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History and Government
History: For five centuries from 218 BC, Spain was under the rule of the Romans, who left remnants of their culture throughout the country. Spain then came under the rule of the Visigoths, who rapidly integrated with the inhabitants until driven north by invading Arabs. Muslim culture soon established itself, most notably in the south, where the region centred on Cordoba and Granada became a hub of Arabic culture and learning. The evidence of Arabic influence is still strong, particularly in the wealth of remaining Moorish architecture. During the Middle Ages, Christianity gradually gained ground. Many kingdoms – Aragon, Castile, Navarre, Leon and Portugal being the major ones – were established, most of them constantly at war.
The spirit of Reconquista, the fierce flame that burned throughout so much of the medieval period (roughly comparable to the Islamic concept of Jihad or holy war), produced heroes, folklore, legend, staggering architectural achievements and great acts of bravery and chivalrous folly. It also, after centuries of intermittent fighting, produced a final triumph for Christianity. In 1469, Ferdinand and Isabella – respectively King of Aragon and Queen of Castile, then the two most powerful kingdoms in Iberia, united by marriage – captured Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the peninsula. The same year saw Columbus’ discovery of America, financed by Castile, and the beginning of Spain’s ‘Golden Age’ as the centre of the far-flung Habsburg Empire of Charles V (Charles, or Carlos I of Spain).
The reign of Philip II during the late-16th century was also one of the most artistically fertile in the country’s history, with Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Velazquez and El Greco coming to prominence at this time. The Habsburg monarchy became progressively less able to deal with the serious political and economic problems of its empire during the 17th century, and the dynasty reached its nadir under the inept rule of King Carlos II. There was a revival under the Bourbons, notably Carlos III, but the late 18th and early 19th centuries saw Spain suffering from the protracted drain of the Napoleonic wars and internal political vendettas. The abdication of King Alfonso XIII in 1931 brought into being a left-wing republic.
This was short-lived and was effectively crushed by General Franco in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. His fascist regime lasted until his death in 1975, when the monarchy was restored. By March 1978, a democratic constitutional monarchy had been put in place. During the 1980s and the early 1990s, domestic politics were dominated by the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE, Socialist Party), under the leadership of Felipe Gonzalez, an archetype of the new generation of Spanish socialists who favoured pragmatism and technocratic development in favour of ideology. In 1982 and again in 1986, the Socialists won an absolute majority in the Cortes (national assembly). In October 1989, Gonzalez again went to the country to seek his third successive term.
However, disillusion on the left deprived Gonzalez’ socialists of many seats, leaving Gonzalez at the head of a minority government. The Gonzalez government’s particular achievement in foreign policy was to establish Spain as a valuable and enthusiastic member of the (then) European Community, which it joined in 1986 and from which it has benefited considerably. At the time, there were worries about the long-term effects of membership on some of Spain’s heavily protected (a Franco legacy) and uncompetitive industries. Despite an economic recession, mounting allegations of corruption and growing disillusionment with the government, the PSOE was able to arrange a coalition administration with Catalan and Basque nationalist parties. It was the refusal of Convergencia i Unio (CiU), the main Catalan party, to endorse the government’s budget plans that precipitated an early general election, which Gonzalez called for March 1996.
At this point, the Spanish nation overcame its distrust of the right (a legacy of the civil war) and the PSOE was replaced as the largest party in the Cortes by the right-wing Partido Popular (PP), in March 1996. The PP formed a government with the backing of regional parties under Jose Maria Aznar. After some initial difficulties, the new government found its feet after several years in office and has since become a confident and reasonably competent administration. Its economic policies were little different from those of its predecessor and the party was able to secure an absolute majority at the closely fought March 2000 election. Aznar’s position as premier appears secure until the next election.
Two territorial problems have taxed successive Spanish governments – the Basque province and Gibraltar. Governments of both complexions have pursued a hard line against the Basque separatist paramilitary organisation, ETA, and endorsed robust and sometimes illegal activity by the intelligence services. After undertaking spectacular attacks in its early years – notably the assassination of premier Admiral Carrero in 1973 – ETA’s paramilitary campaign has gradually been diminished by internal splits and attrition by the security forces. But while the Socialists were prepared to explore political options, the Aznar government has resolutely refused to seek any accommodation with the Basque militants and is solely interested in a security-based resolution of the conflict. The pro-independence party, Herri Batasuna, which is seen by Madrid as the political affiliate of ETA, was banned by the Madrid government in 2002, after operating legally since the early 1980s (with a sizeable representation in the regional assembly). This has had the effect of ensuring that the organisation’s bedrock support, which had been steadily diminishing, has stabilised and may now be growing. And although the paramilitary campaign has been fairly quiescent of late, ETA is a resilient outfit and has been erroneously written off before.
The problem of Gibraltar has proved just as intractable, albeit for different reasons. A British colony since the 19th century, Gibraltar’s single-minded attachment to the UK has consistently frustrated the most inventive schemes of the London and Madrid governments to resolve its status. The most recent of these – a joint sovereignty plan engineered by the two governments in 2002 – was decisively rejected by a referendum in November that year (see Gibraltar). The Spanish have a similar historical anomaly of their own, in the form of two enclaves on the north coast of Morocco – Ceuta and Melilla – along with a group of tiny island possessions. One of these, Perejil, became the subject of an odd, almost comical dispute between the Spanish and Moroccan governments in late 2002 (see Morocco).
Outside Europe, Spain has special relations with Latin America and the Arab world, through historical and cultural ties. That said, strong Spanish support for the Anglo-American campaign against Iraq in 2002/3 might cause appreciable damage to their Arab links. Spain has also been a member of NATO since 1982 and continued membership was confirmed in a referendum held in 1986. Spanish ratification of the Maastricht Treaty on European Union was completed in November 1992 and the single European currency was adopted upon its inception in January 1999.
Government: The 1978 constitution created a bicameral parliament (Cortes), divided into the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, which holds legislative power. The 350-strong Congress is elected every four years by proportional representation, while the 202 senators are chosen by direct election. There are also 17 autonomous regions, the governments of which are elected every four years.
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