Abstract
From a political and scientific perspective, the institutional architecture of local governments involves the study of their political-administrative design. The outstanding contribution of these governments to the democratic structuring of the country has not been accompanied by institutional mechanisms that guarantee their own political direction, when these are the levels of government closest to citizens and who, more out of generosity than obligation, serve their needs. Despite recent attempts by legislators to reform local government, there are still endemic problems that need to be addressed, such as the lack of specific powers to provide certain services, the duplicity in their provision, the lack of adequate resources, or the complex internal diversification of this level of government. This chapter analyzes the main regulatory milestones that have led to the evolution and consolidation of local government in Spain, detecting the most striking shortcomings that compromise the so-called local autonomy. Likewise, some alternatives are offered to help clarify its structure and functioning, in accordance with criteria of legality, efficiency, responsibility, and effective service to the citizen. The chapter ends with some recommendations on how to approach this process of adapting local governments to the new multifaceted and complex realities, with special reference to the democratic, geographic, and demographic challenges.
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Notes
- 1.
Both definitions are taken from the 23rd edition of the Dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language.
- 2.
In the specific case of Spain, close to 95% of respondents believe that the influence of municipalities in policy making should be increased and that it is necessary to improve cooperation between these levels of government (CoR 2021a).
- 3.
Either through the reform of their Statutes of Autonomy or through the approval of new land-use planning laws.
- 4.
Legal Basis 3 of SSTC 4/1981.
- 5.
Specifically, the case of Castilla y León is paradigmatic because it is the autonomous community where more than a quarter of the total number of municipalities in the country are concentrated, but it is home to only 5% of the total population, in the largest autonomous area of the State (94,224 km2), possessing the lowest population density of all regions (25,34 inhabitants per km2). Depopulation in the rural environment is really a pressing problem in this community. Revamping local entities’ autonomy is needed to achieve a sustainable and fair development model (Domínguez Álvarez 2019: 14).
- 6.
This law is the quasi-constitutional parameter for achieving a certain homogeneity in the regulation of local government at the state level, by virtue of the exclusive power recognised in articles 149.1.1rst and 18th of the Constitution.
- 7.
In March 1999, the the Upper House plenary approved a package of measures to reform municipal and provincial governments in Spain, with objectives such as strengthening local autonomy and developing its management capacity.
- 8.
One of the measures adopted in this law was to offer the possibility that members who did not have the status of councilors could be part of the local government boards, but it was declared unconstitutional (STC 103/2013, April 25).
- 9.
As it follows from the SSTC 247/2007, of December 12 and SSTC 31/2010, of June 28.
- 10.
On September 25, 2015, world leaders adopted a set of global goals (hereafter Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs) to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda (UN 2015). Each of the 17 goals and 169 targets that comprise the so-called 2030 Agenda is assigned a series of specific actions to be implemented over the next 15 years. SDG 17 focuses on revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
- 11.
Included in Law 22/2006, of July 4, 2006, on the Capital and Special System of Madrid and in Law 22/1998, of December 30, 1998, on the Municipal Charter of Barcelona, respectively.
- 12.
Due to the limitation of the study, no reference will be made to the special organization of the Insular Councils. Title IV the General Electoral System Organic Law contains the special provisions for the election of Insular Councils. For its part, the Balearic Islands’ Insular Council electoral system is drawn up in Law 7/2009, of December 11, 2009, Insular Council Electoral Law.
- 13.
Slogan that identifies the local reform operated in Spain in 2013 and materialized in Law 27/2013, of December 27.
- 14.
Articles 2, 7.2, 25 and 26 of the Local System Law.
- 15.
Articles 7.3 and 27 of the Local Government Regulatory Law.
- 16.
Normally, this function usually comes under the corresponding Regional Ministry and, failing that, the Ministry of Finance and Public Administration.
- 17.
As we have observed in Table 2.2, 83 comarcas have been created in Spain to date, although only a few autonomous communities have regulated this in their land-use planning laws: Aragon (with 33 comarcas), Asturias, Galicia, Cantabria, Castile and Leon (with 1), Catalonia (with 42), Galicia, La Rioja, Murcia and the Basque Country (with 7).
- 18.
According to INE data from January 2022, 62.3% of the total number of municipalities in Spain have less than 1.000 inhabitants and only 3.1% of the registered population lives there.
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Méndez Juez, M. (2022). The Institutional Architecture of Local Governments in Spain. In: Alonso, Á.I. (eds) Local Governance in Spain. Local and Urban Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14804-0_2
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