Politics and Society

Spanish government

Politics and Society

Spain, inside the official branch, holds the Council of Ministers which incorporates a president, a first, second and third VP who also have a function as ministers for different fields. There is additionally a legal branch that holds the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo). 

Spain is a parliamentary monarchy. The king is the head of state, although authoritative forces are held inside General Courts (Cortes Generales), which is split between the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de Diputados), and the Senate (Senado). There are 350 deputies chosen by the people and 259 senators of which 208 are picked by the people and 51 chosen by the regions of Spain. The most specific difference is found in the representation they hold. Although both chambers represent “the Spanish people”, the Congress of Deputies represents it as a whole, while the Senate is the chamber of territorial representation. 

Inside the 17 autonomous regions and two autonomous cities of Spain (Ceuta and Melilla), there are smaller governments in which an assembly is elected. Governors are picked by the central government of Spain. Districts have a mayor (alcalde) and councilmen (concejales), who are brought into the office by the people. The minimum age to vote is 18. 

In 1977, there was an aggregate of 156 ideological groups in Spain. Today, there are four significant parties state-wide in Spain, Partido Popular (PP), a right-leaning centrist party; The Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), a left-leaning centrist party; Vox, a extreme right-wing party and Unidas Podemos, a left-wing party. Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) is the Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018.

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