In its latest barometer, the CIS includes a survey on the opinion that Spanish citizens have of the Constitution, taking advantage of the fact that this Tuesday a solemn event will be held in Madrid that will unite the Congress and the Senate in the purest form. spirit of the TransitionThe idea is to celebrate that the current Constitution, that of 1978, is the "longest-lived" in history. Previous constitutions (promulgated in 1812, 1834, 1837, 1845, 1869, 1876, and 1931) had rather short lives, due to a constant stream of pronouncements, uprisings, revolts, and military coups, the last of which was (1) long-lived. In Spanish political tradition, toasting the longevity of democratic periods (precisely when the threat—not military, but from the ultra-Spanish far right—is regaining strength) has a certain air of warning against the worst of times.
In any case, and as you can read in the chronicle by Núria Orriols In this newspaper, the survey shows that an undeniable majority of Spaniards—specifically, 84.3%—believe that the Constitution "needs some reform," as if it were a country estate or a summer house. Of this reformist fervor, the vast majority favor modifications to social, economic, or labor rights. Territorial issues (the recognition of the plurinational diversity of the Spanish state, of the Catalan or Basque nation) or the form of government (monarchy or republic) are "reforms" demanded by only 13.8% of those surveyed, which corresponds—equally, within the CIS's vision of Spain under Tezanos—to Catalan separatists. Then there are those surveyed who have a broad and crude reformist spirit and therefore demand "major reforms," while others, less ambitious, are content with "minor changes."
There is one, a possible and necessary change in the Spanish Constitution, which few will surely ask for, but which would be important. This concerns the reform of Article 3, specifically points 1 and 2, which enshrine inequality between Castilian (the official language of Spain, which all Spaniards have a "duty" to know) and mysterious languages called "the other Spanish languages," which are not even mentioned by name, and whose statutes are recognized. It is certainly an inequality that cannot be sustained in a democracy that often calls itself "fully developed" and "advanced." Surely, there would be no need to reform the Constitution: a language law would suffice, clearly defining the four languages (Catalan, Galician, Basque, and Castilian) spoken in the multilingual state that is Spain and granting them equal status as fully official languages throughout the territory, with all the consequences that this entails. To begin with, in the educational sphere: these four languages should be taught and learned in all public schools throughout the country.
