CATALONIA BACKGROUND INFORMATION
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Date: 29/03/2016
Author: Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia
BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
OF CATALONIA
Generalitat of Catalonia
The Generalitat is the institutional system around which Catalonia's selfgovernment is politically organised. The Generalitat was founded in 1359 and its
first president, appointed by the Catalan Parliament, was Berenguer de Cruïlla.
In our days the powers of the modern Generalitat stem from the people of
Catalonia and are exercised according to the Spanish Constitution and the
Statute of Autonomy, its basic institutional law.
The Generalitat is a complex entity made up of the Presidency of the
Generalitat, the Government and the other institutions established in the Statute
of Autonomy (the Council for Statutory Guarantees, the Ombudsman, the Audit
Office and the Catalan Broadcasting Authority). Municipalities, comarques,
(counties) and other local-government bodies determined by law also constitute
the institutional system of the Generalitat, being the bodies according to which
the latter is organised territorially, notwithstanding their respective autonomy.
Catalonia exercises its self-government in those areas specified in the Statute of
Autonomy. In matters in which the Generalitat's power is defined as "exclusive",
legislative power, regulatory power and the executive function correspond fully
to the Generalitat. In other matters, the Generalitat's power is defined as
"shared" and Catalonia legislates within the framework of the basic conditions
established by the State. Finally, there are other matters in which it simply
executes the legislation deriving from the State.
The Parliament of Catalonia
The Parliament is the institution that represents the people of Catalonia, which
places it at the heart of Catalonia's institutional self-governing system.
Parliament represents the people of Catalonia. As a directly and democratically
elected body, the Parliament has supreme power and is the Generalitat's most
important institution, and from which all other institutions spring. The Parliament
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of Catalonia consists of a single chamber or house, and is independent and
inviolable.
The Parliament of Catalonia has a single chamber of 135 deputies. As the
institution which represents the people of Catalonia, it is a central part of the
“Generalitat” (the Catalan system of government). The Parliamentary tradition in
Catalonia dates from the Middle Ages; and the present Parliament, abolished
under the Franco dictatorship, was restored in 1980, since when there have
been ten elections.
The configuration of political parties in the Catalan Parliament is very different
from that in the Spanish Parliament. There are a larger number of parties with
significant representation; and, in addition to the usual left-right spectrum of
opinions, all parties have always had to position themselves on the spectrum of
opinions about the relationship between Catalonia and Spain.
There are currently six parties represented in the Catalan Parliament:
Junts pel Sí (JxS) has 62 deputies and forms a minority government under a
Stability Pact with CUP. JxS is a pro-independence coalition of the two major
parties of Catalonia, Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC –
liberals) and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC – left-wing). They ran
together in a pro-independence ticket, along with many well-known
independents and support from some former members of UDC, demochristian
old partner of CDC, who ran separately as opposing unilateral independence.
Ciutadans – Partido de la Ciutadanía (C's) has 25 deputies. It first entered
Parliament in 2006. It campaigns in favour of Spanish unity, seeking to attract
votes from both left and right-wing and it is against to celebrate the referendum.
The Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC) has 16 deputies. It is
federated to the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). It promotes a constitutional
reform to make Spain a federal country.
Catalunya Sí que es Pot (CSQP) has 11 deputies. It is a left-wing, green
coalition bringing together 4 parties. The major partners are Iniciativa per
Catalunya – Verds (ICV) and Podem (Podemos). They are in favour of a
referendum on the future status for Catalonia.
The Partit Popular (PP) has 11 deputies. It is a right-wing party in favour of
Spanish unity and is the party in Government in Spain. They are against to
promote a referendum on the future status for Catalonia.
Candidatura d'Unitat Popular – Alternativa d'Esquerres (CUP) has 10
deputies. It first entered Parliament in 2012. It is an alternative left party, and is
in favour of independence.
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The electoral trends over the last 20 years are shown in the following chart:
70
JxS
60
CiU (CDC+UDC)
50
PSC
40
PPC
ERC
30
ICV‐CSQP*
20
C's
10
CUP
0
SÍ
1995
1999
2003
2006
2010
2012
2015
President Carles Puigdemont and the Government of Catalonia
The highest representation of the Generalitat is President
Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó. He is the 130th president of
the Generalitat of Catalonia. As head of Government of
Catalonia, he leads the executive branch and directs
government action.
The Government of Catalonia is composed by thirteen
ministers in charge of policy management and public
administration.The Government of Catalonia is organized
into 13 ministries:
1) Vice-presidency and of the Economy and Finance
2) Presidency
3) Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency
4) Governance, Public Administrations and Housing
5) Education
6) Health
7) Home affairs
8) Territorial Planning and Sustainability
9) Culture
10) Justice
11) Labour, Social Affairs and Families
12) Business and Knowledge
13) Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food
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