Nationalities and Regions of Spain - "Nationalities" in The Constitution of 1978

"Nationalities" in The Constitution of 1978

The demands for the recognition of the distinctiveness of Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, within the Spanish State became one of the most important challenges for the newly-elected Parliament. In fact, the writing of the second article, in which the "nationalities and regions" of Spain were recognized, was the most hotly debated in the Parliament. Its acceptance was not smooth: the right vigorously opposed it, while the nationalists and the left firmly objected leaving it out. The natural corollary to debating the term "nationalities" was debating the term "nation". At the end of the spectrum there were those who thought the term "nationalities" was unnecessary, or that there was only one "nation" and "nationality"— Spain — while at the opposite end of the spectrum there were those who advocated for defining Spain as a plurinational State, that is, a State integrated by several nations. In the end, the second article was passed along with the term "nationalities" but firmly stressing the indivisible unity of the Spanish nation. It reads:

The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards; it recognizes and guarantees the right to self-government of the nationalities and regions of which it is composed and the solidarity among them all

— Second Article of the Spanish Constitution of 1978

The article united two historical trends in Spain: centralism and federalism, and in the words of one of the seven fathers of the Constitution, Jordi Solé Tura it was " an authentic point of encounter between different concepts of the Spanish nation In it, two great notions of Spain merge." It aimed to give an answer to the nationalistic aspirations that had been silenced during the four decades of Franco's dictatorial regime.

The constitution itself did not define the term, despite the diverse meanings and interpretations that its proponents and opponents had — ranging from "an expression of historical and cultural identities in the superior unity of Spain" (Landelino Lavilla, from the Union of the Democratic Centre), "communities with a prominent cultural, historical or political personality" (Rafael Arias-Salgado, from the Union of the Democratic Centre), all the way to making it equivalent to "nation", (Manuel Fraga from the People's Alliance, in stern opposition to the term "nationalities" precisely because of its alleged synonymity with "nation") or defining it as a "nation without a State within the plurinational reality of Spain as a Nation of nations" (Miguel Roca Junyent, from the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia).

The particular meaning that the term "nationalities" was to acquire in Spanish politics in reference to regions created some confusion with the concept of "nationality" in reference to citizenship, especially when the latter was defined in the 11th article of the constitution. It was suggested that the term "nationality" be changed to "citizenship" in the 11th article, but it was considered that the terms nationality and citizenship are not completely synonymous, as it is common in other European legislations.

The Preamble to the constitution explicitly stated that it is the Nation's will to protect "all Spaniards and the peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights, their cultures and traditions, languages and institutions". This was a significant move, since for the "historical nationalities" part of their distinctiveness lies on their own regional languages. Furthermore, the nation became openly multilingual, declaring Castilian — that is, Spanish — the official language of the entire country, but declaring that the "other Spanish languages" will also be official in their respective autonomous communities. The third article ends up declaring that the "richness of the distinct linguistic modalities of Spain represent a patrimony which will the object of special respect and protection."