Origin and history of the Spanish Constitution Day

This Monday, 6th of December, is celebrated in Spain on Day of the constitution. Therefore, as homage to the Magna Carta, the State Institutions carry out different public, national and territorial events, in which this year their 43rd anniversary.

This day is a festive journey in all the national territory since 1983. You may be struck by the fact that this holiday is not declared until 5 years later of the entry into force of the Constitution of 1978.

The explanation is simple, it was not until that year, 1983, when the Government of Felipe González decided to declare this day to honor the Magna Carta. For this, the Government of Spain approved Royal Decree 2964/1983, of November 30, which establishes the ‘Constitution Day’ and declared this day to “properly solemnize the anniversary of the date on which the people Spanish ratified the Constitution by referendum “.

The date of the referendum

After the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, Spain entered a period of transition that led to the 1977 general election, which were held on June 15. After which, and after a period of negotiations and agreements between the different political parties, the December 6, 1978 a referendum was held on what is now our Constitution.

In the consultation, the Spanish citizens were asked if they approved the Draft Constitution. Of the 26.6 million voters turned out to vote, about 18 million of them, the 87.87% voted in favor, according to data from the Congress of Deputies. In this way, the Constitution of 1978, who entered andEffective December 29 of that same year.

The Constitution of Consensus

The current Spanish Magna Carta has been classified as the Constitution of the consensus, According to the information on the La Moncloa website, because it was drawn up from the negotiations and agreements carried out between the different political parties with parliamentary representation.

The Carta Magna current is second most extensivea, after 1812, of Spanish History. It is made up of a preamble, 169 articles divided into 11 titles -one of them preliminary- and several additional and transitory provisions. On the Moncloa website they have a online version that can be consulted at any time.

The Constitution regulates the Fundamental rights and public liberty of all citizens. Furthermore, ‘Article I’ proclaims that Spain is constituted in a Social and democratic state of law, in which the values ​​of freedom, justice, equality and political pluralism stand out.

‘Article I’ also states that the national sovereignty resides in the Spanish people, from which the powers of the State emanate, and that the political form of the Spanish state is the Parliamentary monarchy. Likewise, the constitutional text emanates the separation of powers of the State: Legislative, Executive and Judicial.