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UNIT 6. SPAIN: POLITICS AND TERRITORY. 1. THE POLITICAL ORGANISATION OF SPAIN.

The most important principles of the Spanish State are:

Spain is a democratic State, based on national sovereignty and universal suffrage.

Spain is a Parliamentary Monarchy.The King of Spain, Philip VI, is the Head of State. The

king is the symbol of the union of the country and represent Spain before the international

community. But he has no political power, his role is only representative ( He reigns but he

does not govern).

The system of government is based on the division of powers:

1.1. CORTES GENERALES: this is the name

given to the Spanish Parliament. There are two

Houses or Chambers: Congress and Senate.

1.1.1. Congress: its members (350) are

elected by citizens at least every four years by

universal suffrage in general elections.

Election constituencies are based on

provinces, so the number of deputies depends

on the population of every province. For example, Granada's voters elect 7 members,

Madrid's voters 36. Barcelona's voters 31. Ceuta and Melilla elect only 1 deputy.

The main functions of the Congress of the Deputies are:

1. Passing/Aprroving laws.

2. Controlling government political action.

3. Approving general State Budget.

4. Discuss laws and proposals.

5. Ask the government for explanations.

6. Presenting a motion of censure.

Executive Power. Legislative Power Judicial Power.

President,Vicepresident,

Ministers

Congress And

Senate

Courts of Justice(judges and magistrates)

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1.1.2. Senate: its members (266) are

elected by universal suffrage at leats every

four years (208) and 58 are appointed by

regional parliaments. The election

constituencies are based on provinces and

islands:

1. The number of senators is equal in every province: every

province has 4 senators.

2. The most populated islands (Majorca, Tenerife and Gran Canaria) elect 3 senators each.

3. The rest of the islands (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, La Palma, El Hierro, Minorca and

Ibiza) elect 1 senator.

4. Ceuta and Melilla elect 2 senators each.

5. The Parliaments of the Autonomous Regions appoint 1

senator every million of inhabitants.

The main functions of the Senate are:

1. Responsible for matters related to

autonomous regions self-government.

2. Reviews and Votes on laws approved

by the Congress.

3. Propose new laws.

ACTIVITIES.1. What are the functions of the King?. 2. Complete: Congress - Members: 350 - How do we elect them?. - Number of deputies depends on __________________________________________________3. Congress Functions: : ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Write the three most important principles of the Spanish State: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5. Complete: Senate - Members: ___________________________________________________________________ - How do we elect them? ________________________________________________________ - Number of deputies depends on __________________________________________________6. Senate Functions:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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1.2. GOVERNMENT.

The government is composed by the president, vicepresident and ministers, who are responsible for each

area (Homeland Security, Justice, Health Care, Education, Infrastructure, Foreign Policy, National

Defense, etc). The President is elected by the Congress and appoint the ministers. The actions of

President and Ministers are controlled by the Congress and Senate.

The main functions of the government are:

1. Apply the law.

2. Propose laws to the Parliament.

3. Manage State administration.

4. Take political decisions.

5. The government also has the right to propose new laws to the Parliament and pass decree

laws (law dictated by the government and must be voted within 30 days).

President of the Government lives at Palacio de la Moncloa in Madrid. The ministries are also located in

Madrid.

1.3. JUDICIAL POWER.

The Judicial Power is formed by the Courts of Justice, where the judges and magistrates, whose

functions are enforce the law and pass judgment. Judges are independent but their ruling organ, the

Consejo General del Poder Judicial, whose members have been appointed by the political parties elected

by the Congress and Senate.

The main Courthouses in Spain are:

1. the Supreme Court, which has jurisdiction all over Spain.

2. The Constitutional Court, supervise conflicts between the national and regional

governments, guarantees the enforcement of the Constitution and is responsible for

determining if laws are in accordance with the Constitution.

ACTIVITIES.1. Who elect the president of the government?.

2. Who elect the ministers?.

3. What are the functions of the executive power?

4. Complete the sentence: The government is composed by …..................................................................

5. Where does the president of the government live?.

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6. What are the functions of the judges?

7. Who appoint the members of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial?.

8. What are the functions of the Constitutional Court?.

2. TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION.

The Constitution of 1978 established Spain as a

decentralised State and allowed the creation of

regional governments called autonomous

communities. Later, Ceuta and Melilla were

recognized as autonomous cities too.

2.1. AUTOMOUS REGIONS.

There are 17 autonomous regions in Spain, based on historical, cultural, linguistic or geographic reasons.

The first regions to obtain an autonomous government were those ones that had already had autonomy

during the Second Republic (Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country) and Andalusia. The rest of the

autonomous regions were constituted between 1979 and 1983.

Autonomous regions have powers in different areas, but these powers have been given by the State

government, for example: education, health care, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, city planning, etc.

Each autonomous region has a Statute of Autonomy. All Statutes contain at least the following sections:

1. The name of the autonomous region, its territorial boundaries and the symbols that

identify it (flag, anthem, coat of arms).

2. The political and administrative organisation: the different government institutions.

1. Legislative assembly: exercises the legislative power and its members are

elected at least every four years by universal suffrage.

2. Executive council: exercises the executive power. It consists of a president,

elected at least every four years, and several ministers responsible for different

areas (education, health, economy, etc).

3. Supreme Court of Justice: the highest judicial institution in the territory.

Autonomous regions obtains their funds in two different ways:

1. Navarre and Basque Country: they have their own institutions to collect their taxes and

then the region gives part of those taxes to the central government to compensate it for

the services it provides in those regions.

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2. The rest: the State collects all taxes and then transfers a part of them to the autonomous

regions.

2.2. CEUTA AND MELILLA.

They have been autonomous cities since 1995. They have their own institutions (legislative assembly

and executive council) but they cannot approve laws. Anyways, they can introduce laws in the Congress

and Senate in Madrid.

2.3. PROVINCES.

The provinces were created for first time in 1833

by Francisco Javier de Burgos, born in Motril.

Later, the boundaries and the numbers of provinces

were modified but in 1927 they were finally 50.

The government and administration of the

provinces come under the responsability of

provincial councils (called Diputaciones), formed

by deputies elected by the city councils.

The main functions of the Diputaciones are:

1. Management and

coordination of the services shared by all its municipalities (transport, water,

energy supply, culture, environment, collect taxes).

2. Provide services to the smallest municipalities that cannot afford them.

2.4. MUNICIPALITIES/ LOCAL COUNCILS.

There are 8116 municipalities and each municipality rules over a geographic area called municipal

territory. Each municipality is governed by the local council, formed by the mayor and the councillors,

elected by universal suffrage every four years.

The local council provide citizens with some services: street lightning, waste collection, street cleaning,

sewerage system, paving, maintenance of parks and gardens, fire department, local police, social

services, etc.

ACTIVITIES.1. How many autonomous regions are in Spain?2. What regions were autonomous during the II Republic?. 3. Autonomous regions have powers in different areas, which ones?.

4. The Statute of Autonomy contains: 1. 2. Political organisation: Legislative:

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Executive:

Justice:

5. Why Navarre and Basque Country are different than the rest of the territories?6. Who is Francisco Javier de Burgos?.

7. How many provinces are in Spain?. 8. What are the Diputaciones?.

9. What the functions of the Diputaciones?.

10. How many municipalities are in Spain? 11. Who are the members of the Local Council?

12. Which services provide the Local councils?

EXTRA ACTIVITIES.

UNIT 4 POLITICAL ORGANISATION OF SOCIETIES AND UNIT 6 POLITICS

IN SPAIN. 1. Read the text and answer the questions:

Women were excluded from voting in the few democracies that had emerged in Europe by the end of

the 19th century. Every year, the streets of New York and London saw ever larger public demonstrations of

women of all classes demanding the right to vote. The outbreak of World War I initially interrupted and

eventually advanced the cause of women's suffrage. Women took over many of the jobs of men who went to

war and their work allowed them to make a strong case for deserving full citizenship. By 1919, about a

dozen Europen countries, including the United Kingdom, had granted some measure of national voting

rights to women. In 1920, the US Constitution incorporated female franchise.

1. Could women in Europe vote at the end of the 19th century?. _________________________

2. How did women in New York and London demand the right to vote?.

__________________________________________________________________________

3. What did women do during the war?.

__________________________________________________________________________

4. Did the war have a positive or negative effect on the cause of women's suffrage? Why?.

___________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

5. When did women in the UK obtain the right to vote?.

__________________________________________________________________________

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2. Match each power with the correct institution.

Legislative power Judges and magistrates

Executive power Parliament

Judicial Power Government

3. Identify the Spanish institution responsible for each of the functions:

Passing the laws

Judgment on crimes and offences

Controlling government action

Passing decree laws

Controlling the management and use of

public funds

Making sure citizen's rights and freedoms

are respected by the State administration.

Directing foreign and domestic policy.

4. Read the text and answer the questions:

1. Spain is hereby established as a social and democratic State (…).

2. National sovereignty belongs to the Spanish people, from whom all State powers emanate

(…).

3.The political form of the Spanish State is the parliamentary monarchy (…).

4. Political parties are the expression of political pluralism (…). Their creation and the exercise

of their activities are free (…).

5. Trade Unions contribute to the defence and promotion of the economic and social interests

that they represent. Their creation and the exercise of their activities shall be free (…).

1. What type of State is established by the Spanish Constitution?.

__________________________________________________________________________

2. What does the national sovereignty mean and who does it belong to?.

__________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the features of a parliamentary monarchy?.

__________________________________________________________________________

4. What does the term “political pluralism” means?.

__________________________________________________________________________

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5. Does the Constitution allow the creation of political parties and trade unions?.

__________________________________________________________________________

5. Read the text and answer the questions:

The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and

indivisible homeland of all Spaniards; it recognises and guarantees the right to self-government

of the nationalities and regions of which it is composed and the solidarity among them all.

The State is organised territorially into municipalities, provinces and the autonomous communities

that may be constituted. All these bodies shall enjoy self-government for the management of their

respective interests.

1. Match each underlined word with the right definition:

Something that can't be divided into parts.

Have or possess something and benefit from it.

Country where someone was born

Link or relationship that can't be broken

Organisation and control

Feeling of loyalty between people who belong to a group or community.

6. Look at the graphic and answer the questions:

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1. Which political party won the first democratic general election in Spain in 1977?. ___________ Who

was the leader of that political party? ______________________

2. Which political party won the 1982 general election? __________ Who was the leader?

________________________.

3. Which political party won the 1996 general election? _____________ Who was the leader of the

political party? ____________.

4. Which political party won the 2004 general election? ______________ Who was the leader?

____________________.

5. Which political party won the 2011 general election? ______ Who was the leader? ________

7. Listen and correct the mistakes in the sentences:

1. The president of the USA is elected every two years.

2. There are 445 members in the House of Representatives and 100 in the Senate.

3. All senators are elected every six years.

4. In the USA, there are only general elections.

5. The purpose of a general election is to choose candidates for the primary election.

6. All people can vote; they only have to show some type of identification.

7. The process for registering voters is the same in all states.

8. Voting is compulsory in the USA.

8. Match each concept with the right definition: referendum, parliamentary monarchy, political party,

general election, statute of autonomy, general state budget, motion of censure, bill, decentralisez State,

decree Law, public funds, trade union.

PSOE

PP

UCD

PCE/IU

UPYD

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Election in which citizens vote to elect the members of parliament.

Vote proposed jby at least one-tenth of the members of the Congress to demand political responsibility

from the government; it must include a candidate for the president of the executive; if the vote is approved,

the government must resign and the king will appoint the candidate included in the vote as President.

Organisation that defend workers' rights

Annual statement of plans for the expenses and income of the State and State administration.

State in which some government powers and functions are shared between different institutions

(communities, provinces, municipalities)

Type of election in which people vote to decide on a subject that is particularly important for their country.

Type of monarchy in which the king has no real, political power; it is said that in a parliamentary

monarchy “the king reigns, but does not govern”.

Rule or measure that has the force of law; dictated by the government in exceptional and urgent situations;

must be voted in Congress within 30 days. .

Fundamental institutional law of each autonomous community

Money that is administered by the State or the State administration.

Proposal for a new law drawn up by government and sent to parliament to be studied, debated and

approved or rejected.

Organisation of people with a common ideology with the objective of obtaining political power and taking

part in government.

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Every four years, Americans elect a president and a vice president. And every two

years, they elect 435 members of the US House of Representatives and approximately

one-third of the 100 members of the US Senate. All senators serve terms of six years, but

they are elected in stages and not all at the same time.

There are two basic types of elections: primary and general elections. Primary

elections are held before a general election to choose the party candidates for the general

election. The winning candidates in the primary go on to represent their party in the

general election.

When the primary elections or conventions have finished, a general election is held

to determine which candidates will be elected to hold office. In the general election,

voters make the final choice from among the party candidates listed on the ballot paper.

In contrast to some other democracies, voters in the USA must register themselves before

they are allowed to vote, a process that varies little from one state to another. Another

factor is that voting is voluntary, not compulsory as in some nations.