Misplaced Pages

#708291

131-587: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero PSOE Mariano Rajoy PP The 2011 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 20 November 2011, to elect the 10th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate . An election had not been due until April 2012 at latest, but a call by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for

262-508: A labor reform , which included suspension of collective agreements during economic downturns, a lower redundancy pay in cases of wrongful dismissal —from 45 to 33 days per year worked—or cheaper dismissals for companies facing losses, among others. The reform, coupled with the cut in public wages and the pension freeze, provoked the Socialist government to face its first general strike on 29 September. In order to tackle dropping poll numbers,

393-403: A snap election five months ahead of schedule was announced on 29 July 2011. Zapatero would not be seeking a third term in office, and with political pressure mounting, a deteriorating economic situation and his political project exhausted, an early election was perceived as the only way out. The election campaign was dominated by the effects of an ongoing financial crisis, high unemployment ,

524-413: A snap election , provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no state of emergency was in force and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one. Additionally, both chambers were to be dissolved and a new election called if an investiture process failed to elect a prime minister within a two-month period from the first ballot. Barred this exception, there

655-619: A "left turn" in the PSOE political program for the General Election of October 1982. González answered advising him to abandon his conservative (traditional for PSOE [leftist]) viewpoint. In 1986, he was elected to represent the province of León in the Cortes (Parliament), becoming its youngest member after the election held on 20 June. He was number two on the PSOE list for León . In the following elections (those held in 1989, 1993, 1996 and 2000) he

786-403: A 70% reduction in the public job offer and a salary freeze for senior public servants —as well as financial stimulus measures—injection of €35 billion to SMEs and €2.5 billion annually until 2010 to improve the efficiency in the hotel sector —in order to soften the impact of job losses and rising oil prices, with Zapatero finally acknowledging the crisis during an interview on 8 July. Meanwhile,

917-628: A bill amending the Constitution must be passed by both houses of the Parliament of Australia by an absolute majority (at least 76 of the 151 members of the House of Representatives and at least 39 of the 76 members of the Senate ). If one house passes the bill while the other refuses, it may attempt to pass the bill again. If the second house again refuses to pass it, the Governor-General (presumably on

1048-778: A decade—the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) suffered its worst ever defeat in a general election, while also scoring one of the worst electoral performances for a ruling party in Spain since the UCD collapse in the 1982 election . The People's Party (PP) was able to win an historic absolute majority with 186 out of 350 seats—the largest obtained by a party since 1982—after almost eight years in opposition. The PSOE went on to finish below first place in all but two provinces— Barcelona and Seville —while also losing both Andalusia and Catalonia , which up to that point had been carried by

1179-483: A desired amendment. For example, the movement to amend the Constitution to provide for the direct election of senators began to see such proposals regularly pass the House of Representatives only to die in the Senate from the early 1890s onward. As time went by, more and more state legislatures adopted resolutions demanding that a convention be called, thus pressuring the Senate to finally relent and approve what later became

1310-456: A large public deficit and a soaring risk premium . Opinion polls had shown consistent leads for the opposition People's Party (PP) over the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), whose popularity had plummeted after Zapatero's U-turns in economic policy had forced him to adopt tough spending cuts and austerity measures . Massive anti-austerity protests had taken place in May 2011 under

1441-520: A lawyer, and María de la Purificación Zapatero Valero ( Tordehumos , Valladolid , 1927 – Madrid , 30 October 2000). He grew up in León , where his family originated. His paternal grandfather, Juan Rodríguez y Lozano (28 July 1893 – Puente Castro , León , 18 August 1936), had been a captain in the Spanish Republican Army ; he was executed by Francisco Franco 's Nationalist forces a month into

SECTION 10

#1732884448709

1572-434: A major cabinet reshuffle took place on 20 October, resulting in a number of ministries being disbanded and María Teresa Fernández de la Vega , who had served as Zapatero's deputy for most of his tenure, being replaced by interior minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba . The risk premium kept growing and peaked at 270 basis points by the end of November. Zapatero's government announced a new austerity package on 1 December—including

1703-447: A majority of voters. With the legislative method, a proposed amendment must be approved by an absolute supermajority of two-thirds of the membership of each house. With the convention method, the legislature may, by a two-thirds absolute supermajority, submit to the voters at a general election the question whether to call a convention to revise the Constitution. If the majority of the voters vote yes on that question, within six months

1834-506: A mandate in either chamber of the Cortes at the preceding election were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies. Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election: The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) and United and Alternative Left (EUiA) continued their Catalan Senate alliance without ERC, under

1965-548: A new faction within the party called Nueva Vía (New Way) in April 2000, to serve him as a platform to become Secretary General. The name of Nueva Vía was a mix of Tony Blair 's Third Way ( tercera vía in Spanish) and Gerhard Schröder 's Neue Mitte ( new center or nuevo centro in Spanish). On 25 June 2000 Zapatero officially announced his intention to run for the federal Secretaryship General at an Extraordinary Conference of

2096-532: A period of several decades. In contrast, the former constitution of the U.S. state of Alabama was amended 977 times between its adoption in 1901 and its replacement by the current constitution in 2022. There are a number of formal differences, from one jurisdiction to another, in the manner in which constitutional amendments are both originally drafted and written down once they become law. In some jurisdictions, such as Ireland, Estonia , and Australia, constitutional amendments originate as bills and become laws in

2227-565: A real radicalization of the society took (and is taking) place . Zapatero's supporters blame his opponents for that and the People's Party blames him stating facts such as the increase in the acts of violence committed against them, especially in the months before and during the war in Iraq . As a result, a new term has become popular: guerracivilismo (made up of a combination of the Spanish for Civil War and

2358-435: A result, after being appointed Secretary General, he coined the term Calm Opposition ( Oposición Tranquila ) to refer to his opposition strategy. The Calm Opposition was supposedly based on an "open to dialogue", "soft", "constructive" attitude ( talante constructivo , coined as talante ) aimed not at damaging the government but at achieving the "best" for the people. (Zapatero has insisted on this point so many times that

2489-591: A special joint resolution of Congress that does not require the President to sign and that the President can not veto . The manner in which constitutional amendments are finally recorded takes two main forms. In most jurisdictions, amendments to a constitution take the form of revisions to the previous text. Thus, once an amendment has become law, portions of the original text may be deleted or new articles may be inserted among existing ones. The second, less common method,

2620-514: A special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation. Examples of such special procedures include supermajorities in the legislature, or direct approval by the electorate in a referendum , or even a combination of two or more different special procedures. A referendum to amend the constitution may also be triggered in some jurisdictions by popular initiative . Australia and Ireland provide examples of constitutions requiring that all amendments are first passed by

2751-572: A stronger left-wing ideology whereas the second was more pragmatic. The division became wider after the General Election of 1993, the last election won by the PSOE before José María Aznar 's victory in 1996, when the bad results exacerbated the internal conflicts. Zapatero never formally joined either of those two groups. In 1993, the Socialist Federation of León (FSL – Federación Socialista de León) suffered an important scandal. Some towns experienced unusually sharp increases in PSOE membership in

SECTION 20

#1732884448709

2882-476: A supermajority of at least six of the nine provinces. If an amendment affects a specific province, it must also be approved by the legislature of the province concerned. Section 1, which defines South Africa as "one, sovereign, democratic state" and lists its founding values, is a specially entrenched clause and can only be amended by an absolute three-quarters supermajority in the National Assembly and six of

3013-526: A system known as "begged" or expat vote ( Spanish : Voto rogado ). For the Congress of Deputies, 348 seats were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation , with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Spain , with each being allocated an initial minimum of two seats and

3144-462: A teaching assistant by the University of León and in his keeping the job until 1991. The suspicions of political favoritism were due to his having been directly appointed without a prior selection process open to other candidates. On 20 May 1994, he held a press conference where he rejected these accusations. Zapatero attributed to "ignorance" or "bad faith" the content of the articles and linked them to

3275-457: A university student and a teaching assistant, Zapatero did not fulfill the compulsory military service. As an MP he was finally exempted. Zapatero attended his first political rally, organized by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Gijón in 1976. Some political parties had been legal since 21 July 1976, but the PSOE was not legalized until February 1977. The speech of Felipe González ,

3406-510: A very important significance for him. He further explained that the Spanish left needed to modernize and that "we are finding it difficult to accept the need for the Socialist Party to change many of its ideological parameters and overcome our own conservatism". In 1988 he became Secretary General in León after a complex internal fight for power that ended a long period of division. In fact, before

3537-506: A very short period of time. When some of the supposed new members were questioned by the press, they stated that they were unaware of their membership and that they did not live in the places where they were being registered by the party. It seems that some opponents of Zapatero in León, perhaps with the support of powerful Guerristas at the top of the Spanish Socialist Party wanted to increase their influence within it by increasing

3668-468: A victory for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero , which nonetheless fell 7 seats short of an absolute majority . The Socialists had been re-elected on a full employment platform, despite the Spanish economy showing signs of fatigue and economic slowdown after a decade of growth. As a result, Zapatero was sworn in as prime minister for a second term in office in April 2008. Zapatero's second term would be dominated by

3799-597: A week without pay until 1991). It was subsequently found that he had been appointed by his department without the usual selection process involving interviews and competitive examinations, which if true, constitutes a case of political favouritism. He has declared that the only activity that attracts him besides politics is teaching or, at most, academic research. Rodríguez Zapatero met Sonsoles Espinosa in León in 1981. They married on 27 January 1990 and have two daughters named Laura (b. 1993) and Alba (b. 1995). Having received successive deferments because of his conditions as

3930-475: Is an agnostic. He studied law at the University of León , graduating in 1982. His performance as a student was above average before his pre-University year. According to his brother Juan: "He didn't study much but it made no difference, he continued successfully". After graduating, Zapatero worked as a teaching assistant in constitutional law at the University of León until 1986 (he continued working some hours

4061-404: Is essential.) Bono was deeply disliked by the guerristas , who also favoured Zapatero. Zapatero finally won by a relatively small margin (he obtained 414 votes out of 995 and José Bono obtained 405) on 22 July 2000. The margin was relatively small because Bono had no likelihood of winning since the supporters of the other two candidates preferred Zapatero as their second choice. Zapatero accepted

2011 Spanish general election - Misplaced Pages Continue

4192-482: Is for amendments to be appended to the end of the main text in the form of special articles of amendment , leaving the body of the original text intact. Although the wording of the original text is not altered, the doctrine of implied repeal applies. In other words, in the event of conflict, an article of amendment will usually take precedence over the provisions of the original text, or of an earlier amendment. Nonetheless, there may still be ambiguity whether an amendment

4323-483: Is intended to supersede or to supplement an existing article in the text. An article of amendment may, however, explicitly express itself as having the effect of repealing a specific existing article. The use of appended articles of amendment is most famous as a feature of the United States Constitution , but it is also the method of amendment in a number of other jurisdictions, such as Venezuela . Under

4454-465: Is through the legislature, either in regular or special session. The governor may call a special session, and specify the agenda for the session. To become part of the constitution, proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. Texas has had six different constitutions and the current constitution, adopted in 1876, has been amended 474 times. A proposed amendment must be approved by an absolute supermajority of two-thirds of

4585-616: The -ismo suffix , equivalent to the English "-ism"), which would refer to the growing enmity of right and left-wing factions. Zapatero's criticisms of the government were very active from the beginning, blaming the government for its inability to control the rise in the price of fossil fuel and asking for a reduction in the corresponding taxes. In 2000, the British nuclear submarine HMS  Tireless arrived at Gibraltar harbour to have its nuclear reactor repaired. Aznar affirmed that there

4716-416: The 2008–11 economic and financial crisis . The effects of the economic crisis in Spain started to become apparent at the beginning of Zapatero's second term. The first measure adopted by the newly elected government to mitigate the economic slowdown was an injection of €10 billion into the Spanish economy, of which €6 billion were to fulfill a €400 tax reduction as part of the PSOE 2008 election pledges. Over

4847-479: The 2014 European Parliament election held two and a half years later, when the PP obtained 26.09% of the share, and in a general election until 2015—the PP obtaining 28.71%. Jos%C3%A9 Luis Rodr%C3%ADguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero ( Spanish: [xoseˈlwis roˈðɾiɣeθ θapaˈteɾo] ; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He

4978-661: The Agreement for Catalonia Progress name. Concurrently, the new green Equo party allied itself with PSM–Nationalist Agreement (PSM–EN), Initiative Greens (IV) and Agreement for Majorca (ExM) in the Balearic Islands and with Sí Se Puede (SSP) and Socialists for Tenerife (SxTf) in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife constituency. The key dates are listed below (all times are CET . The Canary Islands used WET ( UTC+0 ) instead): With an overall voter turnout of 68.9%—the lowest in

5109-682: The Archivist of the United States , with the Archivist currently being responsible for certification under 1 U.S.C.   § 106b . The certification document usually contains a list of the States that ratified the Amendment. This certification is just used by the federal government to keep an official record and archive of the Amendment for its own purposes, and does not actually have any legal effect on

5240-517: The Communist Party as it was the only party really organized before Francisco Franco 's death in 1975. But, after the famous political rally in Gijón, they, and especially Zapatero, started to believe that the Socialist Party was the most probable future for the Spanish left . At that time the Socialist Party was rebuilding its infrastructure in the province of León after having been outlawed following

5371-560: The Congress of Deputies increasing their vote shares—only Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Geroa Bai (GBai) lost votes compared to 2008 . The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) lost 1 seat despite scoring higher than in 2008, but this came as a result of Amaiur 's irruption, with 6 out of its 7 seats being elected in the Basque Country . Convergence and Union (CiU), the party federation formed by Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC),

2011 Spanish general election - Misplaced Pages Continue

5502-622: The Cortes Generales —the Congress and the Senate—expired four years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election

5633-522: The Gazette . The Constitution of Brazil states various terms on how it can be amended. Article 60 lies within "Section VIII: The Legislative Process, Subsection 2: Amendments to the Constitution". The following is detailed therein: Constitutional amendments may be proposed by: §1°. The Constitution cannot be amended during a federal intervention, state of defence or stage of siege. §2°. A proposed amendment shall be debated and voted on in each Chamber of

5764-595: The IBEX 35 falling by 9.3%. By early May 2010, unemployment had reached the 20% mark for the first time since the 1993 economic crisis , while the crisis in Greece , threatening to engulf the remained of the eurozone , caused the risk premium to rise dramatically by 60% to 170 basis points and the Madrid Stock Exchange to fall by 10%. As a result, Zapatero announced a €15 billion austerity package on 12 May aimed at preventing

5895-614: The Martinsa-Fadesa bankruptcy filling in July 2008 as a result of the Spanish property bubble bursting turned into Spain's biggest ever corporate default . Job destruction in Spain became increasingly noticeable: by August 2008 2.5 million were already unemployed, the highest figure in 10 years. By December 2008, Spain would become the country with the highest job destruction rate in the world, with unemployment nearing 3 million. In October 2008,

6026-521: The Seventeenth Amendment for fear that such a convention—if permitted to assemble—might stray to include issues above and beyond just the direct election of senators. To become an operative part of the Constitution, an amendment, whether proposed by Congress or a national constitutional convention, must be ratified by either: Congress has specified the state legislature ratification method for all but one amendment. The ratifying convention method

6157-553: The Spanish Civil War , for refusing to fight with them. His whereabouts were revealed by fascists in Valladolid. His maternal grandfather, Faustino Valentín Zapatero Ballesteros ( Valladolid , 14 February 1899 – 1978), was a paediatrician and middle class liberal. His maternal grandmother María de la Natividad Valero y Asensio ( Zamora , 9 December 1902 – Valladolid, 28 June 2006) was a conservative and died at age 103. Zapatero

6288-549: The Spanish Civil War . In 1977, the year of the first democratic elections after Franco's death, Zapatero supported both the Communist and Socialist parties. He pasted posters of both parties. He eventually joined the PSOE on 23 February 1979. The impression Felipe González had caused on him in 1976 played a fundamental role in his decision to join the party. In 1979, during the Congreso Extraordinario del PSOE (1979) ,

6419-455: The Supreme Being . In the sixth, Zapatero's grandfather asked his family to clear his name in the future as his creed consisted only in his "love for peace, for good and for improving the living conditions of the lower classes". According to an Israeli newspaper, Maariv , by Zapatero's own statement: "My family, named Zapatero, is of Jewish descent", probably from a family of Marranos . He

6550-574: The Tennessee State Constitution : through the legislature and by constitutional convention. Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. With the legislative method, the Tennessee General Assembly passes a resolution calling for an amendment and stating its wording. This must pass in three separate readings on three separate days, with an absolute majority on all readings. It does not require

6681-544: The Washington State Constitution is through the legislature and can originate in either branch. The proposal must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the legislature. The proposed amendment is placed on the ballot at the next general election and must be approved by a majority of the voters. The procedure for amending the Constitution of Australia is detailed in section 128 of the Constitution . Firstly,

SECTION 50

#1732884448709

6812-511: The advice of the Prime Minister ) may still submit the proposed change for referendum. Following this, Australians then vote on the proposal. For a referendum to succeed both of the following must be achieved The double majority is a major factor in why since 1906 out of 44 referendums only 8 have been successful. In the Communist -ruled People's Republic of China , the Constitution of

6943-500: The governor 's approval. It must then be published at least six months before the next legislative election in newspapers of wide and general circulation. (This is done by precedent but is not required by law.) After the election, the proposed amendment must go through the same procedure (absolute majority on three separate readings). Then it is put on the ballot as a referendum in the next gubernatorial election. To be ratified it must again achieve an absolute majority of those voting in

7074-568: The interior ministry , coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties, federations or coalitions that had not obtained

7205-506: The provincial legislatures , and, if it does not have to be passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), submit it to the NCOP for debate. When the bill is introduced, the comments received must be tabled in the National Assembly, and in the NCOP when appropriate. All amendments must be passed by an absolute two-thirds supermajority in the National Assembly (the lower house ); as

7336-463: The reformers . Rosa Díez was a Basque politician who was a kind of intermediate option at the time. Zapatero was a dark horse who had against him his inexperience and in favour his image of reform and being the only MP among the candidates. (All the Spanish opposition leaders had been MPs before winning the elections. A very important factor in Spanish politics where electoral campaigns last for only 15 days and to be widely known long before they begin

7467-470: The 1919 German Weimar Constitution , the prevailing legal theory was that any law reaching the necessary supermajorities in both chambers of parliament was free to deviate from the terms of the constitution, without itself becoming part of the constitution. This very wide conception of "amendment" eased the rise of Adolf Hitler to power; it was consequently explicitly ruled out in the postwar 1949 constitution, which allows amendments only by explicitly changing

7598-411: The 5% threshold required for being recognized a party parliamentary group in Congress. The Spanish Cortes Generales were envisaged as an imperfect bicameral system. The Congress of Deputies had greater legislative power than the Senate , having the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a prime minister and to override Senate vetoes by an absolute majority of votes. Nonetheless,

7729-443: The Amendment. State constitutions in the U.S. are amended on a regular basis. In 19 states, the state constitutions have been amended at least 100 times. Amendments are often necessary because of the length of state constitutions, which are, on average, three times longer than the federal constitution, and because state constitutions typically contain extensive detail. In addition, state constitutions are often easier to amend than

7860-508: The Assembly has 400 members this requires 267 members to vote for the amendment. Most amendments do not have to be considered by the NCOP (the upper house ). Amendments of the Bill of Rights , and amendments affecting the role of the NCOP, the "boundaries, powers, functions or institutions" of the provinces or provisions "dealing specifically with provincial matters" must also be passed by the NCOP with

7991-587: The Catalan political landscape in a general election; the next election, held on 20 December 2015, would see the alliance between CDC and UDC broken and the PSC being crushed to third place regionally by both the En Comú Podem alliance and ERC. In terms of vote share, PSOE's electoral result, with 28.76%, would remain the worst electoral performance for a sitting Spanish government in a nationwide-held election since 1982 until

SECTION 60

#1732884448709

8122-601: The Constitution immediately once it is ratified by three-fourths of the States. The Article usually goes into force at this time too, though it may self-impose a delay before that happens, as was the case of the Eighteenth Amendment . Every ratified Amendment has been certified or proclaimed by an official of the federal government, starting with the Secretary of State , then the Administrator of General Services , and now

8253-416: The Constitution. Amendment proposals may be adopted and sent to the states for ratification by either: All 33 amendment proposals that have been sent to the states for ratification since the establishment of the Constitution have come into being via the Congress. State legislatures have however, at various times, used their power to apply for a national convention in order to pressure Congress into proposing

8384-488: The Legislature shall provide for the convention. Delegates to a constitutional convention shall be voters elected from districts as nearly equal in population as may be practicable. The constitution does not provide any rules for the operation of the constitutional convention. With the initiative method, an amendment is proposed by a petition signed by voters equal in number to 8% of the votes for all candidates for governor at

8515-582: The National Congress, in two rounds, and shall be considered approved if it obtains three-fifths of the votes of the respective members in both rounds. §3°. A Constitutional amendment shall be promulgated by the Executive Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and Federal Senate, taking the next sequential number. §4°. No proposed constitutional amendment shall be considered that is aimed at abolishing

8646-423: The PSOE collapse, winning 11 and 5 seats respectively—2 and 1 in the previous parliament. This was the first time since the 1989 election than more than one of the smaller nationwide-contesting parties obtained more than 1 million votes in a general election, as well as enough seats to form parliamentary groups on their own right. The PSOE collapse also resulted in nearly all parties winning parliamentary presence in

8777-408: The PSOE had renounced Marxism as its ideological base. He said nothing about joining the party at home, because he was afraid his parents would discourage him, considering him too young to join a political party. In 1982, Zapatero became head of the socialist youth organization in the province of León . In July 1982, he met Felipe González at the summer school "Jaime Vera" and suggested that he make

8908-482: The PSOE in every general election. The 2011 Spanish election marked the continuation of a string of severe government election losses across European countries since the start of the 2007–08 financial crisis , including Iceland , Greece , Hungary , the United Kingdom , Ireland or Portugal . Minoritary national parties, such as United Left (IU) and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), benefitted greatly from

9039-547: The PSOE leader and future Prime Minister of Spain , who took part in the rally, exerted an important influence on Zapatero. He said, among other things, that "the Socialists' goal was the seizure of power by the working class to transform the ownership of the means of production " and that "the PSOE was a revolutionary party but not revolutionarist or aventurist [...], as it defended the use of elections to come to power". Zapatero and his family had been traditionally attracted to

9170-635: The People's Republic of China states how to be amended under Article 64 of "Chapter III: The Structure of the State". It says the following: Amendments to the Constitution are to be proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress or by more than one-fifth of the deputies to the National People's Congress and adopted by a majority vote of more than two-thirds of all the deputies to

9301-470: The Senate possessed a few exclusive (yet limited in number) functions—such as its role in constitutional amendment —which were not subject to the Congress' override. Voting for the Cortes Generales was on the basis of universal suffrage , which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Spaniards abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote,

9432-454: The Socialist Party of León. Pasqual Maragall was the only regional leader of the Socialist Party who officially supported him before the Conference was held. Josep Borrell also decided to support him. Zapatero ran against three other opponents ( José Bono , Rosa Díez and Matilde Fernández ). Matilde Fernández was the candidate of the guerristas while José Bono was the candidate of

9563-461: The South East of Spain, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world. The scheme had received support from, among others, 80% of the affected farmers and the Socialist regional governments of regions such as Extremadura , Andalusia or Castilla-La Mancha . Some Socialist politicians also supported it when they were members of the former Socialist government back in the 90s (e.g. José Borrell ,

9694-557: The Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. They were made equal to those of the professional military. The initiative was defended by him in the name of the Parliamentary Socialist Group, proponent of the amendment. On 12 March 2000, the PSOE had lost its second successive election to José María Aznar's People's Party . Zapatero held his seat, but the Socialist Party obtained only 125 seats, 16 fewer than in 1996. The defeat

9825-495: The affected parties (the proponents of the scheme answered back that there was no risk of a serious environmental damage and that in 2003, 14 times more water reached the sea than what was needed annually). The scheme, finally approved by the Government, was canceled by Zapatero soon after becoming prime minister. Zapatero was the main proponent of the "Pacto de las Libertades contra el Terrorismo" ("Anti Terrorist Freedom pact) which

9956-641: The cancellation of a run-off between himself and Bono because he was sure of his victory after only one ballot and he apparently did not want to humiliate his adversary. After becoming Secretary General, he was congratulated by the French PM Lionel Jospin , by the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and by José María Aznar. He moved to Madrid with his family that year. As a Congressman he had lived from Monday to Thursday in Madrid and

10087-438: The constitution's Articles 104 and 105 are almost unamendable since they require the total consensus of the federal regional states and two-thirds of each house of Parliament. In Ethiopia's federal experience, each regional state is equal and has the right to veto amendments to the aforementioned articles. The Constitution of South Africa can be amended by an Act of Parliament , but special procedures and requirements apply to

10218-611: The constitution's text. (referendum if on status of the Church) (referendum if demanded by 10% of either house of legislature) (referendum if demanded by 1/3 of legislature) The Constitution of Ethiopia can only be modified by a two-thirds majority of the country's regions , and a two-thirds majority of a joint session of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly in accordance with Article 105. The constitution's Chapter Three (describing both Human and democratic rights) and

10349-412: The country's default. Among the adopted measures were a cut of 5% in public wages, a pension freezing for 2011, cuts into dependency spending and the removal of the €2,500 birth allowance , among others. Zapatero's U-turn , breaching a previous pledge not to cut social spending, caused his and the PSOE's popularity ratings to plummet in opinion polls. On 9 September 2010, the PSOE government approved

10480-543: The crisis, to be followed by CajaSur in 2010, the nationalization of CAM , Unnim , CatalunyaCaixa and Novagalicia Banco in 2011 and the intervention and nationalization of Banco de Valencia in 2011–12. As part of the bank restructuring , the FROB was created in June 2009 to preside over the mergers and acquisitions of the failing savings banks. In April 2009, Pedro Solbes was replaced as Spain's Economy and Finance minister by

10611-570: The current leader of the European Spanish Socialist Group and former president of the European Parliament. The scheme was mainly opposed by Zapatero, environmentalist groups, the Socialist regional government of Aragon and some of the citizens of the areas from which water was to be transferred. The main criticisms of the scheme were the supposed damage to the environment and an argued real lack of sufficient water for all of

10742-490: The elected membership of each house of the legislature. It is submitted to the voters in an election specified by the legislature. The wording of an explanatory statement that will appear on the ballot must be approved by the Texas Attorney General and printed in newspapers. The full text of the amendment must be posted by all county clerks for 30 days before the election. The only method for proposing an amendment to

10873-564: The election who was strongly opposed to Basque nationalism and to ETA , resigned after some internal clashes, resigning his seat in the Basque parliament and in the Federal Executive. He was replaced by Patxi López , elected on 24 March 2002. López had actively supported Zapatero during his campaign to become Secretary General. Constitutional amendment Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed

11004-556: The electrical protocol proposed by the government (initially negative for the important coal sector of León), being the PSOE spokesman in the Commission of Public Administration and probably his most important success as an MP: the passing of an amendment to the national budget of 2000 in November 1999 that increased the pensions of the non-professional soldiers who fought for the Republic during

11135-510: The federal constitution. Individual states differ in the difficulty of constitutional amendments. Some states allow for initiating the amendment process through the action of the state legislature or by popular initiative. There are three methods for proposing an amendment to the California State Constitution : by the legislature , by constitutional convention, or by voter initiative. A proposed amendment must be approved by

11266-620: The first time in a general election, the PSOE failed to come out on top in both Andalusia and Catalonia, with the nationalist Convergence and Union (CiU) emerging victorious in the later, whereas the abertzale left Amaiur achieved a major breakthrough in both the Basque Country and Navarre. United Left (IU) experienced a turnaround of its electoral fortunes and saw its first remarkable increase in 15 years , whereas centrist Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) exceeded all expectations with over one million votes, 5 seats and just 0.3% short of

11397-606: The following: §5°. The subject of a defeated or prejudiced proposed Constitutional amendment may not be made the subject of another proposed amendment in the same legislative session. Article 60 is the only article prescribed under Subsection 2 of Section 8 in the Brazilian constitution. Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the federal Constitution may be altered. Twenty-seven amendments have been added (appended as codicils ) to

11528-449: The form of acts of parliament. This may be the case notwithstanding the fact that a special procedure is required to bring an amendment into force. Thus, for example, in Ireland and Australia although amendments are drafted in the form of Acts of Parliament they cannot become law until they have been approved in a referendum. By contrast, in the United States a proposed amendment originates as

11659-413: The form of the 15-M Movement , and in the local and regional elections held a few days later popular support for the PSOE fell dramatically. On 21 October, the armed organization ETA announced a permanent cessation of armed activity , turning the 2011 election into the first since the Spanish transition to democracy without ETA attacks. The election resulted in the PSOE being swept out from power in

11790-463: The government and the opposition were the proposed reforms affecting the education system. The People's Party first introduced the so-called LOU, a law to change the university system, and later the LOCE ( Organic Act for Education Quality ), which affected secondary education. Zapatero strongly opposed both. The People's Party used its absolute majority in the Cortes to pass its reforms. A regional election

11921-452: The government announced a €100 billion guarantee for bank debts and the creation of a €30 billion worth fund—extendable to €50 billion—to purchase 'healthy' assets from banks and savings banks "to ensure the Spanish market liquidity ". From November 2008 to January 2009, the government proposed a €50 billion stimulus plan—with €8 billion destined to public investment in municipalities—expected to create 300,000 jobs throughout 2009, which

12052-438: The government to approve on 29 January 2010 a €50 billion worth-savings plan for the 2010–13 period, cutting all public spending except for social benefits , welfare state policies and those involving a production model renewal. However, despite the government's efforts, the economic situation kept worsening. On 5 February, Spain's risk premium reached the 100 basis point-mark in a black week for Madrid Stock Exchange —with

12183-439: The gubernatorial election. With the convention method, the legislature can put on any ballot the question of whether to call a constitutional convention . It must be stated whether the convention is limited or unlimited—that is, whether it can only amend the current constitution or totally abolish it and write a new one. If limited, the call must state which provisions of the current constitution are to be subject to amendment, and

12314-536: The idea of an Alliance of Civilizations ; the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Spain ; reform of abortion law ; a peace negotiation attempt with ETA ; the end of ETA terrorism; increase of tobacco restrictions; and the reform of various autonomous statutes , particularly the Statute of Catalonia . José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was born in Valladolid , Castile and León, to Juan Rodríguez y García-Lozano (born 1928),

12445-415: The ideas of republican political philosopher Philip Pettit . In an interview with El Mundo , Zapatero linked civic republicanism's focus on civic virtue to tolerance of individual autonomy and expanding political participation. During Zapatero's years as an opposition leader (and later as prime minister), the tension between left-wing and right-wing supporters increased and, according to some opinions,

12576-512: The internal fight for the job of Secretary General of the Regional Chapter. In 1994, three regional conferences were held: All of them were finally won by Zapatero or his supporters. The National Conference (held after most of the representatives elected in the first León Conference were Zapatero's supporters) was won by the reformers , at that time strongly opposed to the Guerristas . That

12707-427: The largest tax rise in history—to tackle the revenue fall and spending increase resulting from the crisis. Further measures, such as the suppression of the €400 tax reduction and a VAT increase from 16% to 18%—in its standard rate—and from 7% to 8%—in its reduced rate—were announced in the following weeks. The end of 2009 would see unemployment climbing to 18.8%, with public deficit soaring—11.4% of GDP—and forcing

12838-478: The last gubernatorial election. The proposed amendment is then submitted to the voters at a general or special election. There are two methods of proposing amendments to the New York Constitution . All proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. With the legislative method, an amendment proposal must be published for three months, then approved by an absolute majority of

12969-725: The legislature before being submitted to the people; in the case of Ireland, a simple majority of those voting at the electorate is all that is required, whereas a more complex set of criteria must be met in Australia (a majority of voters in a majority of states is also necessary). Switzerland has procedure similar to that of Australia. The special procedures for the amendment of some constitutions have proven to be so exacting, that of proposed amendments either few (eight Amendments out of 44 proposed in Australia), or none (as in Japan) have been passed over

13100-480: The low-profile Elena Salgado as part of a major cabinet reshuffle, in a move seen as Zapatero seeking to take more direct control of economic policy himself. By Q2 2009, unemployment had grown to 17.9%—more than 4 million unemployed—and the GDP had fallen by 4.2%. This prompted Zapatero to announce on 28 August 2009 that the 2010 budget would include a "limited and temporary" tax increase worth €16 billion—dubbed by many as

13231-419: The mayoralty of León and two seats in the regional parliament of Castilla-León. The results were influenced by the bad economic situation and the cases of corruption assailing the party. Zapatero had personally directed the electoral campaign. In 1996, after the General Election, Zapatero kept his seat at the Congress of Deputies. The following year, Zapatero was again elected Secretary General of León and after

13362-456: The members of each of the two houses, and approved again in a succeeding term of the houses, with an election intervening. Finally, the amendment proposal must be submitted to the people, and for ratification must be approved by a simple majority. With the convention method, a constitutional convention must be convened by a majority vote of voters in a general election (referendum) on the question. There are two methods for proposing amendments to

13493-553: The national conference held by the party that year he entered the National Executive (the party's governing body). The Association of Parliamentary Journalists awarded to Zapatero the "Diputado Revelación" prize (something like Most promising MP of the year ) in December 1999 for his activities as a member of the Congress of Deputies . From 1996 until 2000, his most conspicuous contributions as an MP were his vigorous opposition to

13624-514: The next months the government was forced to lower its economic growth forecast for 2008 from 3.1% to 2.3%, then to 1.6%. The government also had to cope with a transport strike on 9–15 June, motivated by a rapid increase in oil prices . Zapatero initially refused to publicly acknowledge the existence of the economic crisis, to which he referred as "intense temporary slowdown" or "economic weaknesses". On 23 June 2008, Zapatero's cabinet adopted an "austerity plan" intended to save €250 million—consisting of

13755-650: The number of members in the towns of León favorable to them. Their main aim would have been to take control of the Regional Socialist Section of Castilla y León in the conference to be held in 1994. Zapatero's support for the then Regional Secretary General, Jesús Quijano transformed him into the enemy of the Guerristas in the region as the FSL is the most important Provincial Section. In May 1994 two papers, El País and Diario de León , published several articles that suggested irregularities in his appointment as

13886-481: The passage of constitutional amendments. A bill amending the Constitution must be introduced in the National Assembly , and cannot contain any provisions other than constitutional amendments and directly related matters. At least 30 days before a constitutional amendment bill is introduced in the National Assembly, the person or committee introducing the amendment must publish it for public comment, submit it to

14017-477: The provinces in the NCOP. Once an Act is passed by the National Assembly, and by the NCOP if necessary, it must be signed and assented to by the President . As with any other Act of Parliament, by default an amendment comes into effect when it is published in the Government Gazette , but the text of the amendment may specify some other date of commencement, or allow the President to specify one by notice in

14148-457: The provincial conference held that year, Ramón Rubial , then national president of the PSOE, had asked the party in León to foster unity. Zapatero was elected as Secretary General at that conference, leading to a period of stability. In the 1980s and 1990s, the PSOE consisted of two factions: the Guerristas (supporters of Alfonso Guerra , former vice-president under Felipe González) and the reformers (led by Felipe González). The first group had

14279-418: The remaining 248 being distributed in proportion to their populations. Ceuta and Melilla were allocated the two remaining seats, which were elected using plurality voting . The use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies. As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency

14410-542: The removal of a €426 allowance for long-term unemployed and the privatizations of AENA and the Lotteries —but also a tax cut for SMEs. In the following weeks, Zapatero would also announce an increase of the retirement age from 65 to 67 to be applied "flexibly and progressively" until 2027. The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution. The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in

14541-463: The rest of the time in León. This was the period when Zapatero was appointed as Secretary General of the PSOE in 2000 until he became Prime Minister of Spain on 14 April 2004. Zapatero has always claimed to base his political activity on his love of dialogue. When he was an opposition leader, he liked to contrast his behaviour with the "arrogant", "authoritarian" approach of the People's Party and, especially, that of its leader José María Aznar. As

14672-505: The state legislatures' or state ratifying conventions' consideration of proposed amendments. In Dillon v. Gloss (1921), the Supreme Court affirmed that Congress—if it so desires—could provide a deadline for ratification. An amendment with an attached deadline that is not ratified by the required number of states within the set time period is considered inoperative and rendered moot . A proposed amendment becomes an official Article of

14803-477: The subsequent convention, if approved, is limited to considering only amendments to the provisions specified in the call. The proposed amendments must then be submitted to the electorate and approved by a majority of those voting in the election. A constitutional convention cannot be held more frequently than once every six years. The only method for proposing an amendment to the Texas State Constitution

14934-521: The term talante has become very popular in Spain.) Because of this supposed tactic, Zapatero received nicknames like Bambi or Sosoman (where Soso , meaning "dull, insipid, bore", replaces Super in Superman ), especially in the first months after being appointed General Secretary. After his election to the leadership of the PSOE, Zapatero spoke about the influence of the political philosophy of civic republicanism on him in general, and in particular

15065-424: The worst defeat for a sitting government in Spain up until that time since 1982 , losing 4.3 million votes and scoring its worst result in a general election ever since the first democratic election in 1977 . In contrast, PP's Mariano Rajoy won a record absolute majority in a landslide , being his party's best historic result as well as the second largest and, to date, last majority in Spanish democracy. Also for

15196-635: Was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands , districts were the islands themselves, with the larger— Majorca , Gran Canaria and Tenerife —being allocated three seats each, and the smaller— Menorca , Ibiza – Formentera , Fuerteventura , La Gomera , El Hierro , Lanzarote and La Palma —one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally, autonomous communities could appoint at least one senator each and were entitled to one additional senator per each million inhabitants. The term of each chamber of

15327-415: Was also kept alive by a last will , handwritten 24 hours before facing the firing squad, and which can be considered a final declaration of principles. The will comprised six parts, the first three bestowing his possessions on his heirs; the fourth, in which he asked for a civil burial and, the fifth, in which he requested his family to forgive those who had tried and executed him and proclaiming his belief in

15458-639: Was born in Valladolid not only because of his mother's attachment to her family, who lived there, but also because of the medical profession of her father. Zapatero has said that, as a youngster, "as I remember it, I used to participate in late night conversations with my father and brother about politics, law or literature". However, he did not get along very well with his father at times. Sources say that his father refused to let him work or take any part in his law firm, and this scarred him for life. He says that his family taught him to be tolerant, thoughtful, prudent and austere. The memory of Zapatero's grandfather

15589-414: Was elected to an historic general election victory in the region of Catalonia. The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), PSOE's sister party in the region—which had, up until that point, been the first Catalan political force in every general election held since 1977 —scored a poor showing by finishing in second place with 27% of the vote. The 2011 election would be the last time both parties would dominate

15720-426: Was entitled the following seats: For the Senate, 208 seats were elected using an open list partial block voting system , with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. In constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces

15851-425: Was especially bitter as the People's Party unexpectedly obtained an absolute majority for the first time and the socialist result was worse than in the previous election. Almunia announced his resignation on the very day the General Election took place. Zapatero decided to run for the leadership of the Socialist Party in its 35th Conference to be held in June that year. Together with other socialist members, he founded

15982-479: Was held in the Basque Country on 13 May 2001. The socialists received 17.8% of the vote (against 17.6% in the previous 1998 elections) but lost one seat. Both, the Socialist Party and the People's Party had formed an alliance against the then ruling nationalist Basque political movements but the latter won again. The results were considered a failure. Nicolás Redondo Terreros , the Basque Socialist leader during

16113-524: Was held on 9 March 2008, which meant that the legislature's term would expire on 9 March 2012. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 14 February 2012, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Cortes Generales on Sunday, 8 April 2012. The prime minister had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call

16244-448: Was later criticised for its spending unsustainability and for creating "unproductive" jobs. In Q4 2008 the Spanish economy officially went into recession after a GDP fall of 1.1%—having already fallen by 0.3% on Q3 2008—putting an end to 15 years of uninterrupted economic growth. On 28 March 2009, the Spanish government launched a €9 billion bailout to rescue Caja Castilla La Mancha, the first Spanish savings bank to be intervened during

16375-486: Was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Congress and the Senate. Still, as of 2024 there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution. The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 27 September 2011 after the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOE, setting the election date for 20 November and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 13 December. The 2008 general election had resulted in

16506-504: Was no risk for the population but Zapatero criticized him for his inability to force the British government to take the submarine to another harbour. After almost one year, the Tireless was repaired and left Gibraltar without having caused any known problems. Another point of friction came from the scheme to transfer water from the River Ebro to other areas, especially the irrigated areas in

16637-403: Was number one on the list. In the elections of 2004 he ran for Madrid as number one. Zapatero defined himself as a "left-wing conservative" at the time. He explained that he meant that, for sentimental reasons linked to his family, he came from the left that lost the Spanish Civil War and that what had happened between 1936 and 1939 (the duration of the war) and 1939–1975 ( Franco 's regime) had

16768-420: Was positive for Zapatero as the list of bogus party members was revised again. Their number grew from 577 to almost 900. Zapatero was finally reelected secretary general with 68% of the ballots in the 7th Regional Conference held in July 1994, following the removal of the false memberships. In 1995, new regional and local elections were held. The results were bad for the PSOE in León as they lost four seats in

16899-448: Was signed on 8 December 2000. At the end of the year, the Mad Cow disease came back into the spotlight after its outbreak in 1996. Zapatero repeatedly criticized the Government's management of the crisis arguing that it was out of control. As of March 2005, the disease had caused dozens of deaths all over Europe, though none in Spain. In 2001 one of the biggest points of friction between

17030-513: Was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he would not stand for re-election in the 2011 general election and left office on 21 December 2011. Among the main actions taken by the Zapatero administration were the withdrawal of Spanish troops from the Iraq war , the increase of Spanish troops in Afghanistan ;

17161-471: Was used for the Twenty-first Amendment , which became part of the Constitution in 1933. Since the turn of the 20th century, amendment proposals sent to the states for ratification have generally contained a seven-year ratification deadline, either in the body of the amendment or in the resolving clause of the joint resolution proposing it. The Constitution does not expressly provide for a deadline on

#708291