[Printer Friendly Version]   [How to E-mail This Article to A Friend]

AROUND THE WORLD 3: A Newborn Constitution

Last Saturday, Spain celebrated the 25th Anniversary of its Constitution. That makes it practically an infant compared to the United States Constitution, which is over 200 years old. Celebrations in Spain were marked by television specials, ceremonies, and free giveaways.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is of personal importance to each Spaniard. It was created three years after the death of Franco, a dictator who held Spain by a tight rope for almost 35 years of rule. Franco, known as "El Caudillo" by Spaniards (a term similar to the German "Fuhrer" used for Hitler), was known for restricting freedoms and violating the basic rights of citizens. Many things we take for granted - freedom of religion, freedom of the press, free speech - did not exist during Franco.

The 15-minute news breaks on Spanish television were full of constitutional information in preparation for Saturday. One station produced a series of special commercials for the week leading up to the anniversary. These spots showed different people from every region - Andalucia, Castilla, and Valencia, to name a few - reading selections from the Constitution. One of the most popular newspapers, Ideal, created a special pamphlet with the complete text of the Constitution and gave out a free copy of it with each paper. Even television trivia shows, very popular in Spain, included special daily constitutional questions with their usual mix during the week.

One key aspect of the Constitution of 1978 is the right of every Spaniard to practice his or her "cultures and traditions, languages and institutions". It recognizes other languages as the official languages in different regions of Spain. For example, what we commonly think of as the Spanish language is actually called Castillian. A few regions of in Spain, due to long and complicated histories, use Castillian only as their second language. An example is Catalunya, the eastern region of the beautiful and famous Barcelona; most Catalunyans speak Catalan, which sounds like a mix of French and Spanish. During Franco, any language besides Castillian - Catalan, Gallego, Basque - was forbidden, and you could be jailed just for speaking it.

Ever since Spain's Civil War ended in 1939 and up until Franco's death in 1975, the country did not have a Constitution - it didn't even have formal laws. People could be thrown in jail without justification, tortured, and tried by military tribunals, which have much harsher punishments than civilian tribunals. Despite these facts, many Spaniards still respect Franco and believe the country experienced great wealth and order under his regime. For the most part, though, the celebration of the Constitution is a celebration of liberties denied to Spaniards for decades and a reminder of how many changes the country has undergone in the past 25 years.

--Written by Kari Elassal

Write your own story telling us what you think about this article!

Read AROUND THE WORLD 4: Someone New in the Neighborhood