and allegations of strong pressures on local representatives to tip the result against the unitarian option (Assembly of Pamplona, 1932).
Another proposal was approved by the Republic already in the Spanish Civil War
, but only including the provinces of Gipuzkoa, Biscay and Álava. Its effectivity was limited to the Republic-controlled areas of Biscay and a fringe of Gipuzkoa.
After the surrendering of the Basque Army
in 1937, the statute was abolished.
However, Francisco Franco
allowed the continuation of a limited self-government for Alava and Navarre, thanking their support for his uprising.
It is on the republican statute and the Alavese institutions that the current Statute of Gernika takes its legitimacy.
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
' (Basque: Euskadiko Autonomi Erkidegoa) which includes the historical territories of Alava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...
, Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
and Gipuzkoa. It forms the region into one of the autonomous communities envisioned in the Spanish Constitution of 1978
Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
. It is also known as the Statute of Gernika (Spanish: Estatuto de Guernica), after the city of Gernika where its final form was approved on 29 December 1978. It was ratified by referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on 25 October 1979, despite the abstention of more than 40% of the electorate. The statute was accepted by the lower house of the Spanish Parliament on November 29 and the Spanish Senate
Spanish Senate
The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election...
on December 12.
The statute was meant to encompass all the historical provinces inhabited by the Basque people
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
in Spain, who had proved a strong will for acknowledgement of a separate identity and status, even in non Basque nationalist circles. A draft statute for the Spanish Basque Country
Southern Basque Country
The Southern Basque Country is a term used to refer to the Basque territories within Spain as a unified whole.It does not exist as a political unit but includes the three provinces and two enclaves of the Basque Autonomous Community in the west, as well as the Chartered Community of Navarre to...
was then drawn up to provide for that urge with a view to comprising all the historically Basque territories. However, the blueprint came up against much opposition in Navarre (Unión del Pueblo Navarro party founded) and rightist and nationalist circles of the still Francoist central administration. At the beginning of 1980s the Spanish Socialist party and their regional branch too swerved to a Navarre-only stance, paving the way to a separate autonomous community.
The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country retained though in its wording the spirit of the original blueprint, namely allowing the necessary means for the development in liberty of the Basque people, while now limited only to the western Álava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...
, Gipuzkoa and Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
provinces. The possibility of Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
joining in is anyway emphasized and provisioned for, insomuch as they are identified as Basque people, should be that their will.
It established a system of parliamentary government, in which the president (chief of government) or lehendakari
Lehendakari
The President of the Basque Government , usually known in English as the Basque regional president, is the head of government of Basque Country. The president leads the executive branch of the regional government....
is elected by the Basque Autonomous Parliament among its members. Election of the Parliament is by universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
and parliament consists of 75 deputies, 25 from each of the three Historic Territories of the community. The parliament is vested with powers over a broad variety of areas, including agriculture, industry; from culture, arts and libraries, to tax collection, policing
Ertzaintza
The Ertzaintza , is the police force of the Basque Country, one of the autonomous communities of Spain. An Ertzaintza member is an ertzaina .- Origins :...
, and transportation. Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
(as a right) and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(as a right and duty) are official languages.
The equal representation of the provinces regardless of actual population was a wink to Alava and Navarre, the least populated and least prone to Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
of the provinces. However the Navarrese society seems content with its current Amejoramiento del Fuero'
The Ibarretxe Plan
Ibarretxe Plan
The Political statute of the Community of the Basque Country, more known as Ibarretxe Plan was a proposal by former lehendakari Juan Jose Ibarretxe to radically alter the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country proposing a free association of the Basque Country with Spain on an equal footing, and...
is a proposal to revise the statute so as to amplify Basque autonomy put forward by the ruling Basque Nationalist Party
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
.
Earlier statutes
The Basque provinces maintained a great degree of self-government under their chartersFuero
Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...
(they were called the exempted provinces, that is without royal taxes, without military conscription for the royal army except in defense case,...).
After the Second Carlist War
Second Carlist War
The Second Carlist War, or the War of the Matiners or Madrugadores , was a short civil war fought primarily in Catalonia by the Carlists under General Ramón Cabrera against the forces of the government of Isabella II...
, the Fueros were abolished and substituted by the Ley Paccionada in Navarre (1841) and a diminished foral regime in the three western provinces (1876). After this abolition of the Charters, former laws and customs were largely absorbed into Spanish centralist rule with little regard for regional idiosyncrasies. As a result, attempts were made by Carlists, Basque nationalists and sometimes leftist forces in the Basque region to restore some kind of self-empowerment ("autonomy") that eventually would led to draft at the onset of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
a statute for the four Basque provinces, the Statute of Estella. However, it didn't achieve enough support following heated controversy over the validity of the votes and allegations of strong pressures on local representatives to tip the result against the unitarian option (Assembly of Pamplona, 1932).
Another proposal was approved by the Republic already in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, but only including the provinces of Gipuzkoa, Biscay and Álava. Its effectivity was limited to the Republic-controlled areas of Biscay and a fringe of Gipuzkoa.
After the surrendering of the Basque Army
Euzko Gudarostea
Euzko Gudarostea was the name of the army commanded by the Basque Government during the Spanish civil war. It was formed by Basque nationalists, socialists and communists under the direction of lendakari José Antonio Aguirre and coordinating with the army of the Second Spanish Republic...
in 1937, the statute was abolished.
However, Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
allowed the continuation of a limited self-government for Alava and Navarre, thanking their support for his uprising.
It is on the republican statute and the Alavese institutions that the current Statute of Gernika takes its legitimacy.
Sources
- Iban Bilbao, The Basque Parliament and Government, Basque Studies Program Newsletter, Issue 27, 1983.
- Euskadi Net, The Statute of Autonomy, the basic institutional instrument regulating the Basque Country.
See also
- Autonomous communities of SpainAutonomous communities of SpainAn autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
- Spanish transition to democracySpanish transition to democracyThe Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...