Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Barn PublicFinanceMatters 2015
Barn PublicFinanceMatters 2015
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to The SAIS Review of International Affairs
Alejandro Barón
This paper analyzes trends of regional devolution throughout Spain’s modern history—
as well as equivalent trends of public favor for such devolution—to inform ongoing
discussions on how the country can maximize its political and economic efficiency,
while accounting for constituencies’ preferences and a federal affirmation of sub-state
identities. The article describes evolution of public support for secession in the Basque
Country and Catalonia; assesses the historical-institutional framework of region-state
relations following Spain’s transition to democracy; and evaluates economic motivations
of political interest groups across the Basque and Catalan regions. Having considered
these frameworks, the piece concludes by discussing obstacles toward secessionist move-
ments in Spain within the EU and United Nations frameworks.
SAIS Review vol. 35 no. 2 (Summer–Fall 2015) © 2015 Johns Hopkins University 91
A Taste of History
Historic Rivalries
Tensions among the Spanish population over political systems featuring cen-
tralism, moderate decentralization, and quests for sovereignty have existed
since the early eighteenth century, when centralist Bourbons overthrew the
pro-regionalist Habsburg dynasty.15 Throughout the nineteenth century, three
Diverging Paths
In 2004, a group of Catalonia’s opposition parties—including prominently the
Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (Catalan Social-Democrats, PSC)—proposed
to change the regional constitution in order to expand decentralization from
Madrid, and thereby achieve their aim of weakening the region’s nationalist
coalition in power. The federal government in Madrid—headed by José Luis
Rodríguez Zapatero, a minority Social-Democrat government—received this
proposal cautiously, but agreed to negotiate with Catalan authorities. In re-
sponse to the government’s amenable reaction to Catalonia’s proposal, Spain’s
national right wing and unionist mainstream party, Partido Popular (Popular
Party, PP), expressed adamant opposition to further decentralization.
At this stage of partial devolution between the Spanish government and the
country’s regions, it is valuable to consider what additional powers would be
potentially beneficial—for both the federal government and the regions—to
devolve. One of the most relevant areas where additional decentralization could
yield significant outcomes would be in the regions’ fiscal regimes. The Basque
Country already has fiscal autonomy. Of note: Catalonia’s gaining fiscal inde-
pendence would likely foster unique consequences for the region compared to
the manifestation of fiscal independence in the Basque Country.
Conclusion
Identity and romanticism have played key roles in shaping historical concep-
tions of nationalism. However, economic motivations linked to the capture
of fiscal resources have also
been important. In comparing Identity and romanticism have played
pro-nationalist movements
in the Basque Country and key roles in shaping historical conceptions
Catalonia, the fact that Basque of nationalism. Howe ver, economic
governments are fiscally self- motivations linked to the capture of fiscal
sufficient and exercise fiscal
autonomy raises questions resources have also been important.
about what benefits a fiscal
devolution from the Spanish state to Catalonia would entail. In the Basque
Country, groups that prize identity over economic motivations have consis-
tently opposed the current status quo and called for independence. On the
contrary, In Catalonia the pro-independence wave reflects not only calls for
more political and cultural rights, but also more economic freedom, particularly
with regard to budgetary autonomy.
As events unfold, the worst possible outcome for the Catalan government
would be maintenance of the current fiscal regime. In contrast, total indepen-
dence would entail significant economic and political costs. In between these
two options is the possibility of greater fiscal autonomy in the region, akin to
the system in the Basque Country. This option would mitigate political costs of
additional devolution, and would likely prove preferable for most of the region’s
interest groups. For pro-independence supporters, this option would allow for
significant devolution of powers and greater room for economic maneuvering
than in the case of the status quo. For the opposing side, fiscal independence
would still beneficially provide security for entitlement holders and business
owners with links to the rest of Spain, as well as the region’s consumers.
Notes
1
“Baromètre d’Opinió Política” [Barometer of Political Opinion], Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió,
Generalitat de Catalunya, July 2005, 15.
2
“Baromètre d’Opinió Política” [Barometer of Political Opinion], Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió,
Generalitat de Catalunya, April 2014, 91.
3
“Sondeig d’Opinió, 1991” [Opinion Poll, 1991 issue], ICPS, Universitat de Barcelona, 1991, 84.
4
“Sondeig d’Opinió, 2011” [Opinion Poll, 2011 issue], ICPS, Universitat de Barcelona, 1991, 21.
5
Ibid.; “Sondeig d’Opinió, 1991” [Opinion Poll, 1991 issue], 84.