After the death of Franco in 1975, Spain embarked on a transition from a dictatorial state to its current social democratic parliamentary monarchy, the Kingdom of Spain.
Following an initial parliamentary election in June of 1977, a working group of seven deputies appointed by the lower house of parliament, representing all parliamentary parties, drafted an initial proposed constitution which was debated and amended by the legislature over the course of the next year, resulting in a final version being approved on October 31, 1978, and submitted to the people of Spain in a constitutional referendum on December 6, 1978.
The referendum contained one question: ¿Aprueba el Proyecto de Constitución? (Do you approve of the Constitution Bill?) With 67% voter turnout, 92% voted yes. It was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos on December 27, 1978 and went into effect upon publication in the official state gazette on December 29, 1978.
December 6th is celebrated as Constitution Day in Spain. The first year I lived here, I decided it was incumbent upon me to read (an English translation of) the Constitución Española since I now reside in Spain and intend to do so indefinitely, thus finding myself subject to its decrees.
The document, being less than 50 years old, is written in clear, concise, modern language and is pleasantly easy to read and understand. Like many modern foundational documents of democratic societies, it is built on some of the same basic precepts promulgated by the great minds of the world whose thinking informed the composition of the Constitution of the United States in the 18th century. That the nation’s sovereignty belongs to its people; that the government derives its powers from the consent of the governed; that certain basic freedoms are absolute; and so on.
The U.S. Constitution was and remains a remarkable and revolutionary document, but its principles were not created in a vacuum by the American Founding Fathers. It represents the coming to fruition of thoughts and desires of generations of great thinkers who longed to supplant sovereignty by divine right with, as Lincoln would later describe it, “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” The newly liberated American people, in search of a system of governance, provided the first real blank slate upon which those dreams could be inscribed.
The U.S. Constitution does not, however, represent the only or even the best articulation of the freedoms of mankind. It was a starting point. Subsequent constitutions and charters and statements of rights and freedoms built on the same foundational principles have refined, expanded, and, dare I say, improved our understandings of those principles. As with any written documents, subsequent revisions improve on the first draft.
The Spanish Constitution, being so young, benefits from generations of revisions and retrospections on the practical applications of grand philosophical notions in everyday society. Over the centuries and through the creation of dozens of modern democratic societies, ideas that may have been overlooked or were too avant garde in their day, have made their way into modern thinking and have been enumerated as guarantees in newer constitutions, like that of Spain.
One such principle is the notion that healthcare is a human right. Section 43 of the Spanish Constitution establishes the protection of health (healthcare) as a basic right and obliges the government to “organize and watch over public health by means of preventive measures and the necessary benefits and services.” This is the basis of the universal public healthcare system we enjoy in Spain today.
Other noteworthy guarantees set forth in the Spanish Constitution include: the right to specialized healthcare and social services for those with handicaps and for the elderly; a right to sufficient income in old age; a right to enjoy decent and adequate housing; the protection of historical, cultural and artistic heritage; protection of land use against speculation; and dozens more.
Is the Spanish Constitution perfect? No, of course not. Like its American predecessor and its numerous cousins establishing other modern democratic states, it is a work in progress. But by virtue of its recency, it is a study in the evolution of our understanding of the rights of human kind.
It’s a good read for all residents of Spain and anyone interested in the evolution of democracy and humanity.