Home Institution
Muhlenberg College
Publication Date
Fall 2022
Abstract
After the death of Francisco Franco and the creation of the modern Spanish State, hard-core right-wing Spanish nationalism disappeared from the political spectrum. Spain and Portugal avoided the lure of far right-wing political tendencies to which the rest of Europe fell victim. Until recently, VOX, a far right-wing party, gained seats in Parliaments at the Autonomous Community level and in the Spanish National Parliament.
VOX believes in a mono-national state, a Spanish State, rather than a state composed of different nationalities such as Basque, Catalan, or Galician. In order to achieve their desired vision of the Spanish State, VOX advocates for the dissolution of the Autonomous Communities, claiming that they have weakened Spain both politically and economically. VOX argues that the autonomous communities have not positively affected Spanish society because it has encouraged separatist impulses, specifically in Catalonia. Another goal of VOX is to eliminate the political parties representing the nationalities within the Autonomous Communities, such as EAJ/PNV and EH Bildu in the Basque Country. However, those two goals are currently incompatible with the Spanish Constitution and would require a constitutional amendment.
VOX still has options to decrease the autonomy of the Autonomous Communities, such as eliminating competencies available to the autonomous communities. The Partido Popular will likely win the next national election with the support of VOX. VOX is ambitious but needs more support to rewrite the Spanish constitution. However, there are more straightforward options for them to roll back the autonomy of the autonomous communities and impose the Spanish state on the people in the communities.
Disciplines
Constitutional Law | European History | European Languages and Societies | Political Theory | Politics and Social Change
Recommended Citation
Halterman-Mitchell, Noah, "Vox and Spanish Nationalism: The Constitutional Processes for the Elimination of Regional Autonomy" (2022). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 3524.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/3524
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons
Program Name
Spain: Policy, Law, and Regional Autonomy in Europe